POWER
Powerline networking comes of age Fit for Duty By James Gardiner, Marketing Director, Power Ethernet
There has been an explosion in the number of IP-connected devices and systems, as everything from IP cameras to telephony, digital signage and building management systems begin to take advantage of intelligent computer networks rather than proprietary systems.
Original networking specifications
James Gardiner presents Powerline Networking as a solution to the disruption of installing new CAT5/6 cable and running out of Ethernet network connection points.
in buildings have concentrated on connecting server rooms and network cabinets to end-points at users’ desks. In buildings with flexible cabling arrangements, additional runs and sockets can be added relatively easily. However, in buildings in which original networking specifications required significant amendment to walls and associated decorating costs, expanding this specification to devices that do not conform to the ‘on desk socket’ model, or rooms that did not previously require networking, can become a complex and expensive task. Users expect to be able to bring their
own mobile devices and connect to a wireless access point wherever they are in a building, despite coverage issues due to thick walls and limited indoor range. This increase demands a robust way to quickly and economically expand a computer network without going back to square one and running cable, or relying on daisy-chaining wireless access points. Businesses are looking for a solution to the disruption of installing new CAT5/6 cable and running out of Ethernet network connection points.
On a Wire Enter Powerline Networking, a technology that has found its feet at a time when businesses are searching for a solution to the costly expansion of their ageing network infrastructure. PLC technology suffered a rocky start when it first appeared on the consumer market in 2001. Invented in the 1950s as a method to remotely control street lighting by sending lighting control signals down mains cable, its initial foray into computer networking was dogged by lacklustre speeds, temperamental connections, poor device interoperability and far less emphasis on electrical efficiency from electronics and white goods manufacturers. A PLC system typically operates by
superimposing a modulated RF carrier frequency on to the 50Hz AC signal carried on a mains power line. This enables it to adapt its signal to make sure that there is no cross interference when combining the waves as they have different frequencies. The initial HomePlug PLC standard
offered a somewhat pedestrian 14Mb/s, increasing to 85Mb/s by the time the standard was replaced with HomePlug AV, increasing peak rates to 200Mbit/s. Implementation has generally been through consumer focussed ‘plug’ devices, inserted into a mains socket. These plugs, sold in packs of two to consumers, provided an easy way to connect devices to the internet with a
level of reliability that WiFi connections cannot always offer. The numerous teething problems of
early devices have now been addressed and largely mitigated, yet it remains all too easy to dismiss PLC as simply being incapable of any mission- critical application within a business environment.
Ten Years Later The technology has now become entirely viable as an enabler of networking technology for industrial and commercial uses. The Powerline networking standard is fully ratified by the IEEE as IEEE 1901, with compliant devices capable of transmitting data up to 1500 metres and over power lines of any voltage at transmission frequencies of less than 100 MHz. IEEE 1901 essentially makes HomePlug AV a universal standard. PLC has come of age. It has grown
from a technology best suited to solving small consumer challenges to offering mission-critical networking at a fraction of the cost of running new CAT5/6 cable, especially in challenging buildings. And as new standards such as HomePlug AV2, capable of offering up to 1Gbps speeds, arrive, PLC’s ability to solve real-world business connectivity problems will only increase.
PLC is now capable of offering mission-critical networking. 24 NETCOMMS europe Volume II Issue 4 2012
www.netcommseurope.com
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