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Powerline Communication
Powerline to Ethernet Bridge with 4-port Switch
PL-401E
USER’S MANUAL
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Copyright Copyright (C) 2003 PLANET Technology Corp. All rights reserved. The products and programs described in this User’s Manual are licensed products of PLANET Technology, This User’s Manual contains proprietary information protected by copyright, and this User’s Manual and all accompanying hardware, software, and documentation are copyrighted. No part of this User’s Manual may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable for
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Table of Content Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Powerline to Ethernet Bridge with 4-port Switch – PL-401E .............. 1 1.1.1 Features................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Package Contents.................................................................... 2 1.1.3 Hardware Description............................................................... 2 1.1.
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Chapter 1 Introduction Powerline communication is revolution in home and small office networking, greatly simplifying the task of installing a high-speed local area network. With PLANET’s powerline communication products, you can utilize existing AC power outlets and wires to connect your computers, servers and other devices safely, securely and at true LAN speeds of up to 14 Mega bits per second. No complex and expensive specialized wiring usually associated with LAN’s is required, or
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♦ 56-bit data encryption to ensure data security and reliability ♦ Easy to use Windows-based security key configuration utility ♦ Significant LED indicators ♦ Up to 90 meters between two powerline nodes ♦ Able to communicate between different electrical phases 1.1.2 Package Contents Check the contents of your package for following parts: n One Powerline to Ethernet Bridge n One Power Cord n One Manual and Utility CD-ROM n One Quick Installation Guide If any of these pieces are missin
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One 2-pin power inlet for both powerline network and power supply 1.1.4 Specification Model PL-401E Standards HomePlug 1.0 IEEE 802.3 10Base-T IEEE 802.3u 100Base-TX Ports One Powerline Port Four 10/100M Ethernet RJ-45 ports Cabling Type Powerline: Power Cord LAN: UTP Cat 3 or better Speed Powerline: 14Mbps (actual throughput is about 6Mbps) LAN: 10/100Mbps Powerline Frequency Band 4.3MHz to 20.9MHz Encryption 56-bit DES with Key configuration software LEDs PWR, PLC: LNK, ACT, C
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Chapter 2 Planning your Powerline Network With PLANET PowerLine products, a network can be created using home powerlines. Computers can be networked over powerlines using a USB Adapter or an Ethernet converter. Use PL-102U for a USB-enabled computer or use PL-401E for an Ethernet-enabled computer. The PL-401E is also ideal for any user who already has a router and wants to share high-speed Internet access across the powerline network. Connect PL-401E to the router after you have configure
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Chapter 3 Powerline to Ethernet Bridge Installation Please follow the procedures below to install your PL-401E: 1. Plug one end of an UTP category 5 cable into the computer, switch or hub’s LAN port. 2. Plug the other end of the network cable into one of the 10/100 RJ45 Ethernet ports on PL-401E. 3. Plug the power cord into the powerline port on PL-401E. 4. Plug the other end of the power cord into a power outlet. Note1: Use only the supplied power cord to connect PL-401E to the power
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Chapter 4 Encrypting Your Powerline Network 4.1 PowerPacket Configuration Utility Installation 1. Insert the CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive to initiate the autorun program. Once completed, a menu screen will appear as follows: 2. To install the utility, click on the "PowerPacket Configuration Utility" hyperlink in PL-401E field to activate the installation procedure for the application program. If the above screen is not shown, you can start the installation as follows. • Click on Start
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4. When the License Agreement screen is displayed, read the License Agreement, then click the radio button to the left of “I accept the terms in the license agreement” and click the Next button. 5. On the Customer Information screen, enter the required information and select whom this application is installed for. Then click the Next button. 7
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6. The InstallShield Wizard shows your current settings in next screen. If you need to review or change any settings, click the Back button. Click the Cancel button to exit the Wizard. Otherwise, click the Install button. 7. The InstallShield Wizard would ask you to plug your PL-401E to PC to complete the installation. After ensuring PL-401E is well connected, click the OK button 8
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8. When finished, click Finish to end the Installation Wizard. 9. Remember to restart your computer to have the new configuration take effect. 4.2 PowerPacket Configuration Utility Usage After successfully installing the utility, your computer desktop will display this icon, , PowerPacket Configuration Utility. Double-click the icon to activate the utility. 9
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Note: Make sure your TCP/IP protocol is set up appropriately on your computer before running PowerPacket configuration utility. 4.2.1 Device Screen When initiating the program, it will analyze your powerline network. Once the analysis is done, the Device screen will be shown as above. In the text list box, it reports all PowerPacket™ devices found that are locally connected to the computer where the utility is running. In most cases, one device only is listed. In case you have more, cli
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4.2.2 Network Screen The Network screen provides detailed information about your powerline network. The text list box shows all PowerPacket™ devices found on your powerline network identified by their MAC addresses. The second column indicates their data rate measurements in Mbps. Press Scan Powerline Network button to refresh the listed information. In case a PowerPacket™ device in your network is not listed in the screen above, make sure that its network password has not been made priv
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4.2.3 Security Screen All PL-401E are shipped using “HomePlug” as a network password. The Security screen allows you to change this network password and set your own private password and apply it to PL-401E connected to the computer where the utility is running. Click Restore Default button to restore the original network password “HomePlug” and apply it locally. Click Set Local button to change the network password locally. Note: Your private network password must have between 4 and 24
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4.2.4 Advanced Screen The Advanced screen allows you to set up a network password remotely on other PL-401E through the powerline. Type your private network password into the Network Password text box. The device password of a PL-401E is adding 0000 to its MAC address. For example, the device password of a PL-401E with MAC 00304F25A509 is 0000-0030-4F25-A509. The other device on the network with PowerPacket™ capabilities will have a different device password printed on either the case it
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click Remove to remove it from the list. 14
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4.2.5 About Screen The About screen shows the software version. 15
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Chapter 5 Troubleshooting w I can not connect to other computers on my powerline network or to the Internet. A: Make sure the IP address and TCP/IP protocol are set up correctly for all the powerline networked computers. w Do the PL-401E device cause interference with other home networking or products? A: No. PL-401E can co-exist with phone line and wireless networking technologies. PL-401E operates in a different frequency band than powerline control and co-exist with technologies su
