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| The adapters are a perfect fit in a double mains socket |
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| The optional utility software lets you turn off the adapter LEDS |
Find it on Amazon:
Friday, 25 May 2012
Review: Netgear Powerline Nano500 set (XAVB5101)
For some reason, it's been a busy time for new Homeplug products. Netgear's latest offering is a miniature 500Mbps model based, as usual, on the Qualcomm Atheros AR7400 chipset. The nicest thing about these adapters, apart from their excellent performance and very useful software utiliity, is their incredibly compact size. They are no wider than most standard UK plugs, making them easy to plug in anywhere. You can read my full review over on ITProPortal, and see performance results compared to some other models on my recent review of the similarly-priced Devolo dLan 500 AVMini adapters.
Find it on Amazon:
Find it on Amazon:
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Watch out for dodgy network ports
Doing some powerline testing recently, I noticed something odd going on with one pair of adapters. The performance seemed to vary randomly between test runs. All the lights were showing a good link, and the tests showed no other anomalies, but because the variation was so high (fluctuating between 90Mbps and 135Mbps) I dug a bit deeper.
The first thing I did was to reset the adapters to factory defaults, but with no joy. So I changed the network cable, a favourite pastime, but again no luck. Then when I was plugging in another cable I spotted something odd in the network port on one of the adaptors. The gold sprung contacts didn't seem regular, and on closer inspection one of them appeared bent. I tried wiggling it with a fine screwdriver but it didn't want to budge. Sure enough, wiggling the network cable during a test allowed me to recreate the problem on demand.
We take network ports for granted, but they are very easily damaged - I have no idea how this happened, but as powerline adapters tend to get left lying around, it was most likely to have been a foreign object, possibly attached to a small human being's hand.
Checking out the network connector pinout diagram here, I discovered that it was Pin 8 that was damaged. This is interesting, as for 10/100Mbps Ethernet, this pin is unused. But for Gigabit Ethernet it carries the BI_DD- signal, apparently. So if this was intermittent, the connection would keep switching between 100Mbps and 1000Mbps, which would neatly explain the performance difference, as the lower rate would be maxing out a 100Mbps connection.
The moral is, if you have network performance problems, or you can only get 100Mbps out of a 1000Mbps network device, it's always worth checking the ports themselves (there are other causes, however). It only takes a second, and bent, misaligned or damaged connectors really do stand out a mile when you look.
On a side note, it also highlights why, whenever running performance tests, you should always repeat them several times, something constantly drummed into me during my PC Mag Labs years.
The first thing I did was to reset the adapters to factory defaults, but with no joy. So I changed the network cable, a favourite pastime, but again no luck. Then when I was plugging in another cable I spotted something odd in the network port on one of the adaptors. The gold sprung contacts didn't seem regular, and on closer inspection one of them appeared bent. I tried wiggling it with a fine screwdriver but it didn't want to budge. Sure enough, wiggling the network cable during a test allowed me to recreate the problem on demand.
 |
| The far pin was the culprit |
 |
| Bent or damaged pins do stand out. But they are difficult to fix. |
We take network ports for granted, but they are very easily damaged - I have no idea how this happened, but as powerline adapters tend to get left lying around, it was most likely to have been a foreign object, possibly attached to a small human being's hand.
Checking out the network connector pinout diagram here, I discovered that it was Pin 8 that was damaged. This is interesting, as for 10/100Mbps Ethernet, this pin is unused. But for Gigabit Ethernet it carries the BI_DD- signal, apparently. So if this was intermittent, the connection would keep switching between 100Mbps and 1000Mbps, which would neatly explain the performance difference, as the lower rate would be maxing out a 100Mbps connection.
The moral is, if you have network performance problems, or you can only get 100Mbps out of a 1000Mbps network device, it's always worth checking the ports themselves (there are other causes, however). It only takes a second, and bent, misaligned or damaged connectors really do stand out a mile when you look.
On a side note, it also highlights why, whenever running performance tests, you should always repeat them several times, something constantly drummed into me during my PC Mag Labs years.
Review: Devolo dLan 500 AVMini Starter Kit
I've had a bit of a Homeplug-fest recently, with several companies releasing new 500Mbps products at the same time. The latest is Devolo's 500 AVMini Starter Kit, which contains two miniature siblings of the 500 AVPlus models I reviewed recently.
Miniature adapters seem to be the latest craze, and it's understandable if you've ever tried to plug a full-size adapter into a UK double wall socket - in many cases, they just won't fit alongside a standard mains plug. The odd thing about the 500 AVMinis is that they are 65mm wide, which is exactly the same as the huge 500 AVPlus adapter. Every other dimension is smaller, however - the thickness (excluding the plug) is 30mm versus 40mm, and the length 80mm rather than 130mm. As with the 500 AVPlus, this means that they are a very tight fit in a double socket.
In the box you get a pair of decent quality network cables (not snagless ones, though), plus a quick-install guide and a CD with the excellent dLan Cockpit utility software.
They share the same styling as most of Devolo's adapters, featuring a well-ventilated white casing with a Gigabit Ethernet port at the base and a reset/encryption button next to it. The three status LEDs on the top face are large and easy to read, showing red, orange or green to indicate the Homeplug connection speed. They will work with 200Mbps Homeplug AV adapters, but not with Homeplug 1.0 devices (they will coexist happily, but won't be able to talk to each other).
The dLan Cockpit software (see picture below) allows users to add adapters using the security code printed on the adapter, view the link speeds between Devolo adapters (other brands won't show up), rest or change the passwords and give them descriptive names. There's also a basic troubleshooting guide.
Technology
As far as I am aware, all 500Mbps Homeplug devices, including the 500 AVMini and AVPlus, are based on the Qualcomm Atheros AR7400 series of chips. Although complying with the Homeplug AV standard for 200Mbps connectivity, they use a wider frequency range of 2-68MHz (instead of 2-28MHz) to achieve higher throughput when they detect other AR7400-based devices. They also incorporate a Gigabit Ethernet port instead of the mandated 10/100Mbps port in the standard. This will all change when products based on the long-awaited Homeplug AV2 standard appear, with support for gigabit link speeds (note that any products you see at the moment described as 'Homeplug AV2' are certainly not, as some retailers incorrectly use this tag to describe 500Mbps Atheros-based products).
Performance tests
I have standardised on Totusoft's excellent LAN Speed Test and LST Server for testing powerline devices. It's simple, quick and reliable, and as I'm not particularly interested in graphing throughput for these devices it works fine (I still use Passmark for NAS and Wifi testing, however, due to its graphing features).
For the test setup, I've found by trial and error that the most reliable way to get maximum repeatable performance is to plug two adapters into each end of an extension socket, which is then connected to a dedicated mains socket. This arrangement removes most of the effects of my rubbish domestic wiring, and usually allows me to get the full advertised link speeds. I also do informal tests using random sockets around the house, but the results vary so much that they are not really useful to anyone who doesn't live in my house. With the AVMinis, I found that on most occasions I could easily get 150-200Mbps link speeds even in the worst cases (as indicated in the dLan Cockpit software), giving performance up to about half of the maximum.
As I tested the 500 AVMinis, I realised that as I had a decent collection of powerline adapters (Devolo, Netgear and Solwise) lying around, I might as well test them all together to give a performance matrix for future reference. The results are shown in the table below. All adapters were upgraded to the latest firmware versions I could find. The figures shown are the average of the read and write performance results, averaged over three test runs using a 1MB packet size (the default) with a 100-packet test duration. This extended duration helps even out the initial ramp-up in throughput often seen with these adapters.
As you can see, the 500 AVMinis did very well, tieing with the 500AVPlus for top performance between identical adapters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they also worked well with the Netgear AV5101 Atheros-based adapters, although a fraction slower than when working with another 500AVMini. These speeds make them much more attractive than the 200Mbps models. Unfortunately I only had a single Devolo 200 AVMini, so I couldn't get a result for that cell.
The Solwise adapters are an oddity, being based on the 1Gbps Gigle MediaXtream chipset. This claims to work with Homeplug AV, and it does, but not particularly well. When the Solwise adapters appeared, their performance was impressive, but they now appear to have been overtaken by Homeplug.
Conclusion
The Devolo 500 AVMini Starter Kit is the joint fastest Homeplug adapter I've tested, tying with the Devolo 500 AVPlus to give real throughput of up to 135Mbps in ideal conditions. The adapters are small, but no narrower than the 500 AVPlus model, making them still quite a tight fit if you want to use them in a dual wall socket. The software is excellent (although it's not needed for operation), and the kit is a similar price to the competing Netgear XAVB101 kit (a full review of this is coming shortly), but if you want maximum performance they are highly recommended.
Details
Model: Devolo dLan 500 AVMini Starter Kit
Price: £100 inc VAT
Manufacturer's website: www.devolo.co.uk
Find it on Amazon:
In the box you get a pair of decent quality network cables (not snagless ones, though), plus a quick-install guide and a CD with the excellent dLan Cockpit utility software.
They share the same styling as most of Devolo's adapters, featuring a well-ventilated white casing with a Gigabit Ethernet port at the base and a reset/encryption button next to it. The three status LEDs on the top face are large and easy to read, showing red, orange or green to indicate the Homeplug connection speed. They will work with 200Mbps Homeplug AV adapters, but not with Homeplug 1.0 devices (they will coexist happily, but won't be able to talk to each other).
The dLan Cockpit software (see picture below) allows users to add adapters using the security code printed on the adapter, view the link speeds between Devolo adapters (other brands won't show up), rest or change the passwords and give them descriptive names. There's also a basic troubleshooting guide.
Technology
As far as I am aware, all 500Mbps Homeplug devices, including the 500 AVMini and AVPlus, are based on the Qualcomm Atheros AR7400 series of chips. Although complying with the Homeplug AV standard for 200Mbps connectivity, they use a wider frequency range of 2-68MHz (instead of 2-28MHz) to achieve higher throughput when they detect other AR7400-based devices. They also incorporate a Gigabit Ethernet port instead of the mandated 10/100Mbps port in the standard. This will all change when products based on the long-awaited Homeplug AV2 standard appear, with support for gigabit link speeds (note that any products you see at the moment described as 'Homeplug AV2' are certainly not, as some retailers incorrectly use this tag to describe 500Mbps Atheros-based products).
Performance tests
I have standardised on Totusoft's excellent LAN Speed Test and LST Server for testing powerline devices. It's simple, quick and reliable, and as I'm not particularly interested in graphing throughput for these devices it works fine (I still use Passmark for NAS and Wifi testing, however, due to its graphing features).
 |
| My high-tech testbed |
 |
| Dlan Cockpit showing the 500Mbps link speed before testing |
As I tested the 500 AVMinis, I realised that as I had a decent collection of powerline adapters (Devolo, Netgear and Solwise) lying around, I might as well test them all together to give a performance matrix for future reference. The results are shown in the table below. All adapters were upgraded to the latest firmware versions I could find. The figures shown are the average of the read and write performance results, averaged over three test runs using a 1MB packet size (the default) with a 100-packet test duration. This extended duration helps even out the initial ramp-up in throughput often seen with these adapters.
 |
| Homeplug performance results - top 10 results highlighted in red |
As you can see, the 500 AVMinis did very well, tieing with the 500AVPlus for top performance between identical adapters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they also worked well with the Netgear AV5101 Atheros-based adapters, although a fraction slower than when working with another 500AVMini. These speeds make them much more attractive than the 200Mbps models. Unfortunately I only had a single Devolo 200 AVMini, so I couldn't get a result for that cell.
The Solwise adapters are an oddity, being based on the 1Gbps Gigle MediaXtream chipset. This claims to work with Homeplug AV, and it does, but not particularly well. When the Solwise adapters appeared, their performance was impressive, but they now appear to have been overtaken by Homeplug.
Conclusion
The Devolo 500 AVMini Starter Kit is the joint fastest Homeplug adapter I've tested, tying with the Devolo 500 AVPlus to give real throughput of up to 135Mbps in ideal conditions. The adapters are small, but no narrower than the 500 AVPlus model, making them still quite a tight fit if you want to use them in a dual wall socket. The software is excellent (although it's not needed for operation), and the kit is a similar price to the competing Netgear XAVB101 kit (a full review of this is coming shortly), but if you want maximum performance they are highly recommended.
Details
Model: Devolo dLan 500 AVMini Starter Kit
Price: £100 inc VAT
Manufacturer's website: www.devolo.co.uk
Find it on Amazon:
Monday, 21 May 2012
New 802.11ac routers herald next-gen Gigabit Wifi
I've had a few press releases about new 802.11ac ('Gigabit Wifi') routers recently, which is great news - you don't get a brand new generation of wireless networks appearing every day. Although it's largely based on 802.11n, but with wider channels (it only uses the 5GHz frequency), 802.11ac adds some other interesting tricks to improve throughput and reliability. But until I see some actual products, it's fairly obvious that I can't say how well they are going to work in practice.
Using the 5GHz band exclusively might give a little less interference in those places where 5GHz is currently viewed as witchcraft, but in my home there are at least 2 other 5GHz routers nearby that sometimes cause me headaches during router testing. Virgin Media and BT both now supply dual-band routers as standard, I believe. And as device penetration increases, it won't be long before the 5GHz band is just as crowded as the 2.4GHz band (if router manufacturers only enabled the 2.4GHz band by default, the situation wouldn't be as bad, but I can't see them doing that and risking the irate 'where's my 5GHz??!!' support calls). Add to that the fact that a single router could in theory use up the entire 160MHz spectrum in the UK, and it's going to be fun. There's talk of it becoming the standard in mobile devices, set-top boxes and other consumer electronic items, which will only add to the congestion.
There are lots of technical options, such as short guard intervals and modulation schemes, for giving a wide variety of link rates from a single configuration in 802.11ac, which will probably mean great confusion at the lower end of the market with single-stream products. The real benefit of 802.11ac will probably come with multi-stream devices that can implement the multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) part of the spec and use beamforming to more accurately target clients.
This should improve reliability, if not throughput, but there's not much that can be done to improve the range of 5GHz signals, given the UK regulations on transmitter power . In some of the white papers I've read, they seem to suggest by starting with a higher throughput, the fall-off takes longer to happen, effectively increasing range. Perhaps, but you still need a signal to get any throughput at all. Let's see what happens when 802.11ac meets the two brick cavity walls and glass patio door in my standard test area (otherwise known as my home). So far, the best 5GHz 802.11n systems I've tested have matched the best 2.4GHz results at 25m range, but that's quite rare - most routers I've seen struggle to connect at more than about 10-15m. Interestingly, the ones that worked best at 5GHz were Belkin's latest models (particularly the Play N750-DB) which use some kind of beamforming.
But let's not get too alarmist before we've seen the actual products in action - and that might be a couple of months yet. The three companies who have made announcements all vaguely talk about the third quarter of 2012 before products arrive in the UK, so hopefully I can get my hands on some during the summer. In the meantime, you can read a little more about the promised products in a piece I wrote for ZDNet's Firsdt Take blog.
For those interested in the technicalities of 802.11ac, there are a couple of decent white papers here and here.
Using the 5GHz band exclusively might give a little less interference in those places where 5GHz is currently viewed as witchcraft, but in my home there are at least 2 other 5GHz routers nearby that sometimes cause me headaches during router testing. Virgin Media and BT both now supply dual-band routers as standard, I believe. And as device penetration increases, it won't be long before the 5GHz band is just as crowded as the 2.4GHz band (if router manufacturers only enabled the 2.4GHz band by default, the situation wouldn't be as bad, but I can't see them doing that and risking the irate 'where's my 5GHz??!!' support calls). Add to that the fact that a single router could in theory use up the entire 160MHz spectrum in the UK, and it's going to be fun. There's talk of it becoming the standard in mobile devices, set-top boxes and other consumer electronic items, which will only add to the congestion.
 |
| Netgear's R6300 could be one of the first 802.11ac routers to hit the UK |
There are lots of technical options, such as short guard intervals and modulation schemes, for giving a wide variety of link rates from a single configuration in 802.11ac, which will probably mean great confusion at the lower end of the market with single-stream products. The real benefit of 802.11ac will probably come with multi-stream devices that can implement the multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) part of the spec and use beamforming to more accurately target clients.
This should improve reliability, if not throughput, but there's not much that can be done to improve the range of 5GHz signals, given the UK regulations on transmitter power . In some of the white papers I've read, they seem to suggest by starting with a higher throughput, the fall-off takes longer to happen, effectively increasing range. Perhaps, but you still need a signal to get any throughput at all. Let's see what happens when 802.11ac meets the two brick cavity walls and glass patio door in my standard test area (otherwise known as my home). So far, the best 5GHz 802.11n systems I've tested have matched the best 2.4GHz results at 25m range, but that's quite rare - most routers I've seen struggle to connect at more than about 10-15m. Interestingly, the ones that worked best at 5GHz were Belkin's latest models (particularly the Play N750-DB) which use some kind of beamforming.
But let's not get too alarmist before we've seen the actual products in action - and that might be a couple of months yet. The three companies who have made announcements all vaguely talk about the third quarter of 2012 before products arrive in the UK, so hopefully I can get my hands on some during the summer. In the meantime, you can read a little more about the promised products in a piece I wrote for ZDNet's Firsdt Take blog.
For those interested in the technicalities of 802.11ac, there are a couple of decent white papers here and here.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Review: Synology Diskstation DS112j
I do like Synology NAS devices. Although the physical construction sometimes seem a bit flimsy (they tend to use all-plastic cases for the desktop models), the DSM software is superb, especially the latest version 4 (you can try out a live demo of this on their website).
One of its latest products is the single-bay DS112j, aimed at consumers. It is a decent product, but to be honest I'd probably spend an extra £40-£50 and go for the 2-bay DS212j version which allows you to create a mirrored RAID array for a bit more peace of mind (I've reviewed the DS212j for Computeractive, too, but it's not online yet). But these days every £ counts, so if you really don't need redundancy the DS112j is well worth putting on your shortlist. Read my full review over on Computeractive.
I've included my Passmark Performance Test results graphs below for your interest. I use the Advanced Network Test and run the four standard workloads - File Server, Web Server, Workstation and Database. The limitations of the moderate processing power (1.2GHz) and 128MB of RAM in this budget model is apparent - for a little more oomph, there's a business version, the DS112, with a slightly faster (1.6GHz) CPU and twice the memory.
Find it on Amazon:
One of its latest products is the single-bay DS112j, aimed at consumers. It is a decent product, but to be honest I'd probably spend an extra £40-£50 and go for the 2-bay DS212j version which allows you to create a mirrored RAID array for a bit more peace of mind (I've reviewed the DS212j for Computeractive, too, but it's not online yet). But these days every £ counts, so if you really don't need redundancy the DS112j is well worth putting on your shortlist. Read my full review over on Computeractive.
I've included my Passmark Performance Test results graphs below for your interest. I use the Advanced Network Test and run the four standard workloads - File Server, Web Server, Workstation and Database. The limitations of the moderate processing power (1.2GHz) and 128MB of RAM in this budget model is apparent - for a little more oomph, there's a business version, the DS112, with a slightly faster (1.6GHz) CPU and twice the memory.
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| Web Server workload |
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| Database workload |
 |
| File Server workload |
 |
| Workstation workload |
Find it on Amazon:
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Review: AVM FRITZ!Box WLAN 3270
AVM doesn't really do cheap, but the new FritzBox 3270 router is certainly not as expensive as its siblings. This single-radio, dual-band, 2x2 11n router is loosely based on the older 7270 model, and does away with all the analogue telephone connections and DECT base station. It still supports 10 SIP accounts, however, which can be used with the Fritz! Fon app for iOS and Android.
It's a bit of a mixed bag, and I reckon that for £99 it might be worth going for, but at £140 I think it's a little too pricey for its feature set. Performance is nothing special at close range, but it was quite impressive at 25m as you can see from the Performance Test results below. Read my full review over on Computeractive.
Find it on Amazon:
It's a bit of a mixed bag, and I reckon that for £99 it might be worth going for, but at £140 I think it's a little too pricey for its feature set. Performance is nothing special at close range, but it was quite impressive at 25m as you can see from the Performance Test results below. Read my full review over on Computeractive.
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| Just two antennas and no telephone connectors |
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| It features the excellent Fritz!Box interface |
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| Performance at 2.4GHz/1m range |
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| Performance at 2.4GHz/25m range |
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| Performance at 5GHz/1m range |
Find it on Amazon:
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Remote access woes
I've been away from home on family business for the past few weeks, and it's been a useful learning experience as I discovered the benefits and pitfalls of remote access while trying to finish off a couple of writing projects. I had to use my Mum's creaking old XP PC, but at least she has reasonable broadband. I installed a wireless router for her too, which meant I could use my own netbook and iPad. That was a saga in itself - working out how to extract the Post Office user name and password from the basic little Zyxel router they provide (ended up having to use View Source in the router's admin page to see behind the obfuscating stars - many thanks to this helpful blog post).
I swear by Windows Home Server (the original version, not the awful new one), and for the most part getting access to my files was straightforward, although my crappy 1Mbps Virgin Media upstream speed slowed things down for big file downloads (I had to download an Office XP ISO, which took forever).
The remote control feature of WHS only worked occasionally for some inexplicable reason, and of course only in Internet Explorer. I tried lots of fiddling around with XP's remote desktop settings, but to no avail. It worked a bit better on my Windows 7 netbook. Luckily I didn't need remote control that much, but it was annoying. Returning home briefly I managed to install Logmein Free on my main PC, and it worked perfectly.
I didn't make much use of services like Dropbox, as I've fallen out of the habit - I used Foldershare for many years, until it was bought by Microsoft and became Live Sync after they'd stripped out all the good features. But I'd certainly use Dropbox if I had to regularly work away from home - keeping files in sync between PCs is always a pain, which is why I went down the WHS route in the first place.
At least now I know what works and what doesn't if I have to go away again - and top of the list would be a faster netbook. My three year-old original Acer Aspire One is starting to show its age, although it's still totally reliable and does the job. A 10- or 12in model would give me just that bit more screen space - lots of apps don't work well on the 1024x600 screen.
I swear by Windows Home Server (the original version, not the awful new one), and for the most part getting access to my files was straightforward, although my crappy 1Mbps Virgin Media upstream speed slowed things down for big file downloads (I had to download an Office XP ISO, which took forever).
The remote control feature of WHS only worked occasionally for some inexplicable reason, and of course only in Internet Explorer. I tried lots of fiddling around with XP's remote desktop settings, but to no avail. It worked a bit better on my Windows 7 netbook. Luckily I didn't need remote control that much, but it was annoying. Returning home briefly I managed to install Logmein Free on my main PC, and it worked perfectly.
I didn't make much use of services like Dropbox, as I've fallen out of the habit - I used Foldershare for many years, until it was bought by Microsoft and became Live Sync after they'd stripped out all the good features. But I'd certainly use Dropbox if I had to regularly work away from home - keeping files in sync between PCs is always a pain, which is why I went down the WHS route in the first place.
At least now I know what works and what doesn't if I have to go away again - and top of the list would be a faster netbook. My three year-old original Acer Aspire One is starting to show its age, although it's still totally reliable and does the job. A 10- or 12in model would give me just that bit more screen space - lots of apps don't work well on the 1024x600 screen.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
AVM launches Fritz!Box WLAN 3270
AVM has launched a cut-down version of its Fritz!Box 7270 router in response to requests for a lower-cost model for those who don't need all the VoIP features. It has no phone connectors or DECT base station, although it can still be used with the free Fritz! FON apps for Android and iOS. I've written a short news piece for ZDNet UK outlining the main features, and a full review will be coming soon.
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