{"id":25,"date":"2013-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielepais.com\/journal\/2013\/08\/22\/network-over-the-mains\/"},"modified":"2022-02-03T14:22:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T07:22:39","slug":"network-over-the-mains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielepais.com\/journal\/network-over-the-mains\/","title":{"rendered":"Network over the Mains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Networking<\/h3>\n

HomePlugs, Powerlines or Network over the Mains,\u00a0However you call them.<\/h3>\n

Powerline networking adaptors aren\u2019t all that well known, but are enormously useful. Instead of stretching Ethernet cables from room to room, Powerline technology allows you to create<\/a> a network<\/a> using the existing mains electrical wiring in your home<\/a> or office.
\n“HomePlugs create a network from your mains wiring”<\/em>
\nThis means you can extend the network to any room that has a spare power socket. This is especially useful for remote rooms where a Wi-Fi signal might not be able to reach.
\nIt\u2019s a great option \u2013 not just for computers, but also for devices such as games consoles or TV set-top boxes that require a wired network connection but may be some distance away from your router (or in a different room entirely).
\nHow many adaptors do I need?<\/strong>
\nYou need one adaptor for your router and one for each additional device that you want to connect to your network. You can buy adaptors individually, but we\u2019ve rounded up starter kits from a number of manufacturers that include two adaptors as that\u2019s the minimum you need to connect a single computer or other device to your network.<\/p>\n

Compatibility between standards<\/h2>\n

In order to ensure compatibility between products from different manufacturers, most products have adopted a standard networking protocol called HomePlug. In fact, the terms \u2018powerline\u2019 and \u2018HomePlug\u2019 are often used as though they\u2019re interchangeable, but there are competing standards. HomePlug is the most popular, though.
\nKits that support the HomePlug standard may run at different speeds \u2013 most of the kits reviewed here adopt the HomePlug AV standard which nominally operates at 200 megabits per second (Mbps), which is fine for web<\/a> browsing and most streaming video.
\nHowever, if multiple computers need to play high-speed online games and stream high-def video at the same time you might want to consider slightly more expensive kits that run at 500Mbps (also known as HomePlug AV2). There are also \u2018gigabit\u2019 kits starting to come out, which run at 1000Mbps, although these are still relatively rare and quite expensive.
\nYou can mix and match Powerline adaptors running at different speeds and from different manufacturers \u2013 as long as they all support at least HomePlug AV. Naturally, faster adaptors can talk to slower ones only at the lower speed.
\nBeware of older kits still on sale that are based on an earlier standard called HomePlug 1.0. These run at a maximum speed of 85Mbps \u2013 which will probably still be adequate for many home users \u2013 but they\u2019re not compatible with faster HomePlug AV products running at 200Mbps or more. They’ll co-exist on the same mains wiring, but cannot talk to each other. Most home users should probably stick with newer HomePlug AV products in order to keep things simple.
\nOther features\u00a0<\/strong>
\nAs well as providing a simple plug-and-play network connection, there are other features that you might want to look out for too. Most Powerline adaptors only include a single Ethernet port, but you can buy adpators with three or four Ethernet ports, which makes them great for connecting multiple devices to one mains outlet.
\nIf there customers that have rooms in their houses that can\u2019t receive a good Wi-Fi signal, look for a kit with a \u2018Wi-Fi extender\u2019 option. You plug one of the adaptors into a mains socket in the room in order to create a wired connection to your main router, and then use the adaptor\u2019s wireless features to set up a mini Wi-Fi network as well. Such adaptors also have one or more Ethernet ports.
\nFinally, some adaptors have a mains pass-through socket, which effectively gives you back the mains socket the adaptor would otherwise be occupying.
\nFew things to bear in mind if you want to get best performance from your powerline network.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThe distance between sockets shouldn\u2019t be a problem in most homes and office, but the age of the electrical wiring may affect performance in some older buildings.\u00a0You shouldn\u2019t plug a powerline adaptor into a multi-way extension either \u2013 they really need to be plugged directly into a mains socket in your wall. You can try your adaptors in a multi-way extension but don’t be surprised if they can’t connect to each other or have much reduced transfer speeds.
\nTalking of transfer speeds, you may also find that some electrical devices, such as mobile phone chargers, can cause interference if they\u2019re plugged in somewhere in your home on the same ring main.
\nYou can enable encryption in adaptors, but they will only talk to other adaptors on the same mains network (usually wiring that’s attached to one electricity meter). This means your neighbours in a block of flats, for example, won’t be able to access your network if they install some adaptors too.
\nFor the most part, though, powerline networking really is enormously straightforward. It\u2019s simpler than setting up an Ethernet network, and can reach further than a Wi-Fi network. That makes it ideal for both home and business users who want to connect multiple rooms to their network with the minimum of fuss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HomePlugs, Powerlines or Network over the Mains,\u00a0However you call them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[107,109,108,36],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t