Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
lines. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance (
www.homeplug.org
) conducted field tests in about 500
households early in 2001 to develop the HomePlug 1.0 specification.
HomePlug 1.0 is based on the PowerPacket technology developed by Intellon. PowerPacket uses a
signaling method called
orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
, which combines
multiple signals at different frequencies to form a single signal for transmission. Because OFDM uses
multiple frequencies, it can adjust to the constantly changing characteristics of AC power. To provide
security, PowerPacket also supports 56-bit DES encryption and an individual key for each home
network. By using PowerPacket technology, HomePlug 1.0 is designed to solve the power quality and
security issues of concern to a home or small-office network user. Although HomePlug 1.0 is rated at
14Mbps, typical real-world performance is usually around 4Mbps for LAN applications and around
2Mbps when connected to a broadband Internet device such as a cable modem.
HomePlug 1.0 products include USB and Ethernet adapters, bridges, and routers, enabling most
recent PCs with USB or Ethernet ports to use Powerline networking for LAN and Internet sharing.
Linksys was the first to introduce HomePlug 1.0 products in late 2001; other leading vendors
producing HomePlug hardware include Phonex, NETGEAR, and Asoka. HomePlug Turbo, an
updated version of the HomePlug 1.0 standard, supports data rates up to 85Mbps, with typical
throughput in the 15Mbps-20Mbps range.
The HomePlug AV specification with support for faster speeds (up to 200Mbps), multimedia
hardware, and guaranteed bandwidth for multimedia applications was announced in the fall of 2002;
the final HomePlug AV specification was approved in August 2005. HomePlug AV uses the Line-
Neutral wire pair for transmissions.
When connecting HomePlug 1.0 and AV products, make sure that all of the devices support the same
standard; that is, either HomePlug 1.0 (85Mbps) or HomePlug AV (200Mbps). Although HomePlug
1.0 and AV devices can coexist on the same powerline wiring, they can only communicate with
devices supporting the same standard. HomePlug AV2, which supports MIMO with beamforming,
power saving modes, from 30-86MHz additional bandwidth, and other improvements, was released
in January 2012. HomePlug AV2 can use any two pairs in a three-wire configuration, including Line-
Neutral, Line-Ground, or Neutral Ground, and is designed to reach performance up to five times
faster than HomePlug AV (up to 1000Mbps).
HomePlug AV, HomePlug AV2, and HomePlug Green PHY (designed for command, control, and
automotive applications) can interoperate with each other.
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance uses certification marks to indicate which HomePlug
certifications are supported by a particular device.
Figure 17.21
shows the original and new
HomePlug certification marks.
