The advantages to a powerline network solution
Because you're using already the electrical wiring infrastructure of your home--and the electrical outlets that are spread throughout your home--powerline networking offers great flexibility on where computers and peripherals can be placed.
If you've had difficulty in creating a strong Wi-Fi network in your home--due to many factors, such as heavily insulated walls or interference from other devices in the home such as cordless phones--a powerline network can provide a stable, reliable connection throughout your home. And you can even pair it with a Wi-Fi router for wireless access.
Finally, a powerline network doesn't add any charges to your electrical bill.
The disadvantages to a powerline network solution
If your home electrical wiring isn't up to date, you might not get optimal performance from a powerline networking solution. It's not as fast as Gigabit Ethernet speeds (the fastest networking solution for home or office), but it is on par with current Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking.
Powerline networking is often touted as one of the easiest and most affordable whole-home networking solutions because you don't have to lay a lot of cable or install more wiring in your walls. However, you will still need to purchase adapters that will plug into your electrical outlets. Compared to buying multiple adapters, the price of a single wireless router might make more sense depending on what you'll be networking.
You also have to be careful to choose powerline networking adapters and accessories that use the same standard. There are three standards available from a variety of manufacturers:
- HomePlug AV (available from manufacturers like Belkin, Linksys, Netgear, and ZyXEL)
- UPA, which stands for Universal Powerline Association (available from D-Link, Netgear, and others)
- HD-PLC, which stands for High Definition Power Line Communication (available from Panasonic)
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