MoCa Installation

[phawtrey]

I need help figuring out how to setup a MoCa installation using two Actiontec ECB2500c adapters. I am not sure if I understand how these work and would appreciate some help:

I see the MoCa adapter as a bridge between Ethernet Cat 5 and coax cable. That is, the MoCa adapter injects and accepts Ethernet signals to and from a coax cable. The Ethernet signals can coexist with TV signals. In a basic setup, one adapter connects to the router via Ethernet and exchanges Ethernet signals to another adapter at the other end of the coax.

In other words, Ethernet signals and TV signals travel together in the same coax cable.

My system includes a Verizon FIOS coax feed that terminates at a router and two set top boxes. I want to feed an Ethernet signal to a Roku next to one of those set top boxes, two floors away from the router.

So, if I undertand the way these work, the setup at the router is a loop. Coax - Router - Ethernet - MoCa Adapter - Coax. The MoCa adapter is injecting Ethernet back into the same coax feeding the router, in other words.

Am I making sense or have I completely misunderstood these MoCa devices?

 

[stevech]

I need help figuring out how to setup a MoCa installation using two Actiontec ECB2500c adapters. I am not sure if I understand how these work and would appreciate some help:

I see the MoCa adapter as a bridge between Ethernet Cat 5 and coax cable. That is, the MoCa adapter injects and accepts Ethernet signals to and from a coax cable. The Ethernet signals can coexist with TV signals. In a basic setup, one adapter connects to the router via Ethernet and exchanges Ethernet signals to another adapter at the other end of the coax.

In other words, Ethernet signals and TV signals travel together in the same coax cable.

My system includes a Verizon FIOS coax feed that terminates at a router and two set top boxes. I want to feed an Ethernet signal to a Roku next to one of those set top boxes, two floors away from the router.

So, if I undertand the way these work, the setup at the router is a loop. Coax - Router - Ethernet - MoCa Adapter - Coax. The MoCa adapter is injecting Ethernet back into the same coax feeding the router, in other words.

Am I making sense or have I completely misunderstood these MoCa devices?

MoCA is simply a replacement for CAT5 cable.
IP over power wiring is the same, but the power lines are noisy and have signal "eaters".

MoCA essentially takes the ethernet data frames which may be IP packets, translates the bits to radio frequency signals, puts this on the coax at a frequency that probably doesn't interfere with TV frequencies, and then vice-versa. It's kind of like WiFi on coax (no antennas).

From a network perspective, MoCA, like IEEE 802.3 ethernet, is a layer 2 device. It knows about data frames, but does not know what's in the frames, be that IP or any of the other layer 3 protocols.

Using layer 2 devices is nice: My MoCA pair have run for years with 0.0 need for my attention.

 

[phawtrey]

Thank you - understanding network layers is key

Does it matter where in a coax installation the MoCa device adds the Ethernet layer? For example, can it connect to the point where the coax feeds the router? All the diagrams I have seen by manufacturer's leave out the TV signal and show only the coax as a dedicated Ethernet carrier.

 

[CaptainSTX]

If you are using a current generation Actiontec modem/router from FIOS then it is serving as the Ethernet injector on your coaxial network. It uses this capability to provide network connectivity to your Verizon set top boxes.

If you want to add additional Ethernet connectivity elsewhere in your home simply splice a coaxial splitter into cable anywhere downstream from your Actiontec router and hook one of your MOCA adapters to one of the legs of the splitter. You then can connect any Ethernet capable device to the Ethernet jack on your MOCA adapter.

You can use the other adapter elsewhere in your network where you need connectivity.

Be sure all the splitters you use are capable of passing at least 2 Ghz.