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Ethernet switches


TigerTedd

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This is a question that I should probably be asking on a specialist nerd forum, but I know there’s a few out and proud nerds on here that can help me too.

my wife has been asked to work from home permanently. But her work are making her jump through a lot of hoops to make that work. 

she needs to be able to plug her phone and her computer directly into the router Ethernet ports. 

this presents a couple of problems. 

A) it’s supposed to go directly into the main router, but that’s in a totally different room and floor of the house to the desk. While it’s been a temporary arrangement, she’s been plugging into a Sky WiFi booster, which has been working fine. 

but her work aren’t happy with that arrangement.

the first question is, are they just being a  bit paranoid and super safe? Do you think we could get away with relying on the WiFi connection between the router and the booster these days?

We’ve got a sky system with the sky q mini box creating a mesh system, if that helps.

alternatively, we’ve got to get the engineers in to move the master socket, which isn’t super expensive, but If it’s possible at all, it puts the router in the worst part of the house, and means we’d need boosters on top of boosters to get internet in the bedrooms.

b) Assuming we can use the booster, it only has one Ethernet port. I assumed I’d need an Ethernet splitter to create a second port, but now I’m reading that what I actually need is an Ethernet switch. 

is this likely to cause issues on top of issues and make the system even less stable? Or are these things pretty robust these days and able to handle one phone and a computer?

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Shouldn't the question be back to the employer? I know these are difficult times but if they have asked her to work from home then I would suggest it is on them to help ensure she has the correct environment to do so, or to be reasonable in what they can expect. Powerline adapters will help, and will ensure you can be seen as connected so if you can make it work then great. If not, I would ask the company to help sort out the solution.

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@BaaLocksis correct - if the 'work from home' idea has been instigated by her employer, then they should be providing whatever tech is needed to make sure she can do that - potentially including a desk, chair, screen, keyboard, mouse, printer....They are supposed to treat a home worker with the same duty of care that they would an office-based employee.....I have been home-based for the past 10 years and get an annual survey to check I have everything I need to work safely and effectively.

Additionally, wireless is fine if they are using a VPN to access any work systems (which protects the network traffic from being seen by dodgy folks) - if they're not using a VPN, then wireless would be a concern - but that suggests they have bigger issues to worry about and probably need to review their security setup before telling people to work away from their offices....

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5 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

Shouldn't the question be back to the employer? I know these are difficult times but if they have asked her to work from home then I would suggest it is on them to help ensure she has the correct environment to do so, or to be reasonable in what they can expect. Powerline adapters will help, and will ensure you can be seen as connected so if you can make it work then great. If not, I would ask the company to help sort out the solution.

There’s actually a strong suspicion among my wife’s colleagues that they’re using this as a way to thin the herd. 

they asked who would be happy to, and could, work from home, so they can save money shutting the office, and therefore save a couple of jobs. Unsurprisingly 99% said they could. So they released a pod cast stressing that people really need to think about whether or not they really can and have considered the practicalities. 

I think they were expecting more to say they can’t and make they’re decision easy for them.

they’ve given bicycle grants to some staff to help them commute to the one remaining physical office, but they’re providing no extra help or equipment to those being asked to work from home. 

thing is, they also want to see the set up before they’ll confirm that the employee ticks all the boxes and can work from home, but lots of staff are refusing to go to the expense of buying desks and having electricians in until the job is actually guaranteed.

im quite tempted by the 50m cable up the stairs plan cos there’s no guarantee they won’t decide to make everyone redundant in 6 months time anyway. 

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44 minutes ago, TigerTedd said:

There’s actually a strong suspicion among my wife’s colleagues that they’re using this as a way to thin the herd. 

they asked who would be happy to, and could, work from home, so they can save money shutting the office, and therefore save a couple of jobs. Unsurprisingly 99% said they could. So they released a pod cast stressing that people really need to think about whether or not they really can and have considered the practicalities. 

I think they were expecting more to say they can’t and make they’re decision easy for them.

they’ve given bicycle grants to some staff to help them commute to the one remaining physical office, but they’re providing no extra help or equipment to those being asked to work from home. 

thing is, they also want to see the set up before they’ll confirm that the employee ticks all the boxes and can work from home, but lots of staff are refusing to go to the expense of buying desks and having electricians in until the job is actually guaranteed.

im quite tempted by the 50m cable up the stairs plan cos there’s no guarantee they won’t decide to make everyone redundant in 6 months time anyway. 

As @Gaspode says, it's on the firm.

My wife has to use the company VPN, with two stage authentication via her work mobile. She works for the CIO/COO of a multi national finance company, so everything they do is heavily regulated both here and abroad, yet they have no problem with employees using WiFi networks to WFH, so it's obviously not a concern.

We've had to buy bits and bobs, like a standing desk, noise cancelling cans and an office chair, but compared to the cost of commuting it's worth it, and even those they'd pay for if pushed.

It does sound like they're looking for excuses, and the easy thing is not to give them one, given it's only a few quid expense. Use a powerline, make sure it's got an ethernet port.

They work perfectly well with extension leads too, even though it's not recommended, we've got one at the bottom of the garden for WiFi and lights.

 

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2 hours ago, ariotofmyown said:

On a similar subject, can any recommend a decent webcam in the 30ish quid price range? Tried to get Logitech ones at that price but out of stock everywhere.

Their models at around 30 squid or less are: C270, C310, B525 and the C525. Let me know which one you favour and I'll see if I can find you one from one of the trade only vendors.

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22 minutes ago, GboroRam said:

Buy a cable. Use the switch and don't tell them. Say you used the cable every time. 

10 and 20m cables aren't very expensive. More than likely they will be long enough. 

That was actually my plan a. I like the look of these power lines though. Looking at a few and I might get one to hardwire my tv and sky box too, for more steady streaming. 

However, I don’t think even they’re good enough for her work. As good as power lines are, they still can’t guarantee the same stability as a direct Ethernet cable.

So I’m going to have to buy the long cables for show, and then use the power line anyway, I think. 

Only problem now is that I told her to lie on her application email and say the router is next to the computer, thinking we’d just sort it out properly when everything is confirmed. So there’s going to have to be some creative ‘when I said ‘next to’ I meant a simple case of a 50m Ethernet cable away,’ when they start asking awkward questions to see the set up on a zoom call. 

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1 hour ago, 86 Schmokes & a Pancake said:

Their models at around 30 squid or less are: C270, C310, B525 and the C525. Let me know which one you favour and I'll see if I can find you one from one of the trade only vendors.

Actually I've set my phone up as the webcam and that seems to work ok. Thanks anway

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19 minutes ago, TigerTedd said:

That was actually my plan a. I like the look of these power lines though. Looking at a few and I might get one to hardwire my tv and sky box too, for more steady streaming. 

However, I don’t think even they’re good enough for her work. As good as power lines are, they still can’t guarantee the same stability as a direct Ethernet cable.

So I’m going to have to buy the long cables for show, and then use the power line anyway, I think. 

Only problem now is that I told her to lie on her application email and say the router is next to the computer, thinking we’d just sort it out properly when everything is confirmed. So there’s going to have to be some creative ‘when I said ‘next to’ I meant a simple case of a 50m Ethernet cable away,’ when they start asking awkward questions to see the set up on a zoom call. 

Get a longer cable from the wall to the router. Move the router. 

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24 minutes ago, TigerTedd said:

That was actually my plan a. I like the look of these power lines though. Looking at a few and I might get one to hardwire my tv and sky box too, for more steady streaming. 

However, I don’t think even they’re good enough for her work. As good as power lines are, they still can’t guarantee the same stability as a direct Ethernet cable.

So I’m going to have to buy the long cables for show, and then use the power line anyway, I think. 

Only problem now is that I told her to lie on her application email and say the router is next to the computer, thinking we’d just sort it out properly when everything is confirmed. So there’s going to have to be some creative ‘when I said ‘next to’ I meant a simple case of a 50m Ethernet cable away,’ when they start asking awkward questions to see the set up on a zoom call. 

You've moved her working area since the form got filled in. 

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33 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

Get a longer cable from the wall to the router. Move the router. 

Seemingly makes more sense to have one long wire going downstairs, rather than two log wires going upstairs. But then we’ve can’t get WiFi in the bedrooms. We’d end up with boosters upon boosters. 

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If you're using an Ethernet phone, make sure whatever switch you decide to buy is PoE (Power over Ethernet). Alternatively, I assume you might be able to use a softphone (depending on the phone system the work has) which negates the need for PoE and connecting the phone up anyway.

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