Bitcoin Forum

If I have wifi upstairs but need it downstairs on a wired only device, what's the best thing to get ? I've looked at things like wifi extenders, bridges and adapters but not sure what exactly it is that I need.

Basically I wana be able to connect some mining hardware I got downstairs to the home network upstairs without the need to run cable.

hi, you only need an ethernet to wifi adapter downstairs. plug in that device and your wired device can connect to your wifi upstairs.

amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_16?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ethernet%20to%20wifi%20adapter&sprefix=ethernet+to+wifi%2Caps%2C272&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aethernet%20to%20wifi%20adapter

depends a good solution is home plugs (those things you plug into the wall and they use your home electrics as a make shift network) there relatively cheap and better than wifi. and simple to use plug 1 in upstairs run a cable to the back of your router or any switch on your network. plug 2nd in downstairs and run to your mining gear or a switch if you want more ports.

the only other solutions are a wifi bridge which will drop packets and not be stable over long periods of time
or a long cable, by far the best solution and the cheapest but the most hassle (its worth doing this in my opinion) hell iv just hidden them under the carpet and on the outside of the house. most are water proof and do well at coping with weather aslong as you dont stick a nail through them ther pretty robust

Powerline adapters.  I have them here, they work well.  I've got 4 old 200M no-name ones and 2 AV500+ TPLink ones all working together, no issues at all.  My miners are hooked up through them, my HTPCs stream HD video from my NAS across them. 

Funny you mention the switch thing because that was somethin I discussed in another thread, already got a 24port switch and some patch cable that should be here on the 5th. Basically the "setup" I wanted to use upstairs I now want to move downstairs where I can easily get to plugs I wana get added on two new breakers, had a rambling about that lastnight here (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=355444.msg3802480#msg3802480).

This is a crude drawing I did up that I was gonna show someone else I was talking to that works in the IT field that I try no to bother too much, he didn't sugest the range extender used in the mockup but someone on Yahoo Answers did. I asked this qustion in a few places out of boredom. The extender does seem like it would work, it not only would boost the wifi throughout the house and into the yard some but the ones I've looked at also have a singular ethernet port I could use for my needs as seen in the mockup.

http://www.eojmarket.com/NonForumStuff/images/ethernet_switch_options.bmp

FWIW, the home plugs thing is a nicee idea and one I considered but wouldn't really work for me due to their sheer size and the plugs already used that would have to be removed to make that kind of setup work.

You can only run half bandwidth when using wireless routers like that. I've never done it, but it could be a useless connection for mining, or it could work just fine.

You need a wireless bridge

http://sw.nohold.net/Linksys/Images/4194-002.png

Sorry if I'm makin this more difficult than it needs to be but...

1. Why for my own curiosity wouldnt the extender work usin the patch cable to the swith... it would still be connected to the home network wouldnt it ?
2. Half bandwidth ? You mean in the mockup settup I made, the setup you showed whih is the same except a bridge is used or both regardless of equipment used ?
3. Could be useless for mining, I assume you say this because of the half bandwidth thing or all the data coming in and out going over wifi ?

1. I don't follow, what extender are you referring to? In your picture? Yes, that is a wireless bridge and it should work fine. You can use (almost) any old wifi router as a wireless bridge, like my picture.
2. Each modem has to send and receive twice in one second. Half bandwidth is send, half is receive.
3. Not so much the bandwidth, but packet loss as already mentioned. If the wifi signal already has trouble getting downstairs putting a wifi bridge down there really doesn't make the connection stronger. In fact, all you've done is killed half of your bandwidth for resending packets. Your latency could be too high, might get lots of stales?

The wifi signal gets downstairs just fine, I'm just trying to find an easy way to connect the switch downstairs to the home network upstairs without the need to run cable. I just sort of always thought bridges / extenders were the same thing. Ater some quick reading though, it seems bridges can avoid the bandwidth halving / loss your described.

I guess the crossroads I'm at now is finding the best bridge to use that will offer little to no bandwidth loss / halving if any exist.

In he pic you used it showed two bridges being used, one off of a wired router. Since my router is wireless I should need just a single bridge downstairs or for all I know, still need a second connected to the only remaining etherne port on my router upstairs.

in all honesty a home plug is best. using wifi has alot of draw back such as ping so youd get more stale and rejected shares in your mining gear. also even things like bad weather can make wifi picky.

extenders have to constantly relay info with the router on the same channel to extend the range where a bridge is smart enough to send info as an when needed and can send and receive on 2 channels 

I'm actually startin to come to that same conclusion, especially if I don't want lost coin due to bad work relays or something. So it will most likely be the home plug (what do you recomend as the best for mining) or running a wire on the outside of the house which would save some cost in length vs really, really long wiring for inside the house.

If I go the wiring route, I would have to find at least a 100' line (if not longer, still need to masure) that weathers well.

bandwidth shouldn't be a problem.  latency/dropped packets/troubleshooting is your main concern w/ a wireless network.  Normally not a conern w/ regular data, but when latency can cause stale/invalid shares being submitted, and when miners don't respond to packet resend requests (not sure if this is an issue), it can cause problems.  

Best to use a reliable wired connection, so the wall plug would be your best and easiest solution.

I've never got one of those wall plug things to work worth a damn, I suggest you do a lot more reading before deciding on one of those.

30m (100FT) cable runs 1/2 the way around my house on the outside for over 3 years
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/30m-cat-6-rj45-utp-moulded-patch-cable-10-100-gbe

your probably not uk based but there easy to find
300 M is about the limit any longer and youd simply add a powered switch between the cables
cat 6 are a better cable and get one with proper covers not one of those cheap flat cables as they break way to easy.

Looks like running wire will be the best solution for me, did a quick measure and it seems like I will need about 50'. As for a powered switch, the below switch is what I already bought that will be downstairs where all the equipment will be.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127509

This also just hit me, but a regular cat line from the router to the switct wont work, I'm gonna need a 50' croosover / patch cable.

No, you don't need a crossover. A switch is just that, a switch. It switches TX and RX signals, so no need to switch them physically. In fact, most new gigabit LAN ports are now auto-MDIX, meaning they automatically detect the link type and switch the TX/RX appropriately.

I haven't used a cross in years  ;D

That's what someone else told me but also said sometimes a crossover is still needed, I figured it would be the safer bet since if I do have issues using a regular line that I will have wasted the money on it while not being able to use the equipment til the new crossover / patch line shows up.