Network switch with a wifi connection

Question

I've recently moved house, and was delighted to find that the house was already wired with CAT-5e cable in a few rooms, plus a neat little patch-panel in the office!

Unfortunately though, the place where the internet enters the house (i.e. where I need to put the modem) is nowhere near where the patch panel is. I've had a cable guy come out today and he's basically said there's no (easy) way that the connection point can be moved to the office. I also can't (easily) run another network cable from the modem to the patch panel.

So instead, what I want to know is - is there a device I can use that's effectively a network switch, but the incoming signal comes via wifi? i.e. I want the device to be on my wifi network, and then act as a switch so I can plug it into the patch panel. I appreciate that this means I'll be sharing the network bandwidth but I have an AC router so hopefully bandwidth won't be an issue.

Hope that makes sense!

Solution

Many Wi-Fi devices have this mode – usually "range extenders" but occassionally "wireless routers" as well. (The former don't actually have a switch; they're just a bridge between Wi-Fi and a single Ethernet port. You'll need a separate switch, and it's really for the best. The latter usually have a 4-port switch.)

Depending on manufacturer, the option might be called "client mode", "station mode", or sometimes "bridge mode". (The last one often, but not always, means that the device will also provide its own Wi-Fi.)

For example, TP-Link range extenders call it "client mode". Mikrotik general purpose wireless routers call it "bridge mode" (specifically 'station-pseudobridge' in your case). Netgear routers call it "wireless bridge".

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Depending on how the house was built, powerline (Homeplug AV or G.hn) might offer better performance than Wi-Fi bridging, and would avoid the MAC-address weirdness that the wireless bridge mode has.

Finally, you don't necessarily have to run a dedicated cable from the modem/router directly to where the patch panel is. If there's already a cable going from the patch panel to a wall socket somewhere near the modem – just use that!

Comments

[user1686]

Is there CAT-5e Ethernet going from the patch panel to anywhere near the modem? Ethernet cables work the same way in both directions.

[gerrod]

@grawity - no :'( I really don't understand why they didn't run an ethernet cable out to where the modem connects (it would have been the most logical place to have an ethernet cable!)

[CustomX]

@gerrod, could you run a cable along the outside of the house?

[gerrod]

@CustomX - It's possible, but it would be a bit messy! I think the powerline adapter may be the best option.

[CustomX]

@gerrod, depends on how well you install it ;) it will be a lot more stable than powerlines, as they don't always perform

[gerrod]

Thanks for the reply! A powerline network adapter (or whatever the correct term is) might be the way to go - I hadn't thought about that. I'll check into it, thanks!!