Powerline Networking

Want an easy way to set up a home network, without running network cable and without using a wireless network? Try Powerline Networking! Read on for the details.

HOME NETWORKING

Home networks are becoming more popular and more useful.  I’ve been running a home network for many years, complete with multiple rack-mounted servers (RAID of course), remote access via VPN, intranet site for shared calendar and contacts, email server so all family members can check email from any computer, all OS platforms including Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX, internet content filtering, and color network laser printer.  Our whole family has benefited since we can stream our iTunes music library to almost anywhere in the house.  My kids love having their own computers, and working on sesamesteet.com (my kids are 2 yrs old and 3 yrs old).

Anyway, the point of this article is not to talk about my home network, it was to talk about Powerline Ethernet.  We recently moved into a house that was not “wired” with network cable.  So, I was faced with three options for establishing network and internet access throughout the house: hard-wire it, wireless, or something else.  I didn’t really want to run network cable since we just moved in and I didn’t want to be punching holes in the walls just yet.  I’m not a big fan of wireless performance or security.  So, I decided to consider alternatives.  There were two out there: network over the existing television coax cable, or network over the existing power cable.  What I ended up installing was the powerline Ethernet. 

Powerline Ethernet uses the existing electrical power cable in the house.  I went to Fry’s, bought the NetGear HD adapters, and simply plugged them in.  They were truly plug-and-play.  In a matter of minutes, I had internet access at every power jack in my house!  I ran throughout the whole house testing it, it worked in the kitchen, garage, downstairs, and bedrooms.  Wow, that was a great day.  The speed was excellent, just as fast as standard hardwired network.  For security, all transmissions are encrypted.  I have heard though that success depends on how the power circuits were run, so results in your home may vary.  However, if you are looking for a way to immediately have internet access throughout your whole house, it is worth a try.