ZyXEL PLA-401 Twin Pack - bridge

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- The ZyXEL PLA-401 -

I decided on the 200Mbps as it's obviously faster than 1.0 and the cost difference isn't very much (for me it was around £30 more). The ZyXEL PLA-401 is a twin pack (contains two devices). Having just one is pointless as you need at least two to make it work. You can add up to 16 devices around the house and they are compatible with power extensions so you can just find an empty socket anywhere in ...
...only (small) gripe is that the width of these devices are slightly larger than small power extensions so you may find there is an overlap and you might find it difficult to plug them next to another electric plug.

These devices are often called bridges. A network bridge connects separate networks together, so these devices 'bridge' your home network (the router) with your computer in another part of the house.

- Installation ... more

-= Network Magic =-

Ok, hands up who has a broadband router in their house (and probably using it now)? Now keep you hands up if the router has a wireless feature and you use it so you don't need to use any cables. Maybe you use it because the place you normally use the computer is some distance from the router and it's difficult to connect directly to it. Maybe you have more than one computer connected (say a PC and a laptop) and you need to have them in different areas of the house.
One of the issues many wireless users have is the speed of the connection is limited and they find it slow sometimes, especially when they are downloading or uploading large files. I have often heard of problems with people finding a good wireless connection due to interference or the thickness of the walls for example.

Why I am going on about wireless routers? Well there is a very easy, cheap and efficient solution to wireless issues: use the electricity supply! No really! (stop rolling your eyes). You may have heard of technology that allows digital signals to be sent through the electricity cables. It's here and it's as simple as plugging these devices in. It does everything else for you - no really! Real Plug and Play!

- My Equipment -

My home network consists of a PC running Windows XP connected to the router using a cable, based upstairs in a box room, which I use as an office. We also have another PC downstairs running Windows Vista that the kids use to play games, browse children-friendly web sites (CBeebies, Nick-Jr etc). This machine is connected to the router using a wireless adapter. It has a good reception but watching online media and online games on the sites means can be very slow sometimes. I also use the PC as storage for home movies and digital photos we often show to friends and family. This means I sometimes need to transfer files between the two machines. This can be really slow and tedious. I therefore decided to invest in a new way to connect: HomePlug (one word, capital P)

- HomePlug? -

Although there are various types around, I'll try to quickly explain the two main general types: 1.0 and AV.
The 1.0 runs at 85Mbps (mega bits per second), which is faster than the wireless speed of 11Mbps or 54Mbps. The original HomePlug 1.0 standards allow for speeds up to 14Mbps, but new 1.0 models use 85Mbps.

The HomePlug AV is 200Mbps. It was designed to provide sufficient bandwidth for applications such as HDTV (high definition TV) and VoIP (telephone system using the Internet). It apparently uses 128 bit AES encryption for security purposes, though I'm wondering how someone would tap into your home electricity supply (maybe if you're sharing a house or in a block of flats it might be useful - answers on a postcard please)!

You can also use the HomePlug for other Internet gadgets such as games consoles. There have been issues with some Xbox consoles so be warned. I don't have any games consoles so I cannot say for certain what the issues are exactly.

It is particularly useful for people who don't like wireless routers or were given free non-wireless routers from their Internet Service Provider.

Note: Most HomePlug 1.0 devices cannot interoperate with HomePlug AV devices without the use of a suitable bridge, although both can co-exist on the same cable.

- The ZyXEL PLA-401 -

I decided on the 200Mbps as it's obviously faster than 1.0 and the cost difference isn't very much (for me it was around £30 more). The ZyXEL PLA-401 is a twin pack (contains two devices). Having just one is pointless as you need at least two to make it work. You can add up to 16 devices around the house and they are compatible with power extensions so you can just find an empty socket anywhere in the house.

Note that my one and only (small) gripe is that the width of these devices are slightly larger than small power extensions so you may find there is an overlap and you might find it difficult to plug them next to another electric plug.

These devices are often called bridges. A network bridge connects separate networks together, so these devices 'bridge' your home network (the router) with your computer in another part of the house.

- Installation -

The package contains two devices (one for the router upstairs, the other for the computer downstairs), two network cables (one for each device) and an (almost pointless) CD.

I plugged one into a power socket on the wall in my box room upstairs and connecting a network cable from the device to the router. I then connected the other device to a power extension downstairs next to the computer and connected the computer to the device using the other network cable. Each time I plugged the devices in a set of blue lights flickered on informing me they were switched on and connecting to the network. I turned on the downstairs computer and immediately noticed a big difference in the network speed. I started the BBC iPlayer and downloaded a documentary. This download would normally take an hour using the wireless link but this time it took just 15 minutes! This is the speed I would have got on the computer upstairs that is connected to the router directly by a cable. I was really surprised and impressed at the speed.

Despite it requiring no software to be installed on your machine it does include a CD, which allows you to have some control of the devices, in particular the status of the devices. Unfortunately, the software is not compatible with newer versions of Windows. I tried to install it on Windows Vista and I had a lot of problems. I gave up in the end. I also tried installing it into the Windows XP computer but although the software worked without any errors it did not show any details about the devices - the application was just blank! I can only assume the software is outdated or I have a problem with my network in some way. I don't see this as a problem as I have found no issues with the speed of the devices and the software is of no use anyway.

- Not For Everyone -

These HomePlug devices are not suitable for everyone. People who just browse the Internet and retrieve emails (ie. light internet use) won't find much difference as they are well within their wireless 54Mbps bandwidth limit. Also Internet users who use dial-up access won't find much difference.
These devices only speed up the connection from the router NOT the general Internet speed.

I hope you enjoyed the review. Thanks for reading!

- Some technical stuff -

Mbps means Mega 'Bits' Per Second. This is the standard method of measuring network (serial) information. A 'Bit' is simply a single digital value, a 1 or 0. For networks it means an electrical charge going down the line that the network adapter can listen for or send to another network adapter. So, there are lots of bits sent one after another. In computer terms, a 'Kilobit' means approximately 1000 bits, a Megabit means approximately 1000 Kilobits and so on. I say approximately 1000 - it's actually 1024 (long story why this is). Since there are 8 bits in a byte, we have to take this into account. It's actually very common for people confuse Kbps or Mbps with 'bytes' per second (BPS), then wonder why it takes so long for files to download.

Another thing to think about is that the rate of speed the network states is not the top speed your file will download at. Due to the way the network works it will never download at this speed. It needs some network bandwidth for other things (ask yourself what would happen if you tried to browse the web whilst downloading a file that took up all available bandwidth).

- Useful Info -

Support Line: 0845 2267839

http://www.zyxel.co.uk
http://www.homeplug.org

- Specification -

General
Device Type: Bridge
Width: 7.5 cm
Depth: 9.7 cm
Height: 4.5 cm
Weight: 185 gNetworking
Data Transfer Rate: 200 Mbps
Line Coding Format: 8 QAM, 32 QAM, 64 QAM, 256 QAM, BPSK, QPSK, OFDM , ROBO, 1024 QAM
Data Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, HomePlug AV (HPAV)
Spread Spectrum Method: OFDM
Status Indicators: Link activity, power
Features: 128-bit encryption, manageable, Quality of Service (QoS)
Interfaces:

• 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
• 1 x network - HomePlug AV

Miscellaneous
Cables (Details): 2 x network cables
Encryption Algorithm: 128-bit AES
Compliant Standards: Plug and Play, CE, CSA, UL, FCC Part 68 

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