Networking our new flat

[pagardur]

Hello everybody,

Maybe you can give us some advice. We want to create a network at our new flat covering mainly two different rooms:

- the living room: where we will connect an Xbox, PS3 and TV with ethernet port (no wifi available on this TV).

- the studio: with two computers and a network printer.

My aim was to have every device wired to achieve the highest available speeds (think of online gaming) but I really don't mind setting up wifi if that makes things simpler.

In order to not drill the wall that separates the living room from the studio, I thought of using PLC technology. Everything is clear here except I am still not sure if you can attach a switch to the end plug in order to connect more than one device.

Another option is buying a Dual Band modem-router (to profit from N wifi on the iMac) and setting a wireless Access Point near the TV set. Maybe I could plug both consoles and the TV directly to the AP, but I am not sure if you can attach a switch to an AP. The model I intended to buy has an ethernet port but I thought it could be for input purposes only.

Not sure if I explained myself properly. Thanks anyway!

 

[ftaok]

In order to not drill the wall that separates the living room from the studio, I thought of using PLC technology. Everything is clear here except I am still not sure if you can attach a switch to the end plug in order to connect more than one device.

Netgear makes a power line ethernet system that has a 4-port switch on the receiving end. This might be what you are looking for. They claim up to 200 Mbps speeds.

AMAZON Link

I'm guessing that you're in the UK (since you wrote "flat"). Not sure if this is available in the UK.

Another option is buying a Dual Band modem-router (to profit from N wifi on the iMac) and setting a wireless Access Point near the TV set. Maybe I could plug both consoles and the TV directly to the AP, but I am not sure if you can attach a switch to an AP. The model I intended to buy has an ethernet port but I thought it could be for input purposes only.

Not sure if I explained myself properly. Thanks anyway!

I'm pretty sure this can work with an Airport Extreme (dual-band) plus an Airport Express 11n. You can buy an inexpensive 5-port gigabit switch and connect it to the Airport Express, which is in turn connected to the AEBS. Your printers are connected via USB to the AEBS.

Alternatively (and probably cheaper to boot), you could use the Netgear device above and connect that to one of the AEBS's LAN ports.

One thing about printers ... I personally prefer using USB printer sharing via Airport over connecting the printer using Ethernet. I think you have more choice in terms of printer selection and better compatibility with Mac OS X. From what I've read (granted this was several years ago), if you want to connect to a printer via IP, the driver needs to be written so that IP printing is available. It's a separate driver from the USB driver. If you use Airport Printer sharing, you acutally use the USB driver, which pretty much all printers support.

 

[pagardur]

Thank you, ftaok.

I live in Spain, so I must investigate the available equipment over here.

As for the printer, it must be connected through the LAN because there is also an old Windows computer depending on it.

The printer works superbly on Mac OS X, by the way. It's a Brother HL-2150N currently connected to my DSL modem-router. I downloaded an updated driver for Snow Leopard before installing it and that was all.

 

[ftaok]

Thank you, ftaok.

I live in Spain, so I must investigate the available equipment over here.

As for the printer, it must be connected through the LAN because there is also an old Windows computer depending on it.

The printer works superbly on Mac OS X, by the way. It's a Brother HL-2150N currently connected to my DSL modem-router. I downloaded an updated driver for Snow Leopard before installing it and that was all.

How old is the Windows PC? If it's running XP, all you have to do is load Bonjour and it will be able to access the printer via the AEBS. I think Win2000 is also compatible.

I also have a Brother laser printer and I think it's great. Since you already have it working on the Mac using TCP/IP, then there's no need to mess around. IMHO, Brother offers top notch support for Mac users. They keep updating drivers for Mac OS for many old printers. My HL-1240 is over 10 years old and still works with OS X. Can't say that about other printer manufacturers ... like HP and others.