Mining for dummies... Is permanent internet access needed?

[Pygy]

I plan to build a 5970-based mining rig, but I need to know one thing: Does the miner require permanent net access? If not, how often should it be connected?

I'm wary of the fan noise, and would prefer to install my miner in the basement, but it would be out of the range of my Wifi router, so I'd need a pair of ethernet-power line adapters.

Thanks in advance :-).

[Garrett Burgwardt]

Yes, it must be connected 24/7

[compro01]

I'm wary of the fan noise, and would prefer to install my miner in the basement, but it would be out of the range of my Wifi router, so I'd need a pair of ethernet-power line adapters.

how far out of range?  whomping up a simple pringles can antenna could give you the needed reach

[Pygy]

The Pringle antenna won't do the trick, my Wifi router doesn't have separate antennas.

What is the bandwith consumption?

[wb3]

ever heard about UTP5 cable?

No, but I heard of Cat 5, guess its a geographic thing.

[compro01]

The Pringle antenna won't do the trick, my Wifi router doesn't have separate antennas.

What is the bandwith consumption?

i was meaning on computer you're connecting, not the router.

as for bandwidth, my bandwidth monitor shows for my miners (GPU and CPU, both running in the deepbit pool) and client a total of 470MB downloaded and 1012MB uploaded over the past month.

[mewantsbitcoins]

If you don't mind a small investment, Alfa network adapters are good choice.
For the b/g network I'd recommend: http://www.data-alliance.net/-strse-73/Alfa-AWUS036H-1000mW-USB/Detail.bok
and for the n network : http://www.data-alliance.net/-strse-158/Alfa-AWUS036NH-2000mW-1000mW/Detail.bok

These adapters should be plenty, but in case you still find yourself out of range, there's a cheap and cheerful 9dB antenna for $9.99: http://www.data-alliance.net/-strse-63/Antenna-9dbi-Alfa-RP-dsh-SMA/Detail.bok

[m86]

A router like the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 might be worth looking at if you want to expand your wireless range, ever. It has a built-in amp and will work smashingly with Tomato (or DD-WRT, I suppose).

Also, personally, I would go with an EnGenius EUB-362 EXT over an ALFA Network AWUS036H. The device is generally a better performer for weaker networks (based on my experience, anyway). You would be limited to NDISwrapper usage only in Linux, however, since the device uses the (currently unsupported) Atheros AR5523+AR2112 chipset.

[MoonShadow]

A router like the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 might be worth looking at if you want to expand your wireless range, ever.

I recently got one of these, as they are suggested hardware for a PirateBox.  The device is impressive.