Best way to get network connection from one building to another?

[Eric_Cartman]

I bought a house with a seperate building on the property.

I'm remodeling the building into a small one bedroom apartment to rent out since I live in a college town and apartments are in short supply.

Eventually it might turn into a mancave later on down the line.

Now my problem is getting internet out to the building.

The building is about 60 ft away from the main house.

I figure I have 4 options.

WiFi
Probably the easiest option.
I would not have to run any wire between the buildings but I doubt I'd get close to gigabit speed and I pay for gigabit internet.

Cat6
Probably the obvious option.
I'd have to run the cable, but it would be good for 10G and I'm getting into that.
But I worry about the durability of Cat6 cable running outdoors.
I know they make outdoor cable but that's expensive stuff and it doesn't seem that durable to me.

Coax MoCa
This one has the benefit that I can run one cable and get internet and TV out to the building and Coax seems really durable to me even outdoors.
I just don't know how the speeds of these devices really are.
If I get a 2.5G kit would I get 2.5G speeds or is it like WiFi where the speeds are advertised speed are bogus?

Fiber
I think the most expensive option.
I could get 10G for sure.
I would need to run conduit to run the fiber through and the trancievers on each end and fiber is fragile and expensive stuff.

I am really considering MoCa the most because it seems to be the best balance of easy install with good speeds and gets me a TV connection at the same time.

But my biggest question is do these things actually give their advertised speeds or at least close?

 

[Nuckles56]

Why not run cat 6 and just put it in conduit so you have it protected and don't have to worry at all about the durability of the cable

 

[Jack1n]

If both buildings are on the same power circuit, you could use a powerline network adapter.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yeah, plastic PVC conduit is pretty inexpensive. But I would still recommend using CAT-6 designed for outdoor use. HOWEVER, the problem with such conduit is moisture/condensation building up inside. This is why cable companies use pressurized cable conduits with air dryers. That's a bit extreme here but I would still try to configure some form of air flow from one end to the other using a small fan - assuming all your outdoor exposed conduit connections are truly sealed, weather tight.

If you are going to run cable, I recommend you don't worry about the budget. Best to do it right the first time than having to replace it a few years down the road - not only in terms of $$$ but wear and tear on the older body.

Another solution is using directional wifi antennas designed for outdoor use.

A powerline network adapter might work, but I have had mixed results with those. The older the existing wiring, the poorer the results.

 

[1freedude]

I vote MoCa. Make sure you get "chip level compatibility." Some adapters will hobble 2.5 down to a crawl if the radios dont play nice. Does the router have a built in adapter for video and data, or will you use a separate matched pair?

I have fiber, but not TV, and am considering doing the same as you, but my outbuilding has a coax run already, I just have to find the house-side end. The "matching adapter" to my router is 200 bucks, but it has wifi-6 access point and a couple 1Gbps RJ-45s. Too steep for my liking, especially since i dont subscribe to any video services that warrants it.

Regarding actual throughput, if the coax is in good shape, and the splitters are rated for the frequency used, it will hold up to the claimed speed.

 

[xcescxa]

From what ive seen, schools, and hotels usually use this as a viable option. Wifi extender (Access point). They use ceiling ones. Schools and hotels are pretty large and cover a large area. This is just a thought.

 

[erocker]

Outdoor cat 6 cable from building to building. If not enough clearance for that, dig in a conduit and run it that way. Wifi will work at 60ft, it's just up to you if you want to go that route or do the work.

 

[claes]

I would go with MoCa or CAT but you can also do >60ft and maintain gigabit speeds with wireless. I’d look at Ubiquiti if you wanted to go that route.

 

[plastiscɧ]

i would opt for the coaxial cable outdoors. it has been tried and tested on satellite antennas for years. in terms of speed, i also tend to go for it because 2.5G is still utopian at the moment. however, it is an investment in the future that does not have to be replaced right away if development progresses faster than expected.

fiber optics is not yet the standard that is used in many households and will not be a future topic from the provider. and as already mentioned, too expensive.

I would change the category 6 cable, if you choose it, to an 8.1, because they are better shielded and have a better finish and are not necessarily more expensive.
the big disadvantage of these cables, however, is that they are made of quite a lot of copper - which means that the longer the cable, the more the internet speed attenuation increases.

 

[eidairaman1]

I bought a house with a seperate building on the property.

I'm remodeling the building into a small one bedroom apartment to rent out since I live in a college town and apartments are in short supply.

Eventually it might turn into a mancave later on down the line.

Now my problem is getting internet out to the building.

The building is about 60 ft away from the main house.

I figure I have 4 options.

WiFi
Probably the easiest option.
I would not have to run any wire between the buildings but I doubt I'd get close to gigabit speed and I pay for gigabit internet.

Cat6
Probably the obvious option.
I'd have to run the cable, but it would be good for 10G and I'm getting into that.
But I worry about the durability of Cat6 cable running outdoors.
I know they make outdoor cable but that's expensive stuff and it doesn't seem that durable to me.

Coax MoCa
This one has the benefit that I can run one cable and get internet and TV out to the building and Coax seems really durable to me even outdoors.
I just don't know how the speeds of these devices really are.
If I get a 2.5G kit would I get 2.5G speeds or is it like WiFi where the speeds are advertised speed are bogus?

Fiber
I think the most expensive option.
I could get 10G for sure.
I would need to run conduit to run the fiber through and the trancievers on each end and fiber is fragile and expensive stuff.

I am really considering MoCa the most because it seems to be the best balance of easy install with good speeds and gets me a TV connection at the same time.

But my biggest question is do these things actually give their advertised speeds or at least close?

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[Bill_Bright]

i would opt for the coaxial cable outdoors.

I don't see how coaxial cable can be used in a practical manner to feed Internet access from the main building out to a distant building (unless going with 3g/4g or something similar), which is the issue in this situation.

Coaxial cable is what is used by the ISP to provide service to a customer's gateway device (typically the modem). Yes, it is used for satellite and other antennas but then that signal is fed to a tuner or modem, not a computer. A home network only uses one modem and the OP's is already in his house. You don't use coaxial to go from the house out to out-building. That has to be done via Ethernet cable, wifi extender, long range wifi directional antenna, or powerline adapters. An external wifi antenna might use coax, but that is only locally.

 

[plastiscɧ]

true. when i read your opinion i def. agree.
maybe there are different standards in network-techniques on our continents as well.
i mean germany is net-speed wise and covering the land with broadband and highspeed def. a 3rd world-country.
i just opted one out of the 3 existing choices with the knowledge out of the above described. the fact of the possibility to realize the physics is not in my responsibility then. some sort of lazyness
sry

@Bill_Bright

 

[TheUn4seen]

For a 60ft distance just get a cat6 dual jacket direct burial cable. I used this kind of cable, but cat5e and around 100m, to connect my wife's parents house to their neighbors. No conduit, just buried 50cm below the surface in a rather wet area and it's coming up on ten years with no issues whatsoever. Highly recommended as a cheap and extremely robust solution.

 

[1freedude]

I don't see how coaxial cable can be used in a practical manner to feed Internet access from the main building out to a distant building (unless going with 3g/4g or something similar), which is the issue in this situation.

Coaxial cable is what is used by the ISP to provide service to a customer's gateway device (typically the modem). Yes, it is used for satellite and other antennas but then that signal is fed to a tuner or modem, not a computer. A home network only uses one modem and the OP's is already in his house. You don't use coaxial to go from the house out to out-building. That has to be done via Ethernet cable, wifi extender, long range wifi directional antenna, or powerline adapters. An external wifi antenna might use coax, but that is only locally.

In Eric Cartman's case, RG-6 or RG-11 is absolutely a practical manner to feed data in the form of ethernet and/or video, either from a DVR or subscribed video service. One minute of your friend google will explain it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I know what google says. I stand by my statement - to include my original suggestions. Coaxial is not a practical method. But IMO, outdoor grade CAT-6 or directional antennas with wifi are the best, most practical solutions.