Setting Up a PC on Your Home Network Using Few Cables, Ethernet Connections, and Power Sockets
Setting Up a PC on Your Home Network Using Few Cables, Ethernet Connections, and Power Sockets
Hey everyone. What thoughts do you have on my current arrangement? I’m trying to add a fourth desktop to my home network but haven’t found a suitable spot yet. Here’s the layout I’ve sketched: the wired network section is shown below. My ISP modem has four ports—two for mesh access points, one for a set-top box, and one for a home theater PC. Desktops 2 and 3 are connected via Ethernet to a mesh AP, each AP also has two ports: one for the desktop and one for the ISP router. The mesh APs can use either wired or wireless backhaul. Room 3 is next to room 1, so it receives a strong Wi-Fi signal and doesn’t need another AP there. I’m planning to add another desktop in room 3, but I still don’t have a place to plug it in. I’ve thought about these choices: 1) Get a network switch for room 3—problem is I lack another power outlet, so I might need an extra cord or a 3-gang outlet. 2) Purchase a USB/PCI Wi-Fi adapter for desktop 4 and connect wirelessly—issue is gigabit Wi-Fi is too costly locally; cheap adapters only reach about 150-300Mbps. 3) Repurpose the old 100Mbps ISP router as a switch for desktops 3 and 4, adding three extra ports—but that caps me at 100Mbps plus the existing issues. 4) Keep using the existing spare mesh AP, which connects to AP 1 wirelessly. Problem: I power it with a 12V cable from inside the PC, which takes about 10 minutes to boot, so I can’t access the internet for ten minutes after opening the PC. It also only supports up to 250-400Mbps. Right now, I’m leaning toward option 4.