Home Networking Guide : Powerline Networking
Before purchasing a HomePlug adapter, you must check its
specification to see if it is intended for North American power
outlets (120 Volt AC, 60 Hz) or European (220 Volt, 50 Hz). But
both two-prong and three-prong power outlets are generally
supported.
A HomePlug-based home network can cover a
house of up to 5,000 square feet. Real coverage depends on a
particular HomePlug adapter product specification. In general, ten computers can be
connected together in a HomePlug network without compromising
performance.
HomePlug 1.0 standard that is available now supports data rate of up to 14 Mbps,
comparable to Ethernet 10BaseT. For security and privacy, HomePlug 1.0 uses 56-bit
DES
to protect HomePlug network from unauthorized access by
neighbors because multiple homes are usually served from a common
transformer. A HomePlug adapter usually require its user to assign
a network password when configuring it for home powerline
networking. HomePlug 1.0 also supports QoS based on IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN tag) to
enable real time services like VoIP and video streaming.
| What Do I Need? |
| 1. |
Home power lines (i.e.
existing electricity wiring) |
|
| 2. |
Wall power outlet, one
for each computer. |
|
| 3. |
HomePlug adapter, one for each computer. |
|
| 4. |
Ethernet or USB cable,
depending on the adapter model. |
|
| 5. |
Power cord (not needed
if the adapter is wall mounted, i.e. attached directly
to the power outlet). |
|
|
|
