LET'S TALK ABOUT – PART 2 NETWORK CONNECTIONS

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LET'S TALK ABOUT – NETWORKING FUNDAMENTALS

PART 2 – NETWORK CONNECTIONS

This 2nd part will explain: network connections

TYPES OF NETWORK CONNECTION

There are various ways you can connect devices in your home network, which offer vastly different performance and have their own pros and cons. Be informed before you purchase.


Ethernet / LAN
A LAN or Ethernet network refer to physical cables which plug into your router or switch through one of the available LAN ports. You are limited by this number, but can expand the network using additional switches (see the next section, Expanding Your Wired Network). LAN cables can achieve speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps (“Gigabit”) easily, though some older computers may be limited to 100 Mbps. In addition, LAN cables can be run up to 100 meters without any degradation in performance, so the only real limiting factor is how many holes in your walls you’re willing to make. If the answer is “none at all”, and you don’t like messy cabling between doorways, read on for alternatives.


Wi-Fi / Wireless LAN
Wireless networking works over radio waves and doesn’t require any wires at all. Although this sounds great in theory, wireless connections often suffer from limited range due to structural elements of a building and interference from other devices.

The latest Wi-Fi standard is 802.11ac (or just AC for short), which promises up to gigabit speeds, though this requires both a compatible router, compatible Wi-Fi devices (the iPhone 6 was the first Apple device to support AC, for instance, so you may find a lot of your devices won’t support it), and ideal conditions. Rather than blindly radiating the same signal out in every direction, 802.11ac (and 802.11n to a lesser degree), allows the router to focus the signal into a beam centred on the remote device – resulting in a faster, more reliable connection.

With a higher latency, more prone to interference and errors, Wi-Fi should only be used when absolutely necessary – such as mobile devices. Cabled connections are always preferable for full size desktops, gaming consoles, and media centers.

Power Line
Power Line networking involves piggybacking a network signal on top of mains power electrical distribution, by manipulating frequencies not used for the AC current. All that’s needed are some inexpensive adapter plugs (such as this model for around $30) which can then be connected to devices by standard Ethernet cable – you don’t need any special drivers.

The network signal itself is carried all over your house through the existing wiring, so it’s a great solution where installing traditional network cabling isn’t possible but you want better performance than wireless.

 
Power Line networking
otherwise known as Ethernet over Power (EoP) – is not to be confused with Power over Ethernet (PoE), which enables small devices to be powered directly over the Ethernet cabling, reducing wiring complexity and useful for things like IP cameras. It requires a compatible router/switch, and unless you need PoE for a specific device, it’s safe to forget about it.


Multiplayer LAN Gaming
For the youth of today, multiplayer is synonymous with “online” gaming, but most games actually allow you to play multiplayer with other devices on your home network. It’s unlikely you’ll have 4 Xbox consoles, but you might have a few old computers that are capable of playing Minecraft. If you have friends with a laptop, you can invite them round and have a LAN party. Here’s my pick of 7 classic games to get your LAN party going, and our ultimate guide to running a LAN party.



Which Should You Use?
In short: using wired Ethernet connections is always preferable. It offers the fastest speed, the best reliability, and the lowest latency. Use wireless only for devices where you don’t have the option, and don’t buy waste money on a fancy wireless-AC router unless you know your devices support it (our advice from 2013 about AC-routers is still relevant today, sadly). Power Line adapters are risky, but may be preferable to wireless if you can’t run cables and aren’t getting good wireless coverage in a specific area of your home – thankfully they’re now relatively cheap (less than $30-$50 for a starter pack), so it’s not a huge loss if they turn out to be useless.


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