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Using HomePlug PowerLine Adapters for Home Networking?

Posted by Cliff on from the overloading-the-"3-prong-outlet" dept.

dbaman asks: "I have previously used a router with my broadband connection and run cables thru my house to have a home network. Now I'm in a new house, and I don't want to drill holes in the wall and run cable thru the attic again. I have considered 802.11 wireless, but am more interested in the HomePlug Powerline standard, which lets you use the electrical outlets in the house as the network. Powerline uses 56 bit DES encryption rather than WEP like wireless, and is apparently a bit faster than wireless. LinkSys, GigaFast, and NetGear have adapters out, and a Powerline-based router from LinkSys will soon be available. Does anyone have any experience or advice with this new HomePlug PowerLine networking standard?"

7 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. security concerns by honold · · Score: 5, Insightful

    i've never liked the idea of phone line or power networking, simply because power lines and phone lines don't stop outside my house - they're connected to everyone.

    'the signal will get weak' isn't good enough :(

    1. Re:security concerns by 3-State+Bit · · Score: 3, Funny

      You know what, if they're willing to brute-force 56-bit DES encryption to read my data, they can have it. I'll be flattered.

  2. Works well. by The+Fink · · Score: 4, Informative
    In my experience, they're adequate for most home networks, as long as you're not addicted to 100Mb/sec networks, as am I. :-)

    Only major problem is that you're exposed to the line, and serious surges (read: lightning strikes on powerlines, or transformer breakdowns) will get through. Mind, the kind of surge I'm talking about there is likely to pop most surge guards - and a fair few cheaper UPSen - as well. Something else to consider, I guess.

    The Queensland Electricity Commission, back in the early `90's, toyed with doing something like this - at a whole 2400 baud - to get some level of signals from one power station to another. By the time they finally got around to doing it, they got broken up - and had fibre networks anyway.

  3. You said House right? by ninthbit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this is your house... a pernament home, I would vote to just run the cable. Its just a one time thing and you get better speed, plus if you do ever sell its an added feature to the home.

  4. 56-bit DES is weak by photon317 · · Score: 4, Informative


    56-bit DES is very weak these days. While it might keep a non-technical neighbor at bay, the very idea of sniffing your traffic off the power circuit would probably have kept them at bay anyways. If you do anything at home that's the least bit sensitive, I wouldn't entrust it to 56-bit DES.

    Facts from when the EFF machine broke the DES challenge (it was 56-bit DES like you're about to use):

    Time to crack key: 56 hours
    Total cost of machine, including R&D: US$250K

    The R&D was extensive, and would probably cost less now that people have an example to follow. Also, this was done in 1998, so there's been four intervening years to make it faster and cheaper.

    --
    11*43+456^2
  5. Previously on slashdot.. by maunleon · · Score: 3, Informative

    This has been touched on previously in this thread from last month:

    http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/17/10 27208&mode=thread&tid=137

  6. Does it run on the other 110v side of the house? by wa4osh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My house is fed from a pole-peg transformer which is split into two 110v feeds. You get 220V by tapping across the two 110v circuits for the dryer, the oven and stove. If you connect the HomePlug device to one of the two 110v sides of the pole peg transformer, does it work on the other 110v circuit?