Tag: HomePlug

The HomePlug powerline adaptor – part of a wired no-new-wires segment that is worth considering

I have often seen network setups pitched especially at consumers as to be the wireless network. Typically this is about an 802.11n Wi-Fi segment hosted by a wireless router with 802.11n range extenders used to boost the signal coverage out further. Having a wired backbone for one of these networks typically has us thinking of Ethernet as the way to go but if you want it to look neat, you have to have the Ethernet cable pulled through your home which only works well if you are building or renovating your home.

Another technology that is easily forgotten about is HomePlug AV powerline-network technology. This technology uses the AC wiring in your home as a wired-network backbone. This initially existed in the 1.0 format with 14Mbps data transfer and graduated to 85Mbps. Now it is available as a HomePlug AV setup which works at 200Mbps or a HomePlug AV500 (IEEE1901) setup that can work at 500Mbps.

Just lately, there have been the arrival of HomePlug AV2 devices that provide increased robustness for the data as well as working at 600Mbps or 1.2 Gigabit speeds in newly-released varieties. The increased robustness comes about due to each device on the HomePlug segment serving as a repeater as well as use of all three wires including the “earth / ground” wire of the AC wiring setup for the data transfer.

Similarly, choosing a HomePlug adaptor with a built-in AC socket can lead to more reliable operation due to the fact that he integrated AC outlet is filtered in a way to prevent electrical noise from the device you plug in to it getting in to the AC current. This noise, typically generated by a lot of switch-mode power supplies used in today’s electronics, can impair the data communication on the HomePlug network segment that is sharing the same AC line.

The devices typically come in HomePlug-Ethernet adaptors with some of them having a multiple-port Ethernet switch in them and, in the UK especially, a HomePlug-Ethernet adaptor which directly plugs in to the wall and has one Ethernet socket is typically referred to as a “homeplug”. This means that you connect your computer, router or other network device to the HomePlug device using an Ethernet cable.

It is worth noting that a few HomePlug-Ethernet adaptors are appearing that also work as Power-Over-Ethernet power-sources according to the 802.3af or 802.3at (high-power) standards. This means that they can supply power to network-connected devices that take power via their Ethernet connection and it leads to one cable between these “homeplugs” and the network-connected device as well as not needing to consider extra power for these devices. The key applications that these adaptors serve well would be Wi-Fi access points, IP-based surveillance cameras or VoIP desk telephones where there is a desire to run one thin wire to these devices.

There are also a few HomePlug devices which have an integrated Wi-Fi access point along with an Ethernet connection and these are pitched at the idea of extending the coverage of your Wi-Fi wireless network segment without losing the bandwidth available which happens with wireless range extenders.

Where do I see the HomePlug powerline network fit in

I see this network fit in as a supplementary “wired no-new-wires” network segment suitable for a variety of reasons. For example, if you aren’t wiring your premises for Ethernet, you can use a HomePlug segment to provide reliable wired network connection for normally-sessile devices like smart TVs and video equipment, printers and the like. Even if you do have an Ethernet segment, you can use a HomePlug powerline segment as an infill measure to cover parts of the house that you don’t have Ethernet connections in.

HomePlug comes in to its own with a temporary wired network where you don’t want to use extra cables. This comes in to its own when you are repositioning furniture on a trial basis before you commit to calling in electricians to pull Ethernet sockets for your new setup; or a small shop where you want to shift the POS system during a sale or special event. As well, HomePlug comes in to its own as a wired network for rented premises where you are not allowed to or it’s not worth the resources to pull extra wiring through the walls.

There are even some places where HomePlug technology is the only cost-effective network technology to assure premises-wide network coverage. These are where a place has, for example, a very thick dividing wall or remnants of a disused fireplace, that is not worth the cost and time to pull wire through and Wi-Fi wireless networks will not perform adequately past that wall.

HomePlug – to connect the man-cave to the main house

In some cases, HomePlug can work well with linking an outbuilding like a garage, barn or cabin / granny-flat to the main house’s network and Internet connection. I have even successfully set up one of these arrangements successfully to link a garage that was purposed as a “man-cave” to the home network and Internet that existed in a suburban home.

What needs to be done

Retailers and Internet service providers need to do their bit to promote HomePlug technologies and the concept of having two or more network media in a small network. This includes using a wired backbone and access point to “push out” a Wi-Fi segment or using something like HomePlug to connect your home theatre to your home network.

One positive step that is taking place is nVoy which allows a single point of control to apply between Wi-Fi, HomePlug, MoCA and Ethernet to allow for “best case” data transfer and simplified network configuration. Here, this could come in to its own with creating the business-grade “extended service set” for the Wi-Fi segment where you have two or more access points connected to an Ethernet or HomePlug backbone and with the same SSID and security parameters. Once this is established in the marketplace, there needs to he help with exposing the reality of complementing network media providing the home network that works smoothly.

How to give this a go

One device and situation you could target with HomePlug AV in your existing network would be your games console or smart TV and setting this up to work with this technology when bridging it to the home network. This is more so if you haven’t wired your home for Ethernet or haven’t put an Ethernet connection where the TV currently is.

Similarly, repositioning your Ethernet-capable network printer to somewhere where it looks better to you and suits your needs better could be a chance to implement a HomePlug network setup in your network.

Here, it is simply about giving the HomePlug powerline segments a go as a “wired no-new-wires” medium to connect devices to your home network and is something I underscore on this Website.

This article has been updated on January 2014 but has been updated to reflect the existence of HomePlug adaptors that can power network devices using Power-Over-Ethernet. As well, I have added a use-case regarding linking an external building like a garage or barn to the main house’s network and Internet connection.

A house of the kind that you may buy to fix up

You have set a goal for yourself to buy that old house or apartment and move in to it with a view to improve it over the near term to make it more suited to you and your lifestyle. On the other hand, you want to buy a cheap old house, apartment or shop that isn’t in a serious state of disrepair; and “do it up” with a view to either sell it or rent it out at a later date.

These ideas may be brought on with the home-renovations TV shows and magazines, or you are a builder, architect or someone similar who has retired from the trade but want to “keep your hands busy” with a home-improvement challenge.

Of course, your effort will primarily be focused on a structurally-sound house with all of the deterioration removed from the house. You will also be targeting energy efficiency by replacing older inefficient fittings and appliances with newer efficient equipment as well as installing insulation. In some cases, you may also increase your project’s safety and security factor by making deck rails and the like compliant to new standards, installing smoke alarms or installing newer better locks on the outside doors.

Wiring infrastructure

But you would need to consider factoring in the online and networked life as part of this effort. This can be done by assessing the electrical and telecommunications wiring that is part of your house’s infrastructure. It also includes whether to plan a Category 5 Ethernet wiring infrastructure as described in an article I wrote about wiring your house for Ethernet.

Choosing your trades

When it comes to the time for you or your builder to choose the trades involved with your renovation project, you will have to pay attention to what your electricians are capable of. Here, it is important to know whether they are aware of today’s online lifestyle and are competent with making wiring suit this.

For example, most of the electricians who work with AV and IT wiring or do “connected home” wiring are more likely to work for the online lifestyle. Here, they are more likely to assess and work with telephony, Ethernet and similar wiring setups or see AC wiring from an “online lifestyle” view.

Wall plates and fittings

If your effort is centred on a house with particular fitting styles like the round fittings and you want to “keep the look”, it is a good idea to know of people who can source modern switches and outlets commensurate to the styles. Here, you have the advantage of safer and more modern designs that suit today’s requirements while you have something that blends in attractively with the look.

AC wiring

AC-wiring infrastructure that is in good order isn’t just safe but reliably serves as a wired no-new-wires segment with these HomePlug devices

The AC wiring in the house has to be in good condition not just to be safe and reliable but to reliably run a HomePlug AV segment over that wiring. This is something you would also tackle as you move the house towards modern reliable efficient appliances and equipment such as moving the heating away from oil and other inefficient fuels. Similarly your effort may also be about rewiring to accommodate newer power usage requirements like an increased number of appliances in use at one time.

I would make sure that the switchgear that is part of your AC infrastructure is up-to-date and reliable not just for safe electricity supply but also to allow a HomePlug AV powerline segment to operate in a reliable manner. As well as a fuse blowing too frequently or nuisance tripping from a circuit breaker, a HomePlug segment that exhibits unreliable or poor operation is also an indication of switchgear that has “gone to pot”.

The first thing to be aware of are older fuse boxes and consumer units that use the really old switchgear. This is more something you come across with older houses that haven’t ever been rewired or had a “shotgun approach” when it comes to maintenance of their electrical infrastructure. If a house has been recently rewired with newer switchgear, you are more likely to have reliable HomePlug network operation.

US readers will come across the Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter circuit breakers in their consumer switchboards as these are being mandated for most residential AC circuits as part of recent iterations of the National Electrical Code. There are some variants of these circuit breakers that use a capacitor across the power-supply bridge rather than an inductor and these work against a reliable well-performing HomePlug segment. A good practice would be to make sure that you have the AFCI circuit breakers that implement inductors across the power-supply bridge installed in the consumer switchboard where this type of circuit breaker is needed. Existing installations may require your electrician to “go over” your switchboard to install inductor-based AFCI circuit breakers in place of the capacitor-based types.

Telephone

As for reworking the house’s telephone wiring, you may have to set up a “top-down” approach for each telephone line. This is where you identify a “hub” close to the demarcation point for your telephone infrastructure and make this easily accessible from indoors.

Here, you can set up a central ADSL or VDSL2 splitter which is essential if you have an alarm system, especially a “full” monitored type rather than simple dial-out system is in place or you consider using a business telephone system. This also plays well for if you move towards a VoIP telephone system with an analogue telephone adaptor or Internet gateway with integrated IP telephony functionality like most of the “n-boxes” sold in France. It also works well for fibre-to-the-premises or telephony-via-cable-TV installations where a telephony bridge of some sort is to be in place.

The in-place wiring has to be assessed for reliability and quality to make sure that you aren’t dealing with wiring that will ruin reliable DSL operation or cause excessive noise on the phone system.

I would also see if you can get the telco to investigate the wiring from the exchange to the premises especially if the property is in a rural, regional or peri-urban area. This is because it is known for telcos to allow the wiring to “go to pot” because these areas aren’t considered “worth it” and an ADSL install may simply be just a DSLAM installed in the exchange. Flaky connectors may pass for a voice call but they impair the reliability of any data traffic like ADSL or fax traffic.

Ethernet

8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch for use when you wire for Ethernet

An Ethernet backbone is a must when you are dealing with a large house especially a large country house or a house with a lot of interior walls that are made of brick, stone or similar material including brick or masonry fireplaces of the remnants thereof. But this option is worth considering for most mid-size and small houses if you can afford it. Here, this allows for high throughput network and Internet traffic across the house including working as a backbone for a multiple-access-point wireless network

In the case of a large house, an Ethernet backbone must reach at least a few rooms upstairs and downstairs and across the length of the large house. This could cover the office area and all of the lounge areas plus one or two bedrooms like the master suite. Smaller properties could allow you to just cover an office area and one or two of the lounge areas.

If you are wanting to read more about wiring for Ethernet, I have written a special article about wiring your premises for Ethernet and how to go about this. This includes covering a larger number of rooms or achieving the bare minimum along with two or more possible wiring layouts that can be used.

Positioning all the equipment

Here, you could identify a well-ventilated cupboard or similar space which you could use as a “hub” for your telecommunications equipment. This area would require plenty of wall space and the ability to install shelving where you can keep modems, routers, NAS units and the like. The wall space can play its part if you are using Ethernet switches and routers that can be mounted on the wall.

Some of you may prefer to position all of the equipment in the home office but this may require a way to conceal the equipment where aesthetics are desired. You could achieve this with an integrated cupboard similar to a wardrobe where you can store this equipment.

One goal with this area is to make sure that it is ventilatied in some form so as to allow the equipment to be kept cool. As well, make sure you have the outlets, including plenty of power outlets in that area. If you are doing anything with an existing in-place alarm system such as upgrading it, you could move the “panel” to that cupboard, but you would need to be sure there is enough room for the other network devices in this space.

Factoring in the online lifestyle

In the main lounge areas where you are likely to do a lot of TV watching, make sure that where there is the TV antenna (aerial) socket, there is an Ethernet socket if you integrating Ethernet infrastructure.. This is to cater for reliable operation of your smart TV’s online functionality. As well, the Wi-Fi segment should reliable cover that area especially as people use a smartphone or tablet as a “second screen” during TV watching or game playing.

At least one or two of the bedrooms should be considered important in the online lifestyle context because some households purpose these beyond a bedroom. For example, these may be used as a study / office or den / secondary lounge space. Here, you would need to make sure that an Ethernet outlet exists in this room if you run Ethernet infrastructure, while you have optimum Wi-Fi wireless coverage encompassing that room.

The private spaces are still important in the online lifestyle especially when you want to work on a project of some form alone. Here, the home-office or “den” is important as a private space. But you may find that another room or hall space serving as a secondary “study / office” area. Here, the secondary space should have reliable Wi-Fi coverage at least.

Conclusion

Once you tackle a home renovation job with the online lifestyle whether for yourself or as part of something that others can benefit from, you are able to be assured of reliable operation of the new technology that is part of your online lifestyle even though you keep the old place maintaining its charm.

Article – in German language

Internet per Stromleitung: Anschluss der Powerline an Steckerleisten kann die Leistung beeinflussen | NetzwerkTotal.de

From the horse’s mouth

AVM

Product Page (German language)

My Comments

AVM, known for their premium Fritz!Box routers have launched their latest HomePlug AV500 wireless access point which is a device that I consider important for stone-built European country houses that are “Wi-Fi difficult”. This unit, known as the AVM FritzPowerLine 546E provides a Wi-Fi segment to the dual-stream 802.11n specification for the 2.4GHz band and supports WPS push-button client-device setup as has been talked about in this article concerning WPS in a multi-access-point network.

But it is also ready for the IPv6 home networks which are a reality for anyone using a recent high-end consumer or small-business router and will become common as more countries roll out next-generation broadband.

But the FritzPowerline 546E is one of the few HomePlug access points equipped with a filtered mains outlet which you can plug equipment in to. AVM takes this further by making this socket a switched socket which works with their home-automation software. For that matter, this function is manageable through the device’s Web user interface and provides not just instant remote “on-off” but a time-switch function.

What I see of this device is that it isn’t just like other HomePlug wireless access points but is offering more functionality in a different way. This is especially as the HomePlug powerline network is being considered very clearly in the UK and Europe as a viable no-new-wires network segment.

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Solwise

Value – Aztech HomePlug AV with Dual Band WiFi – PL-HL117EW

My Comments

We are seeing a lot more of the Wi-Fi access points that use the HomePlug AV powerline-network technology as a backbone but these typically work on the 2.4GHz waveband, now using 802.11g/n technology.

But Aztech have released a HomePlug wireless access point that works on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands rather than just the 2.4GHz band. The Aztech PL-117EW uses a HomePlug AV500 powerline network segment or an Ethernet segment as its backbone, so can be used for a “wired-for-Ethernet” house with the ability to create a HomePlug AV500 segment as well as being an access point.

It satisfies the reality that a home network will be needing the 5GHz 802.11n wireless network segment everywhere especially as the 2.4GHz band becomes more congested. There is the SimpleConnect “push-button” setup for the HomePlug segment as well as a WPS push-button setup for enrolling new Wi-Fi clients close to it. As far as I know, it misses out on the simple “Wi-Fi clone” function which aids setting it up as a secondary access point.

What I see of this is the idea of using the “wired no-new-wires” network that is HomePlug AV as a backbone for extending wireless-network coverage hasn’t died off and is appealing to the UK market as a valid home-network setup option in the face of the cheaper wireless-network range extenders. This device underscores this reality by extending it to the 5GHz Wi-Fi band.

Article – from the horse’s mouth

Solwise

Value – Solwise HomePlug 500AV with Power over Ethernet – PL-500AV-POE (Product link)

Previous coverage of similar devices

At last HomePlug AV and Power-Over-Ethernet in one device

My Comments

Previously, I had written an article on this site about Asoka releasing a HomePlug AV-Ethernet bridge that provides power to connected devices using the 802.3af Power-Over-Ethernet technology. This adaptor, which is available to fit US power sockets, can use the one Ethernet cable to power an access point, VoIP telephone, IP camera or similar device as well as being a data conduit to that device.

Now Solwise in England have raised the ante with this class of device when they offered one that plugs in to UK power outlets and sold to the UK market. Here, the PL-500AV-POE implements the HomePlug AV500 technology rather than the HomePlug AV technology on the powerline network side of the equation. If the HomePlug segment is based around HomePlug AV500 hardware, it could lead to higher data throughput speeds which would benefit high-resolution IP surveillance cameras or 802.11n access points.

The same company ask GBP£59.80 including VAT for this device but they are not short on Ethernet devices that can be powered from this “homeplug”. Here, they have a single-band 802.11g/n dual-stream access point that looks like a smoke detector for GBP£73.25 or a dual-band dual-stream 802.11a/g/n access point for GBP£189.14. There is also a basic “dome” IP camera for GBP£144.02 or a traditional-style auto-zoom camera for GBP£167.17 for a country that places emphasis on video-surveillance.

What I see of this is that at least some more manufacturers are raising the game for HomePlug powerline devices that integrate 802.3af or 802.3at Power-Over-Ethernet technology in a way as to underscore the fact that the powerline network and the Power-Over-Ethernet technology complement each other rather than exist as competing technologies.

Article

Asoka PL9660-PoE PlugLink 200 Mbps Powerline Adapter w/ PoE Reviewed – SmallNetBuilder

From the horse’s mouth

Asoka USA

Product Page

My Comments

Introduction

I have often heard the line that the Power-Over-Ethernet technology, which supplies power to a network device connected via twisted-pair Ethernet cable using that same cable, and HomePlug powerline-networking technology are mutually exclusive technologies.

What is Power-Over-Ethernet and what is it used for?

The common 802.3af and 802.3at Power-Over-Ethernet technologies make use of the Category-5 “twisted-pair” Ethernet cabling that is used to transfer data to the network also as a power-supply cable. The main advantages are that you don’t have to have an AC outlet close to a network device and you can just run one cable to that device to allow it to function.

The typical implementation is either an Ethernet switch that has Power-Over-Ethernet ports providing power to a VoIP desk telephone, wireless access point or IP-based video-surveillance camera. This appeals to businesses as a way of providing centrally-managed power for these devices as well as allowing for simplified cost-effective installation and reliable operation.

What is HomePlug AV powerline network technology

The HomePlug AV network technology uses the building’s existing AC wiring as a data conduit. This provides a “no-new-wires” wired network setup for homes and other installations where it is not cost-effective to have Ethernet wiring in place and has shown a strong appeal for temporary wired-network setups.

Even if a building has Ethernet wiring in place, the HomePlug AV technology works as a way of extending this network in a temporary or semi-permanent manner. In some cases, the HomePlug technology can work as a cost-effective wired network link between a house and an outbuilding such as a detached garage if there is AC wiring in that building which isn’t separately metered.

Of course most of these network segments have network client devices connected via a short Category-5 Ethernet cable to a HomePlug-AV-Ethernet bridge adaptor typically referred to in the UK as a “homeplug” in the case of the common single-port wall-wart device.

Why am I impressed with the Asoka PL-9660POE “homeplug”

This adaptor is both a single-port HomePlug-AV-to-Ethernet network bridge along with a Power-Over-Ethernet power supply according to the 802.3af standard. Here, I could connect a Wi-Fi access point or VoIP desk telephone that can be powered using Power-Over-Ethernet to this device and it provides power to that access point while linking it to the HomePlug AV powerline-network backbone.

The advantages seen here is that I only use one AC outlet to link the network device to the HomePlug segment as well as providing power to it rather than having to have another AC outlet or double-adaptor being used for another wall-wart. You also benefit from only needing one cord between the device and this HomePlug adaptor which is easier to manage in to an aesthetically-pleasing setup. This is of importance when you are using an wireless access point to extend your wireless network and you would find that having that access point up high with a clear line of sight to the laptops, tablets and smartphones used in that area would yield optimum network performance and battery runtime for the mobile devices. It is compared to using a HomePlug wireless access point which will typically be installed at floor level and obscured by furniture and may not be able to perform adequately.

What about transportability when you are thinking of that VoIP desk telephone? Typically, a furniture and equipment arrangement may suit one’s current needs but these needs do change. This adaptor may allow you to reposition the phone to a newer location as you see fit even in a semi-permanent manner such as if you are moving the cash-wrap stand in your shop to a newer location to cater for a sale or you simply wanted to bring the VoIP conference phone out only when needed.

This device may also help with legitimising the Power-Over-Ethernet technology for the home network. Examples of this could include “two-piece” HomePlug access-point kits; small consumer-AV applications like tabletop Internet radios, network speakers or digital picture frames; or even all-in-one computers that can be powered through the Ethernet conneciton. To the same extent, computers like tablets, small notebooks and “adaptive all-in-one” computers of the same ilk as the Sony VAIO Tap 20 can benefit from using their Ethernet port as a power connection option to charge up their batteries or allowing the user to avoid compromising battery runtime,

Even an Internet-gateway router could be powered using this method as an alternative to the separate power brick that these devices come with. As well, using a Power-Over-Ethernet power splitter which provides 12 volts or 5 volts DC to a device that isn’t capable of Power-Over-Ethernet from an 802.3af Power-Over-Ethernet connection could yield benefits to the home network by eliminating the need to use a “wall-wart” or “power-brick” and a separate AC outlet to power network devices.

Points of improvement with this device

Here, the HomePlug standard that this device supports could be the HomePlug AV 500 / IEEE 1901 standard for better data throughput. This is more so as this standard becomes the norm for most HomePlug AV segments. As well, a variant that supports the 802.3at Power-Over-Ethernet Plus standard could be made available and pitched towards set-top-box applications. But these improvements may require further power-supply engineering to cater for higher power loads.

Similarly, the Asoka “homeplug” could be made available under an OEM-contract to other vendors to sell to customers so as to make the concept more ubiquitous. For example, having this fitted with the Continental-standard AC plug and sold in to France could work hand-in-glove with the “décodeurs” (TV set-top boxes) that are part of the many “n-box” triple-play Internet services offered in that country. Here, these would work as a convincing easy-to-implement alternative to a “homeplug / power-supply” box like the Freeplug that is used to link the “n-box” Internet gateway device and the “décodeur” set-top box. These boxes typically have three wires with one to the power outlet and two to the “n-box” or “décodeur” device.

Conclusion

I just hope that this device isn’t just a “flash in the pan” when it comes to HomePlug and Power-Over-Ethernet but a way to prove to the industry that these technologies complement each other.

Just lately, we are starting to see the arrival of HomePlug AV2 powerline network technology in the form of network-connectivity devices. This is now due to the standard being “set in stone” and the chipset manufacturers running significant quantities of the circuitry required for these devices.

It will initially come in the form of the typical “homeplug” which is a Ethernet bridge which is able to connect one Ethernet device to a powerline segment based on this technology. But as it evolves, expect to see the access points, multiple-Ethernet-connection switches, routers and the like appear.

Devices that are based on this technology could lead to a more reliable HomePlug powerline segment. It will underscore the flexibility that this powerline-network technology is all about in a lot more applications including multiple-building home networks and use in commercial properties.

In this report, when I am talking of HomePlug AV, I talk of the 200Mbps original HomePlug AV technology whereas when I talk of HomePlug AV500, I talk of the 500Mbps HomePlug AV / IEEE 1901 technology that has been recently issued. Both of these are compatible with each other but work at the speed of the lowest technology.

Key features for a robust HomePlug AV2 segment

HomePlug AV2 has been provided with a slew of improvements that deal with tricky applications of this technology and provide for increased network reliability.

One user group that may benefit would be anyone who has anything to do with commercial-type premises or large multiple-tenancy buildings. Here this could be someone who is setting up a temporary or semi-permanent wired network for something like a POS system or a network printer or a situation where one moves in to a building where cost or lease / occupancy conditions preclude the installation of new Ethernet cabling.

Each HomePlug AV2 device is a repeater

With HomePlug AV2, each device that is part of the same Segment also works as a repeater which improves signal reliability across the HomePlug AV2 segment. This effectively “boosts” the data stream across the AC wiring thus improving signal-noise ratio with environments that have increased device noise; or long-wire links like between buildings.

This may avoid the need to create an extra HomePlug AV segment and linking this via Ethernet to the existing HomePlug AV segment in order to “push out” data over a long inter-building electrical run.

Use of the three AC wires rather than two

Similarly, HomePlug AV2 setups make use of the earth (ground) wire along with either the live (active / line) or neutral wires as part of creating alternative wire pairs for data transfer. This is compared with HomePlug AV and IEEE 1901 (HomePlug AV500) which uses just the power-wire pair (live and neutral wires). It allows for alternative reduced-noise paths to be used for HomePlug AV2 segments which can be a bonus with commercial and industrial environments.

Multiple In Multiple Out technology

This feature extends to implementation of Multiple In Multiple Out technology, commonly used with 802.11n and 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networks. In this application, data can be sent along two or more of the three wire pairs at the same time to provide increased reliability and link speed. This is leading to an “on-paper” link speed of nearly 1000Mbps or “gigabit” throughput, which is why a lot of these HomePlug AV2 devices will implement Gigabit Ethernet as their Ethernet connections.

Of course, there will be a fallback to 500Mbps theoretical link speed for SISO links implemented mainly with some first-generation or cheaper HomePlug AV2 devices and with “power-wires-only” links like inter-building runs. This is due to the fact that each building will most likely have its own earth point for its AC supply.

Other technologies like “efficient notching”, wider media bandwidth and improved modulation also create increased robustness and data-transfer efficiency in the HomePlug AV2 link.

Power-efficient HomePlug AV2 hardware

The implementation of “HomePlug Green PHY” technologies which implement sleep mode and beacon-driven wake activity allows for the HomePlug AV2 devices to be increasingly power-efficient.

This matters more if you simply deploy one or more of these devices as simple “infill” repeaters or as network off-ramps that serve other segments or devices. It will also benefit low-traffic HomePlug AV2 segments which have to be available but don’t see consistent use.

Implementation issues

HomePlug AV2 devices can exist on the same logical HomePlug segment as HomePlug AV or HomePlug AV500 devices and will typically use the “Simple-Connect” push-button setup routine that is now common.

A question that is yet to be answered is whether HomePlug AV2 devices will bring the same kind of robustness to a segment that is made up primarily of HomePlug AV or AV500 devices. This encompasses availability of data from network clients connected to HomePlug AV2 devices at clients connected to HomePlug AV devices and vice versa.

If you are offered that first-generation HomePlug AV2 “single in single out” device which runs a 500Mbps link. you may think that you could cut it cheaper with a HomePlug AV500 device. The HomePlug AV2 device may be more relevant for those of you who want increased reliability when establishing a HomePlug powerline segment in commercial premises, linking outbuildings or funky old “sleepout” caravans to the home network using the AC wiring or facing a troublesome HomePlug powerline segment.

HomePlug AV2 is definitely a technology worth looking forward to for more than just the regular suburban home. It is something that underscores the powerline network’s flexibility as a “wired no-new-wires” network in a more robust way as well as adding data throughput to this technology.