Netgear XAVB101 Powerline Ethernet

Introduction:

Home networking is a subject that is affecting more and more people these days. You have more than one computer in your house and now want them connected so you can share files. What are your options? You can run ethernet cable throughout the entire house, but that is tedious, tiring work. If you rent the place, you may not have the option of running cable through the walls. You could try WIFI, but signal can be lossy depending on the building, and others can listen in. This is the necessity that fueled Netgear’s ingenuity when they developed the XAVB101. By running ethernet over powerlines already installed in the building, Netgear overcomes the obstacle of insufficient wiring. So does this new technology have what it takes to traverse the tubes of TechwareLabs’ network, or will this electrical invention come up short? Read on to find out.

Specifications:

Network Ports

• One 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port
• One 200 Mbps† Powerline HD interface

Power Supply

• 100-240V @ 50-60HZ

LEDs

• Power
• Status
• Ethernet

Environmental Specifications

• Operating temperature: 0º-40 ºC (32º-104 ºF)
• Operating relative humidity: 10% to 90% non-condensing

Physical Specifications

• Dimensions: 98 x 72 x 40 mm (3.86 x 2.83 x 1.57 in)
• Weight: 0.18 kg (0.4 lb)

Electromagnetic Emissions

• FCC Part 15 Class B
• CE
• C-Tick

Power and Safety Regulations

• UL Certified

Typical Coverage

• Up to 5000 square foot home

Warranty

• NETGEAR 1-year Warranty

Package Contents

• Two (2) Powerline AV Ethernet Adapters (XAV101)
• 1.51 m (5 ft) Ethernet Cable
• Installation guide
• Setup CD
• Warranty card
• Support and information card

Packaging:

The outside of the box hails all of the features of the adapter.

The package includes all the contents required to immediately start networking two machines or connecting a machine to an existing network.

One nice thing that Netgear did was include ethernet cables with the XAVB101. There have been many times when network equipment has passed through our hands and the company expects us to already have network cables.

A Closer Look:

The only difference between the XAVB101 and the XAV101 kits are the amount of units that are packaged with it. The XAVB101 kit includes two XAV101 units, which is all you need to make a functioning powerline network.

With that said, I move on to my next point. The posted bandwidth of 200 Mbps is slightly deceptive. Consumers may think that they will be able to transfer files at 200 Mbps, but this is not the case, as the unit only has a 10/100 ethernet port (100 Mbps max bandwith) for connecting to the device that uses it. The 200 Mbps bandwidth comes into play with the back end powerline connection between the XAV101 units. All of the XAV units share a common bandwidth pool of 200 Mbps to talk to each other. This allows the units enough overhead to help maintain consistent 10/100 speeds despite other traffic on the powerline network (which can happen with more than two powerline adapters)  or noise in the power grid interfering with the signal.

The XAV101 comes with control software to monitor the status of each adapter plugged into the power grid. The software also allows for the upgrading of the device’s firmware and the manual setting of an encryption key for transferring across the power grid (The encryption standard that Netgear uses is WPA AES 128-bit).

Testing:

Testing was done using a laptop and desktop and various methods of networking (direct connected without a switch and then with a switch). Both the switch and the computers were equipped with gigabit ports. When plugged into the computers, the network connection is seen as a 10/100 connection. We then proceeded to transfer a 2 GB file and measure the transfer rate.

63.69% network saturation is a respectable amount. This result was under optimal conditions where the two machines were directly wired together and were in the same room. Network quality is going to be largely dependent on the amount of noise in your electrical grid. The instructions for the XAV101 specifically say not to plug the unit into an extension cord or a surge protector/battery backup as it can filter out the high frequency ranges that the adapter uses to transfer data.

The three LEDs indicate the unit’s power, powerline network status, and network traffic. The color of the powerline network status light changes depending on how good of a connection the unit has with other adapters in the network. This allows you to get a rough idea of potential transfer speeds without using the control program.

Conclusion:

The Netgear XAVB101 should not be thought of as a replacement for traditional in-wall ethernet cabling. It should be seen as a means of reaching “the last mile.” What I mean is that it works well for getting ethernet out to areas of the house where you may not always need ethernet or where it would be impractical to run cabling. One such instance would be in a living room where you may have network enabled gaming consoles (PS3, Xbox 360, etc.). The powerline ethernet solution would allow you the freedom to move around furniture and not have the need to run a super long ethernet cable from one room to the other.

Obviously this adapter wouldn’t be for everyone, namely people who consistently transfer large files across their network. For them, they really need in-wall ethernet, and probably a gigabit switch as well. All in all, this product does its job quite well and solves a problem in an innovative new way. At a price of $130 for a two unit pack, it shouldn’t break the bank if you need to run a network connection out to “the last mile.”

  Previous Page         1. Introduction2. Packaging and A Closer Look3. Testing and Conclusion4. View All         Next Page