[SOLVED] Will 2.5Gbps Virgin Hub 5 ethernet make a difference to powerline?

[andyodell]

Been offered to upgrade to a Virgin Hub 5 (not that keen yet as still in beta I think) but will the 2.5Gbps ethernet on it improve speeds on the Develo 1200 wifi/ethernet powerline that I have installed?

 

[bill001g]

No for a number of reasons.

First the route/modem likely only has gigabit lan ports much like your current router. It might have a 2.5g wan port but that just means 2 lan ports can run at 1gbit not a single lan port can run at 2.5g.

I know of no powerline unit that has 2.5g ports...some moca devices do.
Your end device likely has only gigabit ports and even if it does have 2.5g ports if you plug it into a powerline with 1gbit ports it will drop back to 1gbit
Much more important the very fastest powerline units are lucky to get maybe 300mbps and many times less because of how the electrical wires run.

Finally many things on the internet can not go that fast. Many servers have artificial limitations to prevent someone with a fast connection from monopolizing all the server bandwidth. Others there are other technical limitations. Many applications say netflix or youtube only use what they need, like 30mbps max, and will not perform differently on a faster connection.

In general most people don't need more than 100mbps. Faster connections are nice if you say download some very large game but how often do you actually do that.

 

[andyodell]

No for a number of reasons.

First the route/modem likely only has gigabit lan ports much like your current router. It might have a 2.5g wan port but that just means 2 lan ports can run at 1gbit not a single lan port can run at 2.5g.

I know of no powerline unit that has 2.5g ports...some moca devices do.
Your end device likely has only gigabit ports and even if it does have 2.5g ports if you plug it into a powerline with 1gbit ports it will drop back to 1gbit
Much more important the very fastest powerline units are lucky to get maybe 300mbps and many times less because of how the electrical wires run.

Finally many things on the internet can not go that fast. Many servers have artificial limitations to prevent someone with a fast connection from monopolizing all the server bandwidth. Others there are other technical limitations. Many applications say netflix or youtube only use what they need, like 30mbps max, and will not perform differently on a faster connection.

In general most people don't need more than 100mbps. Faster connections are nice if you say download some very large game but how often do you actually do that.

Thanks. This makes sense.

The info page for the Hub 5 says "The router supports multi-gigabit speeds and comes with a 2.5Gbps ethernet port". Currently the WiFi on the Develo gives me a speed of about 90 from the 200 that get from the router on its own upstairs. I just thought if a higher output would give a more stable/push a better speed down the powerline with less loss.

 

[bill001g]

You will get the same 90mbps unfortunately. Powerline networks for some reason get nowhere close to the theoretical numbers. If you have coax cables you can use moca. Those can easily get gigabit speeds and maybe even more with the 2.5g adapters.
This is made even worse when you run wifi from the remote powerline it adds another layer where you are getting data loss.

Your limit is the powerline units. It is like hooking a big highway onto a 1 lane road. Doesn't help to add more lanes to the big highway when all the cars still have to pass through the one lane road.