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Proposed MOCA 2.5 set up - Would this work?

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monisriz

New Around Here
Have recently moved to a house and had ATT install Gigabit Fiber. They provided us their own ONT/Router combo (BGW320) which I have set up in a IP-Passthrough mode and using Netgear Orbi Router (Router mode) and one Orbi satellite. The backhaul between satellite and router is currently wireless.

The house has CAT5E drops in a few places downstairs but they are mostly located in weird spots sadly and terminated in to RJ11 phone jacks. I can replace these with RJ45 plates/jacks but the existing jacks seem to have been installed with landlines in mind and not where one would ideally place a router or a media device of any kind…

I am looking to get wired connectivity between Router and Satellite as well as to some of the locations in the house to leverage as much of the bandwidth as possible. I did take a look in the attic to see if dropping CAT6 cables to the desired locations would be possible but it doesn’t seem very friendly for walking around. Thought about Powerline adapters but they’ve been a bit underwhelming for me in the past as far as throughput is concerned. Read about MOCA 2.5 adapters and they seem like a good solution.

The adapters I am looking at are:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYDG7WN/?tag=snbforums-20

Would really appreciate if you guys can provide some insight into the proposed set up below and see if it would even work. Any suggestions to improve this set up would be great.

Current setup:

ATT Fiber >> BGW320 | BGW320 (LAN port) < Ethernet cable (in wall) > (RJ45 outlet Master BR) > Netgear Orbi Router > (wireless/wifi backhaul) Orbi satellite > PC, NAS.
Everything else (phones, tablets, laptops) is connected via WiFi currently. The bandwidth is not bad for general purpose but would most likely prove insufficient as the bandwidth consumption goes up once we unpack and connect media devices and TVs via Wifi.

Proposal:

ATT Fiber >> BGW320 > BGW320 (LAN port) < Ethernet Cable > (Ethernet port) MOCA 2.5 adapter (MOCA COAX connector) > 3-way COAX splitter > RG6 cables going to 3 different COAX wall jacks (L1, L2, L3)
L1 (Living Room - downstairs): COAX wall jack > MOCA 2.5 adapter > Ethernet cable > Orbi Router > TV, NVIDIA shield, etc.
L2 (Home Office - upstairs): COAX wall jack > MOCA 2.5 adapter > Ethernet cable > Orbi Satellite > PC, NAS, Printer, etc.
L3: (Master BR - downstairs): COAX wall jack > MOCA 2.5 adapter > Ethernet cable > Switch > TV, Apple TV, game console, etc.

Considerations:
  1. I do not have any TV service and media consumption is mostly Netflix and media stored on the NAS locally and played using media devices such as NVIDIA Shield or Vero4K+.
  2. Living room - not possible for me to run Ethernet cable here. COAX is ideally situated where TV would go. Would like to have either the Router or Satellite placed here for WiFi coverage purposes.
  3. Master BR - has ethernet jack but is weirdly placed on the wall opposite to where the TV would go. COAX is situated in the appropriate spot.
  4. Home office - Can run ethernet cable here but would like to avoid the hassle if COAX can do the job.
  5. BGW320 (Master BR Closet) - RG supplied by ATT doesn’t have COAX connector. Fiber line is coming from outside to an external wall in the Master BR closet (one corner of the house). Closet has COAX and CAT5E cables coming in to a panel box right next to the RG. BGW320 is set to IP-Passthrough and is passing the WAN IP to the Orbi Router connected with in-wall CAT5E and placed in Master BR. Would like to move this router out to the Living room to have better coverage to rest of the downstairs as mentioned above.
Questions:
  1. Will connecting MOCA adapter directly to BGW320 via ethernet cable work?
  2. Will this proposed setup allow Orbi Satellite to connect to the Orbit Router in a “wired backhaul” connection?
  3. Will devices connected in various locations such as NVIDIA Shield (L1) be able to “see” or connect to the NAS (L2)?
  4. Any filters/amplifiers needed for this setup? Where?
  5. Are the MOCA adapters linked above good enough? Can I do better?
 
Look at the Actiontec or GoCoax install drawings.
i have att Gbit fiber as well.
i run a GoCoax from the older style ONT (via and ethernet cable into the GoCoax ) upstairs to my wiring closet over RG6 coax where i have another GoCoax modem (point to point). THen ethernet connection into the ATT router wan port. From that i ethernet 1 lan connection to my Cisco RV325 router and then to my 1Gbit managed switch. i use VLANs on my network. From there i have point to point MOCA2.0 bonded pair connections to each place i need them.
Works great at up to 933 Mbit/sec bandwidth throughout. The MOCA 2.0 connection may slow things down a little to end users, but nobody has noticed.

1) Yes, but you want a dedicated MOCA connection to the Router to/from to maintain maximum bandwidth to ATT. i would use MOCA2.5 for this connection.
2) any pair of MOCA modems is equivalent to an ethernet cable. So, yes.
3) This is a function of having all the devices on the same IP address space - e.g. 192.168.x.yyy where x is the same across all the devices you want to talk to each other.
4) If the coax is dedicated to MOCA, then no. If you are sharing the coax with digital cable tv (DocCis 3.0 or 3.1) then you will have to pay more attention and block the MOCA signal from going out to the cable tv co. using a MOCA2 POE filter.

Any splitters on the coax that MOCA 2 or 2.5 is running on must be certified as MOCA2 compliant. Holland makes this type of splitter. You can find links in other threads here.

5) i use GoCoax. It has been fine. There are others available now. GoCoax was the first available MOCA2.5 modems for retail. The newer moca2.5 modems may have some other capabilities. i have not investigated.
 
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Thank you @degrub for the detailed and thorough explanation. Really appreciate you taking the time to respond.
I understand the network layout you have described and points #2-#5 in your post but I am not quite certain about point #1: "you want a dedicated MOCA connection to the Router to/from to maintain maximum bandwidth to ATT".

Do you mean something like this:

Fiber patch -> BGW320 (IP passthrough mode)-> CAT6 -> (WAN Port) Orbi Router in router mode -> CAT6 -> MOCA #1 -> COAX -> 3-way Splitter -> COAX to 3 locations around the house as in OP

This is a bit different than what I thought would work in the OP. Mainly, placement of Orbi Router and the first MOCA adapter. My "wish" is to have the Orbi Router (in router mode) placed in a more central location (e.g. living room) rather than the master bedroom closet in the far corner of the house and have it connected to the ATT gateway (IP passthrough mode) using a MOCA adapter (both located in this MBR closet) over COAX using MOCA adapters at both ends. I hope this very poor diagram below would explain better than words about what I wish to achieve :). Do you think this is possible?
 
BGW320 is set to IP-Passthrough and is passing the WAN IP to the Orbi Router connected with in-wall CAT5E and placed in Master BR. Would like to move this router out to the Living room to have better coverage to rest of the downstairs as mentioned above.
Critical issue: Current/preferred setup has the BGW320 passing a WAN connection via Ethernet to the Orbi Router.

The suggested setup in the OP is using MoCA adapters to make this WAN link between the BGW and Orbi Router in the Living Room ... which is FINE. However, this would be a MoCA WAN network connection, strictly for linking the BGW320 and router, with the MoCA adapter at the router location connecting to the WAN Ethernet port on the router.

If you're also looking to leverage MoCA for LAN purposes -- additional wired device connectivity, backhaul between Orbi devices, etc. -- then a separate "LAN" MoCA network would be required, requiring a second MoCA adapter connected to the router LAN and to the coax plant connecting to wherever wired LAN connectivity is needed.

If a dedicated coax line is available for the MoCA WAN connection, that would be best. Otherwise, with all the MoCA adapters sharing the same coax plant, you'd then have to configure the MoCA adapters associated with these two distinct MoCA networks to keep them distinct, setting one network to use the D-Low frequency range and the other D-High -- limiting maximum throughput for both networks.
 
Fiber patch -> BGW320 (IP passthrough mode)-> CAT6 -> (WAN Port) Orbi Router in router mode -> CAT6 -> MOCA #1 -> COAX -> 3-way Splitter -> COAX to 3 locations around the house as in OP
This is the more typical setup, with the MoCA devices extending the router's *LAN* connectivity over the shared coax plant.

My "wish" is to have the Orbi Router (in router mode) placed in a more central location (e.g. living room) rather than the master bedroom closet in the far corner of the house and have it connected to the ATT gateway (IP passthrough mode) using a MOCA adapter (both located in this MBR closet) over COAX using MOCA adapters at both ends.
As I tried to explain in my prior post, this is possible, but not without additional MoCA adapters, to effect distinct WAN and LAN MoCA networks, *and* either an additional (second) coax run between the central junction and the Living Room or configuring the MoCA adapters for two separate MoCA networks, as shown in the following diagram:

he2UPHT - tweaked and highlighted.jpg
 
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So ... as a workaround to simplify the MoCA setup and maximize performance, can Ethernet connectivity from the router's LAN port(s) be extended to another room via Cat* cabling, allowing you to relocate the "LAN" MoCA bridge from the Living Room and dedicate the Living Room coax run to the "WAN" MoCA bridge?
 
This is the more typical setup, with the MoCA devices extending the router's *LAN* connectivity over the shared coax plant.


As I tried to explain in my prior post, this is possible, but not without additional MoCA adapters, to effect distinct WAN and LAN MoCA networks, *and* either an additional (second) coax run between the central junction and the Living Room or configuring the MoCA adapters for two separate MoCA networks, as shown in the following diagram:

View attachment 27227
Thank you for your valuable input @krkaufman. The diagram/changes you did is very helpful. Just a question about the "2x" in yellow box - is that a 2-way splitter to split the line from main splitter to wall jack (L1) or do you mean a new/second cable run from the main splitter near the ATT RG and MOCA #1 to L1 wall jack?

If it's a new/separate cable run then might as well run CAT6 to the router (L1) and skip the WAN MOCA altogether - but that's not possible due to my lack of attic traversing skills LOL.
But if it is a splitter, then I am very interested as this would solve just about every issue. Would only need to get an additional MOCA adapter and add a 2-way splitter and an extra COAX jack/wallplate.

Edit: @krkaufman - Just saw the new reply - adding CAT* cabling is the main issue in my case. If only the damn attic was a bit more friendlier to walk around, I would have loved to drop CAT6A cables in every room and call it a day. I have gone up there several times during the last few days to figure out a strategy to get to the top plates for each of the rooms but it just doesn't seem possible for me to get over/under the HVAC ducts and then squeezing myself under the diagonal beams(?) or whatever they are called..
 
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edit: moot post absent any additional coax runs or extended Ethernet connectivity.

If a dedicated coax line is available for the MoCA WAN connection, that would be best.
e.g. You'd still need separate "WAN" and "LAN" MoCA adapters, but the isolated coax allows you to avoid special configuration of the adapters and maximum throughput for both networks.

he2UPHT - preferred.jpg
 
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Just a question about the "2x" in yellow box - is that a 2-way splitter to split the line from main splitter to wall jack (L1) or do you mean a new/second cable run from the main splitter near the ATT RG and MOCA #1 to L1 wall jack?
Neither, I believe. It's just a (MoCA 2.0-compliant) 2-way splitter splitting the coax line coming from the Living Room wall jack to the 2 necessary "WAN" and "LAN" MoCA adapters.
 
Just a question about the "2x" in yellow box
FYI... I tweaked that diagram and altered the highlighting. The 2-way splitter is no longer highlighted, in favor of highlighting the MoCA adapters to distinguish between the "WAN" and "LAN" adapters.
 
Otherwise, with all the MoCA adapters sharing the same coax plant, you'd then have to configure the MoCA adapters associated with these two distinct MoCA networks to keep them distinct, setting one network to use the D-Low frequency range and the other D-High -- limiting maximum throughput for both networks.

Per the gocoax help info...
Does the admin GUI also allow configuring the MoCA frequency channel you want the extenders to run on?
Yes, our products can support this. Our device can support MoCA D-band low, D-band high and D-band extend three configurations. By default, we enable all of them. It will setup a 5-channels connection, from 1125MHz to 1625MHz. We know that, many MSO use D-band low 1125MHz to 1225MHz to act as MoCA WAN. You can change our device to use D-band high only, from 1350MHz to 1675MHz, can build a 3-channels connection.
So you'd be doing what is suggested in the goCoax FAQ entry, using one MoCA network for a WAN connection and the other for LAN devices -- though which frequency range you use for WAN and LAN is up to you.

D-Low: 1125-1225 MHz (1 channel) :: 700 Mbps PHY (max 400 Mbps effective)
D-High: 1350-1675 MHz (3 channels) :: 2100 Mbps PHY (max 1000 Mbps effective)

So this arrangement could theoretically work to allow up to a 400 Mbps MoCA WAN connection and 1000 Mbps MoCA LAN throughput, or vice versa ...

... which seems problematic for Gigabit Internet service:
Have recently moved to a house and had ATT install Gigabit Fiber.
 
Is it required that the Orbi be run in "Router" mode, rather than letting the BGW320 be your router (w wireless disabled) and running the Orbi in "AP" mode?
 
Or you could relocate the Orbi router to where the ISP ONT/Router is (in pass through mode) and just add a replacement Orbi AP where the Orbi router was originally ?
Then you have a dedicated MOCA/ethernet backhaul for the Orbit system.

At this point, you are no longer tied down to Orbi, but can use any SMB router/switch/APs to do whatever you want.

If routing cable, either coax or Cat6 is difficult, alarm installers can be a pretty good resource. They just need some experience with CAT6 as there are more restrictions on how that is handled during install. Make sure if someone else installs the cable, that they have it certified as meeting bit rate for 1-10 Gbit/sec depending on what you want.
 
Is it required that the Orbi be run in "Router" mode, rather than letting the BGW320 be your router (w wireless disabled) and running the Orbi in "AP" mode?
Or you could relocate the Orbi router to where the ISP ONT/Router is (in pass through mode) and just add a replacement Orbi AP where the Orbi router was originally ? Then you have a dedicated MOCA/ethernet backhaul for the Orbit system.
Duh! That seems a no-brainer that my late night brain failed to stumble upon. (And I'm guessing the extra expense might be worth it to simplify management of the network, with everything being controllable via the Orbi interface, rather than having to jump between the BGW-320 and Orbi UIs.)

Addl Orbi Satellite.jpg
 
Duh! That seems a no-brainer that my late night brain failed to stumble upon. (And I'm guessing the extra expense might be worth it to simplify management of the network, with everything being controllable via the Orbi interface, rather than having to jump between the BGW-320 and Orbi UIs.)

View attachment 27252
Yes that is the strategy I think I am going with now. Already hunting down an Orbi router - these can be converted to a satellite with a just little bit of effort.
 

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