Will a HUB weaken my ethernet network? Thread

Today I bought 2 Powerline Ethernet Adapters. They work great and were easy to install. I have another computer coming really soon, so I will need another adapter. My question is, if I hook the ethernet cable from my adapter into to a hub (and then all the computers going into the HUB), will the speed decrease by a lot? The manual says that if I plug the adapter into a surge protecter, the connection wont be strong. Will the HUB have the same effect?

The powerline adapters I have are these: Compusa.com

I wanted to see if I could get an answer here first, before I try calling tech support tommorow (pain in the ass). Thanks

I have two hubs in my way before the connection gets to my computer

My connection is still as great as ever

Internet require very low bandwidth, so at worst your loss will be insigtifull. Say, If your ethernet its a 100 MB/s and your internet connection its 32 KB/s the lost of 50% can limit your internet connection to 50 MB%. Anyway "ethernet on powerline" its something I am not experience. Maybe its a thick limit.

I have a router linking 4 computers at home, and I rarely notice a decrease in speed. If someone is doing something very bandwidth heavy the speed will most probably decrease though.

Well this is different. The Powerline Ethernet Adapter is plugged into the wall, with a ethernet cable going from it to my computer. I want to plug the ethernet cable from the adapter to a HUB, where all the computers will be plugged in. I need to find out if this will decrease the speed, just like plugging the adapter into a surge protecter will.

update: just got email from tech support

Yes is will slow the connection down, and I am not sure if will even work correctly through a hub.

so much for that idea

Edited by: Chunky

I bet you their tech support is in India.

Im connecting to our lan server through a hub in my room, and two switches outside in the flat. It doesn't have any effects on my network speed, despite my hub working in half-duplex mode.

Chunky.The.Tree wrote: Well this is different. The Powerline Ethernet Adapter is plugged into the wall, with a ethernet cable going from it to my computer. I want to plug the ethernet cable from the adapter to a HUB, where all the computers will be plugged in. I need to find out if this will decrease the speed, just like plugging the adapter into a surge protecter will.

this most definetely will slow the connection down. I also have powerline and i had this setup at first. What i could recommend is not buying a hub, but some more powerline adapters, one for each comp. That way, each comp can use full bandwith, while the house works as a giant router, thus eliminating the need to buy one.
To sum it up: you need one adapter that you connect to the dsl/cable modem and to a wall outlet, making it serve as the "upload line" from the modem to the outlet. Now you get one adapter for each comp, making these serv as "download lines" from the wall outlet to your comp.
If the modem is configured correctly this works like any conventional lan.

everyone please read my update. i found out it wont work :/

Rambo, i'm doing exactly that

and im sure it works great

For that price, why not just get a wireless router and wireless cards? You won't have very many cords then, and you have a new firewall. It's worth every cent when you buy a router.

well for me this wouldnt work since we have very thick stone walls in ur house, so only a very weak signal could be received. I cant even really use my cellphone incide...
plus the wlan waves can potentially be harmful for you, but dont ask how, im no doctor i read that in a pc world a few months back.

i am using an ethernet network since my wireless network kept disconnecting. i'm still using a router though.

Edited by: Chunky

What i could recommend is not buying a hub, but some more powerline adapters, one for each comp. That way, each comp can use full bandwith, while the house works as a giant router, thus eliminating the need to buy one.

ack wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG!

It's important to recognise the difference between a hub, switch and router. Simply plugging more things into your power system is not recommended, as this is simply creating a hub and NOT a switch or router.

In a hub, all network bandwidth is shared equally and systems, although able to talk to each other, do so very inefficiently. A switch/router (effectively the same for what you need to do) instead routes the traffic to where it needs to be. This makes things much faster overall.

My recommendation is get a switch if you need more than one machine in the same room/vicinity. Wired dedicated networks are far more reliable than EoMP connections, and a switch means that the overall traffic over the EoMP will be the same.

Basically, if you need to hook computers onto the network at any point, use a switch if at all possible. Not a hub, a switch.

Routers should only be on the edge of your network, they're one step up from a switch and provide dedicated packet rerouting and things like that. You may have one on your modem, if not don't worry.

this is true. if it wasnt for a slight problem:

if you have a router/switch in ur house and need to connect it to a comp in another room you either have to use long ethernet cables or you can use powerline adapters.
That would mean, however, that you need a pair of powerline adapters for each comp, one for upload from the router and one for download to the PC. Considering that you probably don't have many individual electric grids in your house, but you do have ONE big one, the signals would mix and the whole effectiveness of the router would be lost.
And even if it worked, what would be the use of it? I have the powerline setup without the router, but still get connections around 10mb/s. I dont think anyones home internet connection is faster than that, so you are definetely not going to suffer from slow internet.
And for network? well i dont know what you are usually doing, but to it doesnt really make a difference if i get 14 mb/s (absolute maximum, which your not gonna get anyway, so its more like 12 mb/s) or 10mb/s.

well im sticking with just getting a powerline adapter per computer. it will work fine

Remember your house may have seperate upstairs/downstairs mains rings!

I'm putting the other adapter in the same room, in the same outlet.

jacksonj04 wrote: Remember your house may have seperate upstairs/downstairs mains rings!

that doesnt matter. the signal can jump between cables that are up to 30cm apart from each other without slowing down considerably. We have 3 main rings in our house but it works no problem.

good. the only problem i have to fix now is where to plug in the second adapter ill be getting. it can only be plugged in directly to the wall outlet and there is no more space

no, i have mine plugged into a 7 outlet surge protectot and it works great (otherwise i wouldnt be posting here)

Obsydian wrote: For that price, why not just get a wireless router and wireless cards? You won't have very many cords then, and you have a new firewall. It's worth every cent when you buy a router.

ya im with him on this 1 i have 2 computers, and my ps2 network adaptor all running through 1 and 0 lag on any of them even when they are all accessing the internet! but i have cable

Chunky.The.Tree wrote: I'm putting the other adapter in the same room, in the same outlet.

Just get a 3-way hub dammit!

thats what this entire thread was about....

I have a switcher I don't need that I was originally going to give to the person who has two of my computers, you know which person. It's a Belkin 8-port Switcher. I don't want it because its not gigabit ethernet. But it'll be fine for you....