While there are excellent resources offered on the net to learn more about Powerline technology, as well as its associated standards, there are several instances of false information also. Additionally, the terminology isn’t regular amongst vendor advertising and marketing and product packaging, so how are customers or perhaps those interested in blogging about the subject meant to maintain precision in the related conversations?
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In my own research, the earliest openly available documentation conveniently available is that excerpt from the NSA that I pointed out. From there, the HomePlug Partnership was elected to be the regulating body over Powerline specs. To date, the only specifications defined by the HomePlug Partnership are:
- HomePlug 1.0
- HomePlug AV
- HomePlug AV2
When you see various other terms like “Powerline AV/Powerline AV2,” these are marketing terms that are technically misdirecting if the mentioned specifications on the packaging don’t detail “HomePlug AV/HomePlug AV2.” Why would a vendor label its product with a term that doesn’t particularly match an accreditation? It might be among these factors:
- Standing Pending: Product qualification is in-process, and as we talk about in our How We Evaluate Powerline short article, the HomePlug logo design, as well as qualification recommendation, can be utilized under strict needs. While the item is being refined for accreditation, the vendor might use terms that hint at can running under the newest requirements.
- Distribution Hold-Up: Product accreditation would take as well long before a more recent item was going to be released, so the expenditure to obtain the existing item licensed does not have a good ROI.
- Offer It Now: A vendor might decide that the item operates well enough with their own execution of the requirement that they could push it to market without seeking accreditation from the HomePlug Alliance.
Do not be misinformed! Bear in mind that there are just three accepted HomePlug accreditation standards released by the HomePlug Partnership. If an item is significant otherwise, that product is either non-compliant or is pressing advertising terms.
Products for Residence Networks
Most suppliers that create residence networking items offer Powerline items of their own, typically as specific units or in sets that include at least 2 Powerline systems. Presuming that the outlets utilizing the Powerline adapters are on the same electrical circuit, a residence individual just requires to connect their first Powerline adapter to their router. As soon as connected, and relying on the manufacturer, there may be some monitoring console-based arrangement needed, or not, as some vendors have simplified the setup procedure to simply a push of a switch.
