Broadband Tech > Wireless Networking > netgear xavb5001 powerline rather than wireless

netgear xavb5001 powerline rather than wireless

Running the ethernet cable will always yield the best results
Consider one pair instead of two to try it out
Do some online shopping
I've seen a pair of av 200 powerline adapters for less than $60

reply to RobXMiller
»Re: Best router for my situation?

As I noted, avoid 200Mbps products the actual throughput is too low. Check out the smallnet builder website for chart comparisons and reviews. Everyones electricals will add variation but its a reasonable rough guide for ranges between sites.

Model NetGear XAV5001 Installation Review
Ordered 2 pair of NetGear XAV5001 and completed installation. Everythign is working perfectlly the day after.
Total cost via Amazon was $219 with shipping.
It is true that my best connection speed at this time is around 188 Mhz (up/down). One very old XP is slower due to it's old network card.
Will admit, new cable would have been faster transfer speed.
Will also admit, new cable would not have taken 2 total hours.

This is a great solution for an out-of-the-box instant network. It solved some problems for me. My next step will be to spend time on updating my 5 year old wireless router connected to my Comcast Modem. My house is 1,900 sq ft upstairs and 1,700 sq foot basement. As mentioned my attic is accessable and had several feet of new insulation blown in (a factor for DYI cable installers). My Comcast Internet, Phone comes into my Garrage that has a reasonable firewall (physical, not router). So a hole for only one cable to enter the house in the basement might have been a physical and a network bottleneck.

Continued:
A few suggestions that cost me a couple of hours:
1. Install the CD ROM first, use the link to upgrade to the latest Netgear Software before plugging in your first one.
2. Power Strips can mess up things! Straight power strips with absolutely no "surge protectors" plugged into a wall (or an extension cord) are OK. A strip with a Surge Protector (a.k.a. one tiny capacitor) can make the NetGear powerline show up for a while, then dissapear. Or, in the case of a DVD Blueray player with a Internet for NetFlix.
On the BlueRay, everything appeared to pass OK except the DNS. After wasting an hour acting all techie, I simpley plugged the Netgear directly in a wall (rather than a Surge Protected strip) and the BlueRay instantlly worked!
3. Start with two, one on your router and one directly on your first PC. The NetGear software is really well done. Rename your two routers. I had plugged in my other two netgear powerline boxes and they did not show upj.
Guess what, the Netgear help line was open Saturday, registered my product. Then told me that the Netgear powerline box goes into energy save mode until used. Once I plugged in the internet cable on the spare two boxes.... they instantlly showed up on the software network.
4. Each NetGear Powerline box has the MAC, serial number, and Password on a lable. The font is in tiny, tiny fonts that you would expect to find on the loan for your next "used car". LOL
Before installing, record all of this. Hint user your reading glasses and a magnifying glass! I am not kidding. I suggest that Netgear print all executives bonus checks in this same font.

Continued:
My setup:
My Comcast Modem and my Wireless Router is in my Garage. 1 st Netgear powerline goes into the Router.
2nd powerline in my Business Station (an old Duo Processor with dual 28" LED monitors) that use to be wireless with a USB interface. Huge improvement now at 157 MB/s up/down
3rd powerline in 2nd business office - directly into an old Cisco active 5 port switch (10/100 mb/s). This switch supports:
a. XP computer (due for replacement March 1)
b. HP 8500 All in one (hooked to cable rather than wireless)
c. A NetTalk IP phone - (about $30 first year) This plugs into the Internet, power, RJ-11 phone number for my dedicated Fax line.
d. 2nd Wireless router. The wireless in the garrage has low signal for basement and back portch.
4th Netgear Powerline goes to a Panasonic BlueRay DVD player used for Netflix, HULU, and the rest.

The old Cisco 10/100 router is of course a bottleneck as is the old XP network card. Will also update the garrage wireless router.
Overall, everyting was simple and the results are vastly improved.
My plan is to order another pair. One for my HP i7 dual 40" monitor development workstation. This will leave a powerline box as a "spare".
The new garrage WIRELESS router will update my wireless HP Envy 3D 17 used for my UAV 3D video related projects. Plus add a hotspot for all my Android Tmobile hotspots.

Perhaps later, the house will be upgraded with much faster cable. For now, it was an instant success that allows me to move forward with projects and upgrades to each needed area.

Netgear support was fantastic. Considering how critical I tend to be (as a former Quality Assurance Manager for tech projects) a one star rating from me is 4 stars by others. My Netgear support rating is 4.5 of 5.

This long winded report has left out many additional features that could be added. If anyone has questions, let me know.

reply to RobXMiller
Yes one does not want to add any other circuitry between powerline devices (other than the electrical wiring of the house). You should find that advice in any of the product literature or UGs.

Glad it worked out for you.
Standard as per any device, upgrade to latest version then install and use. Good to know about sleep modes.

reply to RobXMiller
VERY nice review .. This should help a lot of people considering the powerline solution.

reply to RobXMiller
Thanks for the review and how-to. It was very good reading...

I am just about to jump into powerline networking and am seriously considering the ZyXEL PLA4205kit as a way to get started based on what I read on the Small Net Builder site.

»www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-PLA4205kit-···duct_top

I want to extend a wired LAN to my older non-WiFi Blu-ray player and eventually my wife's Win 7 desktop (currently 802.11g wireless) and possibly a Wii game console (also currently 802.11g wireless).
--
"When all else fails read the instructions..."
MS-MVP Windows Expert - Consumer

Have you considered MoCA as an alternative?

I have 5 devices in my house for which I paid maybe a total of $125 by buying MI424WR Rev C+ wireless routers on Ebay. From those I have several devices hanging off the 4 ports (including wireless routers). I get basically full 100 speed over coax. Been going strong for 3 years almost.

Sure Moca or Asus TPA 311 I believe do the same thing as powerline but use coax cable paths vice electircal wiring paths to transmit ethernet traffic. The advantage of coax is less loss over distance. In most instances though, throughout a house, electrical is far more prevalent and thus accessible.

I just have found that my MoCA setup is faster than a friend's powerline (and much less expensive) and is a little more flexible because of the ports. On one MoCA device I have 2 Xboxes, an HTPC and wireless router hanging off it. On another, I have an internet radio, a second HTPC and wireless router attached. On a third MoCA device I have 2 PCs and a wireless router. So it's a pretty convenient setup, although I did have to split the cable at each of the sites.

Obviously you're right in terms of prevalence of power outlets. That's possibly a huge factor for many.

Goober all powerline is not all equal. The ones in discussion are the latest 500 series (no relation to actual throughput). What is the version your friend has?

It's been a couple of years and I can't remember the brand or model number anymore. I assume it was last gen though, given the timeframe.

Are powerline faster now?

Edit: I see they are. This one tops 133, which is certainly faster than my MoCA stuff.

reply to RobXMiller
Was checking out my previous post and amazed to see the responses. Thanks for the input. It has been a week now so here is my update.
XAV5001 has a nifty network utility. This is a text file for my network to give people an idea. Remember, one of my nodes are limited to 10 and 10/100. (with modified MAC and password names deleted )
Device Name Model MAC Address LED Status Firmware Version Tx Rate Rx Rate Device Password IP address SSID Wireless Security Type Sub-Version Network Type

DiningRoomOffice XAV5001 :70:23 ON NETGEAR XAV5001 v0.2.0.9NA
OldXPWorkstation XAV5001 :05 ON NETGEAR XAV5001 v0.2.0.9NA 124 Mbps 93 Mbps
ComcastHSIRouter XAV5001 NETGEAR XAV5001 v0.2.0.9NA 110 Mbps 169 Mbps
TVEntertain XAV5001 :6F:F8 ON NETGEAR XAV5001 v0.2.0.9NA 171 Mbps 131 Mbps

The OldXPWorkstation is a switch running the NetPhone IP for the Fax, a HP Officejet 8500, XP, and wireless point.

The workstation with Skype (was wireless) is a huge improvement. The TV workstation Netflix has a huge improvement. While some video still halts, not sure what part of that is Comcast HSI or Netflix itself. I am catching up on a lot of old missed stuff like the entier series of Farscape, Paladin (writers Gene Rodenberry of Star Treck and Bruce Geller of Mission Impossible), and other obscure shows.
So far, very happy with the results and performance.