While wireless networking gets the spotlight, powerline networking is the workhorse that gets the job done. When folks have an issue with their wireless setup, a Powerline solution which leverages the home s electrical wiring to transmit the signal often gets the job done.
We had the opportunity to test the latest Powerline networking kit from D-Link, their Powerline AV2 Gigabit Passthrough Starter Kit (DHP-P701AV). For the pair of adapters, sold as a kit, the Amazon price is currently $124.99.
Features
The D-Link DHP-P701AV contains a number of features:
• Pass through plug- One of the issues with a Powerline adapter is that it is large, and it needs an electrical outlet, which blocks other devices from being plugged in. Also recall that Powerline adapters cannot be plugged into a surge strip as it interferes with signal transmission. The D-Link DHP-P701AV has an integrated pass through plug which is designed to allow the Powerline adapter to be plugged directly into the outlet, and then the cord into the adapter, thereby allowing the outlet to simultaneously be used both for Powerline duty and for electricity.
• Faster speeds- Powerline adapters have traditionally advertised fast speeds, but then bottlenecked them with a 10/100 Ethernet port. While the D-Link DHP-P701AV indicates speeds up to 2000 Mbps, at least they gave it a High Speed Gigabit 10/100/1000 port allowing for faster throughput (although it will still bottleneck at 1 Gbps).
• MIMO Technology- MIMO stands for Multiple in, multiple out. While this has been more associated with the latest wireless routers, now it has come to Powerline networking gear with the D-Link DHP-P701AV. Rather than broadcasting all the data to all the clients, this allows these Powerline adapters to target the data to the client that requested it, making the entire network more efficient.
• Power saving mode- In the past, Powerline adapters used electricity all the time once they were plugged in- whether in use or not. Now the D-Link DHP-P701AV adapters can enter a standby mode that uses 3.75W, and a sleep mode that brings it down to 0.22W. Even when up and running, the max usage per adapter is 4.36W.
• Security- The D-Link DHP-P701AV feature128-bit AES data encryption in the unlikely event someone is trying to get into your electrical network, and the signal does not travel past the electrical meter.
What s In the Box?
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The D-Link DHP-P701AV ships with a pair of the Powerline adapters, as well as two Ethernet cables, which are seen in yellow coiled in the lower part of the box tray. Note the power outlet on the face of each adapter to allow use of the outlet while the Powerline adapter is in use.
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The DHP-P701AV on the bottom has the Gigabit Ethernet port, a recessed reset button, and a button that can change the encryption.
Setup
Unlike the setup of a wireless router, which often has a myriad of options and settings, Powerline networking is comparatively easy. The DHP-P701AV just had to be plugged directly into two outlets- one by the modem, and the other by the client, and then these connections are made with Ethernet cables. There are three lights on each adapter to indicate the status:
• Power LED
• Ethernet LED
• Powerline LED (red= low speed, amber= medium speed, green= high speed)
The DHP-P701AV worked right away when the pair was plugged into the outlets, and the Ethernet cables were connected. The LED lights indicated that the link was made. These Powerline adapters are designed to be managed through D-Link s software, their D-Link PLC Utility, which is designed to be used through a Windows computer.
When we tried to get the software up and running, the image to the left is what we encountered- a software freeze that did not resolve. This was confirmed on two different Windows 10 machines that are otherwise rock stable. This issue got resolved with an outdated Windows 7 desktop that was able to run the software, and the D-Link software was up and running. Hopefully Windows 10 will be better supported on a future version of the software.
As seen in the image to the right, the D-Link PLC Utility maps out the network, and shows the two Powerline adapters, and the connection between them. There are then four options:
• Factory reset- commonly used when the settings have gone awry, or the encryption key is lost
• Change encryption key- the encryption can be changed either via the software, or via the button on the bottom of each device
• Firmware upgrade- this was done to firmware 1.01 prior to any further testing, with each adapter requiring a separate upload of the firmware file from the D-Link support website
• Edit device name- this allows each adapter to have a unique name, such as Den or Basement
Testing
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The D-Link DHP-P701AV was stable throughout testing. Benchmark testing was done using Netperf software, using two Windows computers, both equipped with 10/100/1000 Gigabit ethernet ports. For a point of comparison, we threw two additional Powerline adapter sets into the mix, the Linksys PLS400 and the Actiontec Mega Plug AV.
While neither of the competition was exactly modern, at least it should provide a comparison of what a potential upgrade from an older Powerline adapter may yield in terms of performance boost. The adapters were all run in the identical power outlet locations, and they are on the same circuit breaker. The adapters were plugged directly into the power outlets, with no intervening surge strips. Three runs were made, and the average is reported.
None of the adapters reach the theoretical maximum throughputs, it is fairly typical for most networking gear. What is quite obvious is that over the last several years, the Powerline gear has gotten significantly faster. What we can see is that the D-Link DHP-P701AV is almost ten times faster than the older Powerline adapters, which is an impressive performance.
Conclusion
Overall, the D-Link DHP-P701AV Powerline Adapter Kit offers a good feature set. The only issue encountered was the software utility could not find the adapters when used in Windows 10. In use, the adapters performed surprisingly well, with fast and stable throughput.
Special thanks to D-Link for providing a sample for this review, and supporting the site.
Feel free to discuss your opinions and experiences with the D-Link DHP-P701AV and other Powerline adapters below.
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