PhoneLine networking with HPNA

Official Names: HPNA / HomePNA

Official HonePNA Standards Site

HPNA 1.0 – 1Mbps – old standard

HPNA 2.0 – 10Mbps Avail Now – popular

HPNA 3.0 – 100Mbps Est. release Q1 2002

PhoneLine networking, as it’s name applies, uses your existing phone lines to connect your computers. It does not interfere with voice operations or DSL on your existing live telephone line. Your HPNA network, DSL and voice communications can happen on the SAME phone lines simultaneously. Since HPNA does not require new cabling in your home, it is one of my favorite network types to install.

HPNA 1.0 was met in the industry with excitement but limited success. 2.0 brought the speed up to a good level and brought the price down too!  Since then HPNA 2.0 has been adopted by almost all of the home network manufacturers. Network adapters, routers and bridges are all available. In addition, many multimedia devices for your AV system come equipped with HPNA networking.

HPNA network adapters come in both PCI and USB versions. A PCI adapter is going to be less expensive and will provide a little better performance - however, it will require you to open your computer. USB to PhoneLine Network adapters plug into an USB port on your computer so setup is a snap. USB adapters are low voltage items so no external power supplies are needed.

Connections between computers are made with standard phone line cables. Like other phone line devices, Phoneline network adapters have two jacks so that computers and HPNA enabled peripherals can be daisy chained together. No hubs or switches are necessary.

HPNA networks can stretch up to 1000 feet over the existing phone line wiring in your home. HPNA networks do not interfere with voice, modem, or DSL communications over the same exact phone wire. 

Most HPNA adapters have small indicator lights called link lights. These lights tell you when you have everything connected correctly. Often, these lights will not come on until your computer has the proper network drivers installed. 

Each operating system and each network card has its own install procedure. Please follow the directions that came with your network card to install your network drivers.

When most of your computers are in the same room, Ethernet is by far the best choice because of cost and speed. Computers in other rooms can be added to your Ethernet network by using a HPNA bridge and a HPNA network card in each remote computer. HPNA bridges are devices that translate Ethernet into HPNA phoneline networking. Broadband routers with built in HPNA have both HPNA and Ethernet ports and act as a network bridge too.

Glenn Merkel has also successfully connected two physically separate Ethernet networks in his home using two HPNA bridges – and no HPNA network adapters. In his configuration, the bridges simply ‘jump’ network packets from one Ethernet network to the other through the phone lines. Since a broadband router is on the network, all his computers can get to the Internet – even the ones in the entertainment room. See his network diagram here

PhoneLine networking with HPNA