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Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

timmo_aus
Aspirant

Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

Hi.

Could you please advise what's happening here.

This works:
NTD (Australian NBN) box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Netgear PL1000 -> PC

This doesnt:
NTD box -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Netgear PL1000 -> Telstra Modem -> PC

The connection initially works... ie, I can kick off a speedtest.net. Give it a minute or two though, and the connection drops out.

Any ideas? Cheers!


Model: PLPW1000|Powerline 1000 + Extra Outlet

Model: PLW1000|PowerLINE 1000 Wireless adapter
Message 1 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

In general, a powerline connection to "extend" the Internet/WAN side (instead of a cable), can be workable - as the "standard" powerline devices are plain L2 bridges.

 

Here we have a PLW with a wireless interface in the game, which does request an IP by DHCP, along with the "Modem" (more a router) also requesting IP address, and last but not least that it's wireless usability might be limited, ... and anything can create issues.

 

Your network must be located _behind_ the Telstra router, on the LAN ports, or on it's WLAN.

 

PS: It's absolute unclear what exactly goes wrong or does fail after a minute or so - devices connected wireless to the PLW1000, or the Telstra "modem" (router) and it's connected devices on that bx [W]LAN. But I think it's not relevant.

Message 2 of 8

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?


@timmo_aus wrote:

Hi.

Could you please advise what's happening here.

This works:
NTD (Australian NBN) box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Netgear PL1000 -> PC




A more normal, and useful, configuration would be :

 

NTD (Australian NBN) box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PL1000 -> Netgear PLW1000 -> PC

 

Most people add powerline to a router that delivers wifi. So there is no point in plugging another wifi access point, which is what the PLW1000 is, to a router that already delivers wifi.

 

Then again, who knows what your Telstra "modem" can do? If it is also a router, then your second arrangement cannot work. As @schumaku says, the PLW1000 is "upstream" of your router. You might get it to work if you used:

 

NTD box -> Netgear PL1000 -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PLW1000 -> PC

 

In that way at least your wifi access point would be downstream of whatever acts as the router on your network.

 

Message 3 of 8
timmo_aus
Aspirant

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

The modem is this -> https://www.telstra.com.au/internet/extras/modem so a broadband wifi 4 port + voip with 4G fallback

 

NBN box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Netgear PL1000 -> PC works.

However that leaves 2 issues - there's only one access point for a lan cable. Also, as Oz NBN now does landline as VOIP, the phone is at wrong end of the house, basically.

So I'd need to add another switch:

 

NTD (Australian NBN) box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PL1000 -> Netgear PLW1000 -> New SWITCH -> PC & phone & other devices.

 

Pretty sure its either the PLW1000 trying to allocate IP addresses for wifi, or the PL1000 -> PLW1000 connection not passing authentication packets to the modem, or something of that nature

 

Sobefore I have to purchase another piece of kit (a voip enabled switch), my question is, will disabling the WIFI on the PLW1000 make a difference and allow this:

NTD (Australian NBN) box -> Netgear PL1000 -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Telstra Modem -> PC & phone & other devices

Message 4 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

From the other side of the planet it's hard to guess what your ISP does require or limit.

 

Any L3 device in front of a NAT router will try to get an IP address, e.g. by DHCP. Just disabling the wireless AP on the PLW1000 wont stop this - but you should disbale it anyway, as it's "outside" of your network, and associating clients will potentially cause even more issues. 

 

In any case, extending the phone line and moving the NTD to location better suited would be the way to go - this saves you from the powerline usage, from the "risk", from buying an additional switch, ... As this is ADSL or VDSL, it's no rocket science, just a drilled two wire cale as commonly used downunder for telephone installations.

Message 5 of 8

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?


@timmo_aus wrote:

The modem is this -> https://www.telstra.com.au/internet/extras/modem so a broadband wifi 4 port + voip with 4G fallback

 

NBN box -> Telstra Modem -> Netgear PLW1000 -> Netgear PL1000 -> PC works.

OK. A modem router. I don't know what "wifi 4 port" means, and the link you provided makes me none the wider. I assume that it means wifi plus four LAN ports.

 

That arrangement is bonkers, especially any talk of disabling the wifi on the PLW1000. What is the point of having an AP there if you are going to cripple it?

 

Here is what I have.

 

modem -> router > PL1000 -----------> powerline access point.

 

You can either plug a PC, or anything else you like, into one of the three remaining ports on the modem/router.

 

Or you could plug it into the remote PLW1000. That plug can do wifi and LAN at the same time. So you can use the wifi from the PLW1000 access point for wifi stuff that cannot get a decent wifi signal from the modem/router.

 


@timmo_aus wrote:

Pretty sure its either the PLW1000 trying to allocate IP addresses for wifi, or the PL1000 -> PLW1000 connection not passing authentication packets to the modem, or something of that nature

 

Not really. The PLW1000 gets its IP address from the router. The PL1000 does not have an IP address, not does it play any part in handing them out.That is all down to the router.

 

Your PC will connect to the router over the PLW1000 to PL1000 Ethernet link and will get its IP address from the router. Thet's the DHCP bit that @schumaku refers to.

 


@timmo_aus wrote:

Also, as Oz NBN now does landline as VOIP, the phone is at wrong end of the house, basically.

So I'd need to add another switch:

 

What do you mean, the phone is at the wrong end of the house?

 

Isn't it supposed to plug into the VOIP of this magic Telstra box?

 

What do you want this other switch to do?

 

If the whole idea is to put the phone somewhere more convenient, then forget about all this IT stuff and check the phone bit. You can either do what @schumaku says and move the whole lot somewhere more convenient, or sniff around you ISP and see if there as a VOIP equivalent of the DECT phones that everyone else uses in the civilised world as a way of getting phone calls in different part of the house.

 

In other words, frame your question in the right way ("I want to move my phone") and don't worry about your local network.

 

As described so far, you seem to be trying to use Powerline Ethernet as a substitute for a longer telephone wire. Not a good idea.

Message 6 of 8
timmo_aus
Aspirant

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?

Folks, the problem isn’t that hard...

 

the hcf cable is at one end of the house, that terminates at a device that has one lan port

 

I then want to extend via EOP to the other end of the house to use my ISPs provided modem/router/wifi/4port lan cable/phone device (link above) to plug in multiple devices. 

 

I understand this is not the typical Config of putting the EOP devices downstream of the modem, however that’s actually the problem I’m trying to solve. Putting the modem at the wrong end of the house doesn’t work for my setup. Extended the hcf cable, or running a cat6 to the other end of the house (between nbn device ——————————> modem is not practical. 

 

So so the question remains, can the netgear devices be configured to be used on the wan side of the modem...

 

 

Message 7 of 8

Re: Powerline 1000 EoP before router?


@timmo_aus wrote:

Folks, the problem isn’t that hard...

 

I think we have shown that it is also not that easy.

 


@timmo_aus wrote:

 

So so the question remains, can the netgear devices be configured to be used on the wan side of the modem...

 


You have been told what works. If that doesn't fill the bill, then look for a different solution.

 

Your problem is moving the VoIP phone. Have you even investigated that?

 

 

Message 8 of 8
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