Needing to build a test network in my garage and link it to another LAN in the house, I was recently faced with the problem of how to physically link the two locations.

I wanted to avoid drilling a hole in the wall to pass a Cat5 cable through if I could (the combined smell of mud, motor oil and fishing gear seeping into the house may have proved too much to bear), and a wireless bridge to the broadband router was tricky to configure.

Somebody suggested that the quickest and most convenient method might be a broadband over powerline solution that uses the domestic electrical wiring to transfer data. D-Link helpfully sent me its DP-301 Powerline HD Network Starter Kit (which costs around £90) and I set to work testing the thing to see if it could do the job.

The kit includes two Powerline adapters, each with an Ethernet port, that plug into standard electrical sockets. Configuration is a breeze; I attached one in the house to an Ethernet port on the broadband router that gives out LAN IP addresses via DHCP, and the garage adapter into an unmanaged gigabit Ethernet switch.

The LEDs on the adapter itself told me when I had an Ethernet signal and when the Powerline adapter had discovered its partner. A helpful, if basic, software utility helps confirm this.

Performance is hardly spectacular. D-Link quote 200Mbit/s, and I found throughput to resemble a 100Mbit/s Fast Ethernet connection, which is adequate for what I want. More importantly, I have not yet noticed any loss of connection due to fluctuations in the power supply or other electrical issues.

There is one fundamental problem that may deter anybody short of power sockets in either location though. The Powerline adapters worked perfectly when I plugged them directly into a wall socket - but not when I used a Belkin four socket Surgemaster power block, or any other electrical block or extension cord. Which is a bit limiting when you need to plug servers and storage devices in as well. 

D-Link does not mention this on its website support page, but it does stress that the two adapters must be connected to the same unbroken circuit. The company also points out that the 200Mbit/s maximum throughput is theoretical, and can be affected by 'power fluctuations, surges, EM interference or poor grounding'.

The other downside is my teenage son: having found out he can now plug the garage Playstation into the Internet, he's skipping college to play games online. So I often have to turf him out of the place before I can get on with anything at all ... then unplug the Playstation and the TV and plug the switch and server back in again.

17 Oct 2007