The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The NP200AV Ethernet HomePlug George Skarbek |
 |
|
|
|
|
Many homes now have a second computer and would like to have Internet on the second computer. This usually means running a Cat 5 Ethernet cable to connect the two computers to share the Internet and printing. In a solid brick home running cables is a costly task and wireless is often used. However,there are two problems with this. One is that installing a secure wireless network requires some computing knowledge but the other and more important one is that in a solid brick home, being only two rooms away can result in the wireless signal being so weak that it becomes unusable. But the HomePlug is not wireless. HomePlug uses your existing 240 volt electrical wiring to carry the Ethernet signal. Netcomm's HomePlug Ethernet kit provides a good alternative to wireless networking. It is extremely easy to install, just plug it in. No software is required and it gives good performance. When I moved the second HomePlug to the furthest point from my office, to the carport downstairs and behind a brick wall (Figure 1), it still produced a transfer rate of 7.5 Mbit/s which is still faster than the the majority of Internet speeds. I had no usable wireless signal in that location. |
|
When using the Internet and printing there was no perceptible difference
between whether I was connected at 100 Mbit/s via Cat 5 Ethernet cable
or via the HomePlug, because the Internet speed is a lot less than 20
Mbit/s. Printing is limited by the printer speed, also much slower. This
means that for general use the HomePlug is more than acceptable for
home networking. My only little gripe is that the actual HomePlug is quite bulky and you cannot plug in a normal adaptor beside it in a double power point, but many laptop adapters will fit beside it. Security In case your neighbour has a HomePlug LAN you can set a password on your devices with the supplied software, but Netcomm assured me that the Ethernet signal will not travel past the meter. The HomePlug LAN can support, in theory, over 200 nodes but the recommendation is to limit it to about a dozen. I have tested only the two-unit LAN. |
|
Cost
The RRP of this new HomePlug Ethernet kit is S299 and an Ethernet card is
required in each computer. Laptops will already have one installed.
Summary
I have experienced considerable problems with some wireless networks that I have
set up for clients. These are largely due to environmental problems, such as
neighbours using wireless LAN, interference with microwave ovens that also
operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency and other similar problems, resulting in
frustrating performance and drop outs. The HomePlug is immune from these types
of problems.
The speed of the HomePlug is faster than wireless in all cases that I have
tested and should be considered in places where wireless will not work or is
plagued by poor performance and drop outs.
Reprinted from the November 2007 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
 |