We all know that wired networks are inherently more secure and reliable than Wireless, but having CAT 6 pulled is expensive at USD $250+ per run in my area plus the cost of the tech just showing up. This can easily run into thousands unless you have the skills and inclination to do it yourself. Many homes built in the last few decades already have an existing cable infrastructure to support cable and satellite TV prior to streaming taking over. It turns out that there is a technology called MoCA 2.5 (Multimedia over Cable Alliance) that allows a part of the ordinarily unused cable bandwidth. The current generation supports 2.5 GBE, and a new 10 GBE standard has been set, though no adapters at that speed are available yet. In a nutshell you isolate the MoCA 2.5 network by installing a MoCA 2.5 filter at the entry point of your house and a second one just before your cable modem if your ISP handoff is cable. This prevents your MoCA 2.5 traffic from being accessible to others on the cable system and prevents MoCA 2.5 frequencies from interfering with your modem. After that you can place a MoCA 2.5 adapter at any cable connection and get an Ethernet port. If needed you can still connect to a cable device via a splitter and MoCA 2.5 filter. Some adapters have the splitter built in. To connect your router to the MoCA 2.5 network, connect a LAN port to a MoCA 2.5 adapter connected to the cable system. If your ISP is cable, then use a splitter to the cable feed before the MoCA 2.5 filter that feeds the modem. Think of each MoCA 2.5 adapter attached to your cable network as a port on a layer 2 switch. You can use these ports to attach directly to a device or to a layer 2 or layer 3 (managed) switch. So, yes it supports VLANS. Considerations In MoCA 2.5 terminology PoE means Point of Entry and not Power over Ethernet. This confused me at first when I saw the term applied to MoCA 2.5 filters. The filters, BTW are non directional and simply block the MoCA 2.5 frequency spectrum from passing through. I would suggest adding a MoCA 2.5 filter at the cable entry point/demark even if you aren’t using MoCA 2.5 to prevent interference nearby homes that use MoCA 2.5 from your own cable network. If you are not getting any service from your cable or satellite provider, whether you want to use MoCA or not simply disconnect your cable network at the providers handoff/demark and close that open door! Simply disconnect anything from your main splitter that does not go to an outlet i your home. The other PoE is obviously not supported on cable. If you need the Ethernet to provide power you can use an injector or a switch that has PoE. MoCA 2.5 traffic is encrypted by default, but always check to make sure it’s enabled, At each cable termination that you intend to use for Ethernet you need: The MoCA 2.5 adapter (cost is ~ USD $60) An outlet for the power supply If it hands off to a switch or uses a PoE injector you need another outlet. If the cable also supports cable TV you need a splitter and a MoCA 2.5 fiter. That’s basically it. I would place Wired Ethernet > MoCA 2.5 >> WiFi for performance, security, and reliability. The diagram below from GoCOAX shows a typical installation. Remember PoE = Point of Entry in MoCA land. More information here, note that there are other companies that make the adapters. https://www.gocoax.com/ma2500d
