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Powerline adapters - speed issue

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  • R
    robina80
    last edited by Jul 4, 2014, 9:04 AM

    Hi all,

    Using couple of powerline adapters for my pfsense apu machine, i have the LAN NIC connected to my powerline adapter and i have another one upstairs in my bedroom hooked up to my vlan switch

    Its showing on my pfsense GUI as 10 baseT/UTP , but when i plug in a laptop to it i get a gig on all three ports, also i disconnect it and re connect the ethernet cable but still showing as 10

    Can anyone help me please

    Thanks

    Rob

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    • J
      jasonlitka
      last edited by Jul 4, 2014, 12:27 PM

      Many of those powerline adapters will decrease the port speed at idle.  It's possible that you're either seeing it when there's no traffic going across, or there's some kind of conflict that is preventing it from ramping up.

      Log in to your adapter and see if there's a way to set the ports to 1000FD.  If so, do the same in your pfSense box.

      I can break anything.

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      • R
        robina80
        last edited by Jul 4, 2014, 12:53 PM

        thanks Jason, i will check the powerline adapter and see what i can do

        rob

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        • R
          robina80
          last edited by Jul 4, 2014, 9:54 PM

          Found out it was the cable between the router and the host powerline adapter,

          the laptop was only seeing it as 100meg but pfsense was seeing it as 10meg but as soon as i changed the ethernet cable over with a new one laptop saw it as 1gig but pfsense sees it as 100meg

          Interesting tho when its plugged in the powerline adapter it loses x10, has anyone noticed this?

          Rob

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          • R
            robina80
            last edited by Jul 5, 2014, 10:39 AM

            If anyone wants to know its this -

            tp link av500 mini powerline adapter

            model no: tl-pa411

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            • B
              bennyc
              last edited by Jul 5, 2014, 11:52 AM

              I have a similar model here, also a AV500 (tl-pa4010p), I use them every now and then (lazy patching, allows me to temporary extend any network connection).
              I wouldn't put my money on it, but I think I would have noticed such sort of behaviour. When you say 'plugged into pfSense', what's on that end? (what is your HW?)

              Sure it isn't a wire-mapping issue? Laptops tend to be very forgiving (most do autoMDI-X), firewalls on the other hand…

              4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
              1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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              • R
                robina80
                last edited by Jul 5, 2014, 10:15 PM

                I have a apu 1c board and then a cable between it and the powerline adapter and that was showing as 10megs on the main pfsense dashboard but as soon as i changed the cable its showing as 100megs

                the powerline can do up to 500megs but the pfsense can only do 10/100/1000 so it must downgrade to 100 as it cant do 500?

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                • J
                  jasonlitka
                  last edited by Jul 5, 2014, 10:48 PM

                  500Mbit/s isn't an Ethernet standard.  PowerLine devices that claim 500Mbit/s need to use a Gig-E port.

                  I can break anything.

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                  • R
                    robina80
                    last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 10:50 AM

                    So it should read 500 then as my devices are all 1 gig?

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                    • J
                      jasonlitka
                      last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 2:51 PM

                      @robina80:

                      So it should read 500 then as my devices are all 1 gig?

                      No, if working correctly it should read 1Gbit/s because that is the link speed between you and the adapter, you just won't be able to transfer any more than 500Mbit/s because that is the maximum link speed between your powerline adapters.

                      EDIT:  I just looked up the model you posted.  That adapter has a 10/100 port on it.  Your link speed should be 100Mbit/s, not 1Gbit/s, and your maximum throughput will be limited accordingly.  The 500Mbit/s on the box is pure marketing BS because you'll never come close.  If you're getting a 100Mbit/s link with the cable changed out then it sounds like everything is working correctly.

                      I can break anything.

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                      • B
                        bennyc
                        last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 3:33 PM

                        It should advertise gig speed if it is a gig nic, even though the real throughput will be less.
                        But, to confirm you findings, I quickly plugged on into my APU1C, and it also settles on 100M(fd).

                        No idea why…  ::)

                        4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                        1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                        • J
                          jasonlitka
                          last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 4:03 PM

                          @bennyc:

                          It should advertise gig speed if it is a gig nic, even though the real throughput will be less.
                          But, to confirm you findings, I quickly plugged on into my APU1C, and it also settles on 100M(fd).

                          No idea why…  ::)

                          Read my post above.  The model in question only has a 10/100 port on it.

                          I can break anything.

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                          • B
                            bennyc
                            last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 4:26 PM

                            Hà. Good one… Missed your edit. You solved the mistery by reading the manual...  ;D

                            4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                            1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                            • R
                              robina80
                              last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 6:26 PM

                              now i understand there BS marketing jargon , when they say AV500, the internface is only 10/100, so you will never ever see 500mbps speeds

                              should have really got the AV500 gigabit, least i would have got 500mbps out of them as the interface is a gig

                              i cant believe i have been had!!!

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                              • J
                                jasonlitka
                                last edited by Jul 6, 2014, 6:54 PM

                                @robina80:

                                now i understand there BS marketing jargon , when they say AV500, the internface is only 10/100, so you will never ever see 500mbps speeds

                                should have really got the AV500 gigabit, least i would have got 500mbps out of them as the interface is a gig

                                i cant believe i have been had!!!

                                Doubt it.  Think of it like WiFi.  Your link speed may be 300Mbit/s but the odds of you getting more than 40-50% of that, even with line of sight to the AP, are pretty long.  The absolute best of the AV500 adapters are capable of about 250Mbit/s WHEN PLUGGED INTO THE SAME POWER STRIP.  They all drop to 60-80Mbit/s in more realistic residential scenarios.

                                If you really need networking over power lines then I'd suggest waiting a month or two for the AV2 MIMO adapters to start hitting the streets (based on QCA7500).  These should be branded as AV1000 or similar and should be capable of 2-3x the rate of older adapters and be able to maintain higher speeds in less optimal scenarios.

                                I can break anything.

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