Linksys Incorporates HomePlug Networking

mattyohe writes "It seems that Linksys is one of the first to prepare release for their ethernet router that uses the HomePlug 1.0 spec. Linksys claims the Instant Powerline EtherFast Router performs well by using the OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) scheme. OFDM forms numerous signals into a single signal for transmission and then is used again to find and automatically adapt to the specific frequency combination that enables successful communication. This product currently uses 56 bit DES encryption and would be excellent for networking in the home enviroment. Never worry about not having enough rj-45 jacks at a lan party, bring some power strips!"

Comments

Latency?

[iconian]

From Linksys's page (http://www.linksys.com/edu/part6.asp):

"Q. Will there be problems if I turn on or plug in devices like a power drill or hair dryer?
A. No. If the powerline characteristics change during a session, the Instant PowerLine products will sense the change and automatically adapt to provide the most reliable data path connection."

Will this "automatic adaption" interrupt data transmission? How would this affect latency?

Imagine people complaining about getting fragged by a hair dryer.

Home networking at this level? No thanks.

[Junks Jerzey]

Between this story and the one about setting up a dedicated server room at home, I'm thinking of tossing my PC completely and buying a used Atari 800. Well, not seriously, but it crosses my mind occasionally.

The amount of system administration required to run a PC home takes much of the fun out of computing for me. I'm a programmer and a technical kind of guy, but I really don't want to to be a sysadmin as a hobby. It's bad enough chasing down video card drivers and keeping track of all the related software incompatibilities--and having to upgrade everything every 18 months or so, even when I don't need it, as a brute force method of reducing conflicts--but having to deal with running servers and such at home is crazy. Sure, sure, the people who love recompiling kernels and running video card benchmarks and so on might not mind, but that's what those people _want_ out of a computer. Not everyone is like that.

Re:From an audio perspective....

[Jeffrey Baker]

Aw, c'mon. Insightful? It's easy to build a highly regulated DC power supply from arbitrarily noisy AC power mains. High capacitance, quality power transformers, noise chokes, power entry modules: all these components on a modern power supply are there to filter out noise. In low-power components like DACs and preamplifiers, the regulated power rails should have a VERY high noise rejection from ~0 into the low MHz. IC regulation isn't practical in power amplifiers, but really impressive capacitors are practical and a good design will have power supply noise well below signal level or throughout the audible band.

In other words, I wouldn't sweat it for audio uses. If it really bothers you, power your audio equipment through a real UPS with a lead-acid battery and inverter. That should brick-wall filter any noise from your mains.

Re:Is it just me, or is this a useless product?

[sherlocktk]

There are lots of good uses for this.

Every person keeps thinking of this is a stepbackward, I really do not think so. I think that this will be a replacement of the 802.11x because it will be a lot easier to hookup. The only point of 802.11 is so wiring is not to hard. People keep talking about interfearance, I am sure that 802.11 will have it also, I mean look at a cellphone, thoes damn things never work right, and I would suspect that much higher speeds will be acheived.

The real benifit here is it will be about as easy as plugging in a CAT5 cable into the wall.

1. There is also an ethernet bridget that one can buy to add there existing infastructure.

2. In an apartment where you cannot run CAT5 without loosing your security deposite.

3. Places where it is not possible to run CAT5 without replacing drywall and flooring.

4. After a while, it will probably be cheaper that 802.11x

5. It is great for geeks to setup networks at friends houses without having to run cable and drill holes everywhere. I cannot even count how many houses I have had to network.

If you would look at linksys's main page you would see an ethernet powerline bridge. I think there is a lot of potential here, and I plan on getting a set of what I need.