Powerline

I was recently given a challenge to try to connect some interactive museum display panels so they could be updated from a central location. As it turns out, these display units are actually XP embedded touch screens with integrated network cards. Simple I thought, install a few wall ports and run the cat6 through to the data cabinet where an existing ADSL router had 3 available ports. I then proceeded to get a quote from our usual cabling company. Thousands! This is down to the fact it's a listed building yada yada...

Ok, then, Wireless. I'll get some dongles, plug them in, grab an address and Robert is your brothers mother! Instant network. So, off I went, thinking I had cracked it. I grabbed my laptop, setup a quick wireless network and started to floor walk with the usual ping -a to the gateway. It dropped very quickly. The problem is the walls. They are old and very well built. The signal on the run of the meal router was not good and to install more access points would be messy and costly. That put an end to that idea.

I was beginning to think that I had no choice but to fork out for the professionals until it hit me. I recently discussed the use of Powerline adapters with a colleague of mine who had used them once before. I was very sceptical. I always thought that you should not run Cat5/6 shielded twisted pair along side power cables. That's why they shield the cables! Interference.

To avoid unnecessary cost I borrowed a pair to test the theory. I was using the ZyXEL PLA-401 model and they cost about £50 a pair. They promise throughput speeds of up to 200mbps and can handle streaming media and voice data. Lets give them a go.

I plugged one into the spare power socket next to the display unit and in turn connected this to the network interface card. Across to the datacab room where I plugged the other into the wall and then that into the router. 3 lights appeared and bingo! The unit had an ip address and was online! I could not believe how easy that really was. I then purchased a few more units and strategically used existing power and cat5 cable runs to my advantage.
The final result was all units connected together and now able to look at a single source for updates.
Overall verdict.. Excellent! I would highly recommended these devices. When you are next considering extending the network, giving these devices a thought maybe one of the best things you did.
Now to create the FTP scripts for automated file transfer.....