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remlemasi
Formerly “theelmerguy”
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Irvine, California
 
2007-09-20, 01:40

JohnnyTheA: The copper lines are all still here for voice (we're not using VOIP, just Verizon's service run through FiOS).

srizvi1: If your existing Cat5 wiring is "one big web" in which each terminal is connected to all the other terminals, could you connect the Actiontec upstairs into an upstairs terminal and the Linksys in the basement into a basement terminal and have them be connected to each other through the Cat5 "web"?

As far as the ONT > Actiontec confusion, let me try clear it up as nicely as possible:

The Givens:
ONT to Verizon via FiOS
Actiontec to PCs/Macs via ethernet or wireless
Actiontec to STBs/DVRs via coaxial

The Options (may not really be an option depending on the Verizon tech agent):
ONT to Actiontec via ethernet
OR
ONT to Actiontec via coaxial
NOT both at the same time

Realize that existing coaxial wiring will be made into one big web (using a splitter) that connects all of the following, no matter what (given you subscribe to FiOS TV): ONT, Actiontec, STBs/DVRs

Data (internet) communicates from Verizon FiOS on a certain wavelength (WL 1) to the ONT to the Actiontec through the chosen option (ethernet or coaxial).

Regular TV will feed directly from Verizon FiOS on a different wavelength (WL 2) to the ONT to the STBs/DVRs via the coaxial web (does not pass through the Actiontec). The purpose of including the Actiontec in the coaxial web is for program guide information and for Video On-Demand. When the guide updates or you request a VOD program, the STBs/DVRs contact the Actiontec (through coaxial) which then contacts the ONT (through the chosen option) which requests the information from Verizon FiOS through the data wavelength (WL 1). I believe that guide info goes back that same way in reverse whereas VOD is streamed directly to the STBs/DVRs through WL 2.

With non-VOIP voice plans, the existing copper wiring "web" will be connected directly to the ONT which connects to Verizon FiOS on a third wavelength (WL 3).

Under the "ONT to Actiontec via ethernet" option, the Actiontec never communicates to the ONT through the coaxial web even though they are techinically connected. Under the "ONT to Actiontec via coaxial" option, the Actiontec communicates to the ONT via coaxial, not ethernet, which in most cases is not even existing (speaking of the connection from the ONT to the Actiontec; PCs/Macs will still be connected via ethernet [or wireless]).

The benefits of the "ONT to Actiontec via ethernet" option: you can use a router of choice that would be connected directly to the ONT (so that no internet data passes through the reportedly inferior Actiontec) and the Actiontec would be connected to that router in bridged mode.*

The benefits of the "ONT to Actiontec via coaxial" option: you can relocate the Actiontec to any location where there is a coaxial terminal (provided that the terminal is part of the coaxial web). It is probably easier for a Verizon tech agent to implement this option because many houses have existing coaxial networking that just needs to be made into a web with the simple use of a splitter, whereas the ethernet option requires the Verizon tech agent to wire ethernet cable from the ONT to wherever the customer chooses for the location of the Actiontec.

There is no noticeable speed gain to be had by choosing either option:

"In extensive and independent field trials, MoCA demonstrated more than 110Mbps of throughput in more than 97 percent of outlets tested and more than 80Mbps in 98 percent without any filtering or remediation."
http://www.mocalliance.org/en/aboutus/faq.asp#14

With non-VOIP voice plans, the existing copper wiring "web" will be connected directly to the ONT which connects to Verizon.

*In such a case, the ONT would not actually be connected to the Actiontec directly, but with the chosen router in between. Searchable resources online are available that assist in setting up the chosen router and the Actiontec for this purpose. In cases where a Motorola NIM-100 is used, this is how it would be setup.
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