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The benefits of wireless networking are clear: no unsightly wires and freedom to move around the house while surfing the internet.
However, with wireless congestion increasing and unstable throughput, many people are looking at either returning to wired Ethernet networks or mains networking using devices such as this HDX101 from Netgear.
In a nutshell, it lets you use your mains wiring as a network. Simply plug in two HDX101 units hook one up to your notebook and another to your desktop and you've got a wired network without the hassle of installing Ethernet cabling.
The device consists of a single Ethernet socket and three LEDs to indicate power and network connectivity; the way these rapidly flash could start to irritate if the plug is sitting next to a television.
During testing, we found the large physical design of the HDX101 to be an annoyance. Being much wider than a standard plug, it's highly likely that you won't be able to sit another plug next to it in a dual-socket wall mount. In some cases, we also found it to push on the socket's power switch to the extent to which it would flick the switch off if pushed fully into the socket.
The HDX101 units also get pretty hot during use and we recommend you give them plenty of breathing space so as to avoid overheating.
Although the HDX101 will happily co-exist on the same network as Homeplug 1.0 products, the different technology used to achieve higher speeds means they're not actually Homeplug 1.0 certified and therefore won't be able to communicate with them - this includes Netgear's own XE104.
Installation was, as expected, no problem at all. It takes just a couple of seconds for the HDX101 to register an IP address after being plugged in, then yo u're away.
Netgear includes a utility that lets you add a password to the network. This is something you'll want to take advantage of if you suspect your neighbour has similar kit since the mains wiring actually acts as an aerial, potentially allowing your neighbour to hop onto your network.
You can also use this utility to specify quality of service (QoS) settings; for example if you want VoIP to take priority over internet gaming.
The maximum theoretical throughput of 200Mbit/sec sounds impressive, but it's important to understand you are never going to get anywhere near this sort of speed.
In our tests, we managed to achieve a consistent 35Mbit/sec - occasionally speeding up to 45Mbit/sec on different plugs. Although nothing like 200Mbit/sec, it's not so bad when you compare it with the average of around 18-20Mbit/sec for 802.11g wireless - it's also far more consistent.
As always, the speed you get will depend on the quality of the wiring in your property. It’s also worth noting that when we plugged the HDX101 into an eight-way plug adaptor, throughput plummeted to 5Mbit/sec.
Netgear's HDX101 is the fastest mains networking kit we've seen, but the physical design is poor and you have to take the 200Mbit/sec claim with a large pinch of salt.
Also consider:
Netgear XE104
Mains networking with four Ethernet ports on a single plug
Buffalo Nfiniti Draft-N router
Wireless kit that takes advantage of the draft 802.11n specification
Plustek Opticam P1 network camera
Make good use of your home network with this budget network camera
All Network Tools
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