For individuals and business owners who cannot run Ethernet cables in their homes or offices, alternatives like MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) adapters and Powerline adapters offer solutions to improve LAN speeds and latency. This article compares the performance of the Asus MoCA MA-25 and the TP-Link TL-PA411, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of each option, particularly focusing on latency during network traffic.

Issue Description

Many renters, homeowners, and business owners face challenges in achieving high-speed, low-latency network connections without installing Ethernet cabling. Traditional WiFi often cannot meet these needs due to interference and structural barriers. Alternatives like MoCA and Powerline adapters are potential solutions but vary significantly in performance.

MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) uses coaxial cables which are often already installed in many homes. Coaxial cables are the wires that are used to connect TVs to set top boxes and to paid TV services. Many homes already have at least two or more coaxial cable ports. MoCA offers an alternative solution for creating a wired network that does not involve installing new network cables. With the MA-25, you can get up to 2.5 Gbps wired backhaul connection speeds.

I've been using the MoCA for only 30 minutes, so it's still early days in terms of testing for reliability.

My internet connection is Fibre to the Premises with an Aussie Broadband NBN plan in Australia of 1000Mbps down and 50Mbps up. When my computer is connected by ethernet directly to the Google Wi-Fi Router, it gets less than 1ms ping to the router.

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When testing with the MoCA and Powerline adapters, they were connected to a layer 2 unmanaged gigabit switch with 2.5Gbit ethernet Cat5E cables. Yes, I know those cables and the Google Wi-Fi ethernet ports only support 1Gbit. However, our internet speed is 1Gbit and our local ethernet network traffic requirements are below this (at most streaming 1x 4K, 1x 1080p).

Affected Systems

This issue affects home and office networks where users require reliable and fast LAN connections but cannot run Ethernet cables.

Resolution Steps

1. Consider using MoCA adapters, such as the Asus MoCA MA-25, which utilize existing coaxial cables to provide Ethernet-like performance.
2. Avoid using Powerline adapters like the TP-Link TL-PA411 due to significantly higher latency, especially during peak download traffic. High latency can negatively affect voice, video calls, and streaming performance.
3. Evaluate the performance of each solution based on speed and latency metrics to choose the best option for your needs.

Performance Comparison

SPEEDTESTS

The following graphs present the speed and ping test results for both the Asus MoCA MA-25 and the TP-Link TL-PA411.

Latency to Router

The graphs below illustrate the average latency to the router under different conditions (idle, download, upload) for both adapters.

Technology Overview

Coax to Ethernet Adapter (MoCA)

MoCA adapters, such as the Asus MoCA MA-25, use existing coaxial cables to create a wired network connection. This technology leverages the wiring already present in many homes and offices, providing a stable and high-speed connection comparable to Ethernet. It is particularly beneficial in environments where running new Ethernet cables is not feasible.

Ethernet over Powerline

Powerline adapters, like the TP-Link TL-PA411, transmit data over the existing electrical wiring in a building. This method is convenient as it uses the power outlets already available in each room. However, the performance can be significantly affected by the quality of the electrical wiring and the presence of electrical noise, resulting in higher latency and lower speeds compared to MoCA.

Conclusion

If you're doing a new build, install ethernet infrastructure for the best network performance.

Powerline technology is often problematic, even with new wiring. It should be considered a "last resort" for networking.

Powerline adapters are unreliable at best. Several factors influence their performance, including the quality of your house wiring. Ideally, the source and target should be on the same circuit, but even then, the electrical line is filled with noise and interference. In most cases, the source and target are on different circuits, leading to increased transmission times and packet loss. While TCP error correction can help, it has its limits, and performance issues are likely to arise.

For those needing better network performance without running Ethernet cables, MoCA adapters generally offer superior speed and lower latency compared to Powerline adapters. The Asus MoCA MA-25, in particular, provides excellent performance with minimal latency impact during network traffic. In contrast, the TP-Link TL-PA411 Powerline adapter, while convenient, shows significantly higher latency and lower speeds under load, making it less suitable for demanding applications. Therefore, I recommend avoiding Powerline adapters if you require consistent and low-latency performance for activities like voice and video calls, and streaming.

Follow-Up

If you've encountered this issue and followed the steps outlined in this article, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below to share whether this solution helped resolve the problem. Additionally, if you found a different method that worked, we encourage you to share that as well. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us and others who may face similar issues.

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