I'm looking for an affordable router (att fiber modem) to install opendns for kids devices, nordvpn for the network, and pierce the walls of my 3400 sq ft brick and wood home. Any suggestions? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 9 months ago by Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/techsupport@lemmy.world

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[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 7 points 9 months ago

The area sounds like you need a mesh network for it to run properly, the router itself shouldn't be a problem besides that.

[-] philboydstudge@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

This is what you want, op. Realistically, covering a space like this means running some cable and using it to connect everything. You'll have one router that connects to the fiber gateway then probably two or more access points connected to the router, those can be old routers if you have one or more laying around, or just WAPs (wireless access points).

[-] lud@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

Using wired access points is always way better than a wireless mesh system, it does bring so some difficulty in potentially pulling cable though the wall or ok the outside. If that can be overcome, it's WAY better.

[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago

Yes thats true but knowing houses like mine cables aren't exactly a good idea. Man my walls are Reinforced Concrete... They block most signals and i cant drill holes in them...

[-] lud@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

Mesh would be terrible if your walls block most signals. Mesh networks are already bad as it is.

The worst thing is that the mesh network nodes constantly need to communicate with each other, and that will slow down any transmissions from devices to nodes.

Check out MOCA networks or even powerline. Moca is ethernet over coaxial so you can reuse old coax cables. Powerline is ethernet over the houses electrical wiring. Powerline is neat but its performance can be very dependent on how old your wiring is and how it's setup, and which outlets you choose. Sometimes it doesn't work at all.

Moca is more expensive but allegedly (haven't used it personally) much more reliable.

You could also do what I did and replace the coax with normal Ethernet cables by using the coax as a pullcord for ethernet.

[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works -1 points 8 months ago

Yeah i know, im working on getting cables into the wall, but thats basically impossible. I bought mesh nodes that can be wired. Powerline is sadly not a good option, it works barely for some reason (cables are basically new) and besides electrical wires there haven't been any wires in the walls in general, the one that had the house before apparently just had some cable laying on the ground... Mesh is currently the only option to get decent speeds around the house.