Digging into Phoneline Networking and HomePNA 2.0

Great Potential

I wanted to go into some more detail on the HomePortal 100w because of a few interesting things I noticed. Also, we will be mentioning this router in our upcoming wireless roundup since it includes an 802.11b wireless transmitter as well.

The HomePortal router has amazing potential. We can look to the manufacturing of the HomePortal to see some of the potential of this device. In fact, there really is only one router created by 2wire. Each of the various models simply builds on the same system, adding functionality. We decided we had to disassemble the 100w just to find the reasoning behind its large size and to examine the possibilities 2wire had considered.

At first glance, this router only features a few ports on the back, however; once you disassemble it, it’s another story entirely. There are, from bottom to top, a power socket, one USB type-B slot (for the USB NIC feature), two USB type A slots, two RJ-45 Ethernet jacks and 4 RJ-11 phone jacks. USB type A? Those are standard USB slots, just like you would find on the back of your PC. Wouldn’t it be nice if this device included a USB print server? However, even on the high-end 100w and 1000w, more than half of these slots are covered. In fact, one complaint we had about the 100w (also a problem on the 1000 series) was the lack of an RJ-11 pass-through for connecting additional PNA adapters or even a simple telephone. As they are, it’s obvious that 2wire had big plans for a device with multiple PNA network segments, but that doesn’t seem to be something the market needs.

The router requires a propriety software utility to be installed on the host system for some management features to work properly and for the USB interface to function.

The processor contained within these 2wire routers is what the company likes to talk about most. They claim that their router is faster and more capable than comparable data-center models from Cisco and other professional names. They can supply whitepapers about the raw, packet-pumping power of the entire HomePortal line. However, most home users will never use that sort of capability. What this router lacks is an advanced management console from which to harness that power. Networking novices will find it pleasantly simple, but gurus may become frustrated with the interface.