[serverguy]

Originally Posted by Mike0001 I checked the same file transferring under WPA AES and it took 35sec to transfer. Switched back to WPA2 AES and got 35 seconds. So what is going on here? Yesterday I had extremely slow transfers with the same algorithm! Mind you, yesterday my daughter was also online and I am not sure what she is using. Just tried again and it is dead slow again!

Were you in the same room in the same place?

Or was there a plane passing overhead

Wireless is just luck I think! But mines working well so not going to go fiddling with it.

[Mike0001]

Yep, same place, just seconds later! Nobody else here, just me transferring from here to a fileserver directly connected to the router.

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by Mike0001 Yep, same place, just seconds later! Nobody else here, just me transferring from here to a fileserver directly connected to the router.

Strange.

Well, I think I spoke to soon as my network took a complete flop last night.

My Smoothwall died

Now I am back till the cruddy BTHomeHub till I have time to fix it.

[Mike0001]

Originally Posted by serverguy Strange. Well, I think I spoke to soon as my network took a complete flop last night. My Smoothwall died Now I am back till the cruddy BTHomeHub till I have time to fix it.

Have fun with the BT HH! Mine is still in its box! They tried to send me another one this year but I refused. Not enough storage space.

[rbscooby]

so we have now pin pointed all of this down to just luck, if you get a fast transfer speed when using wireless your in luck?

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by rbscooby so we have now pin pointed all of this down to just luck, if you get a fast transfer speed when using wireless your in luck?

Unfortunately it seems that way.

You will have more chance of getting the 'luck' if you went with a Draft N router and wireless cards which can offer higher transfer speeds and more reliability in connection.

Or look at Powerline networking. Or better still, run some wires


On another note, my Smoothwall is alive once again Somehow the PPPoE database got corrupted and it couldn't send the password to the router. I am happy now!

[rbscooby]

hummm draft N seems very expensive at the moment, and im confused how powerline works, is it all circuits in the house, or just on a single circuit? also wouldnt there be a chance of my network leaking out through the mains?

i sit everywhere with my laptop around the house, so i dont think running wires would be an option

[Mike0001]

Yes, I don't understand how powerline fails to put the whole city online either! It seems to work between circuits, though I am not sure why the instructions say one circuit only. We have circuit breakers, though, not fuses, could that be it?

I can't even understand the instructions for that applet that comes with it! You can change the password on each unit away from the default, giving some security.

[philthomas]

Last time I checked it out, folks were saying their neighbours could see their Network, but there is security software that comes with it, has to be installed on each PC that uses the Network.

All sounded a bit "iffy" to me !!

[serverguy]

If you work all around your house, a better wireless solution would be best. They are coming down in price gradually.

Powerline won't let everyone on your network if set up properly. I think it works a bit like wireless security, with passwords etc but I have no first hand experience.

It is meant to be much more secure than wireless networking anyway.

[Mike0001]

You see, that is what I can't understand! I bought a set to connect a media player (lounge) to my router(study). Yes, you get software, but all it seems to do is change the password on each unit, you don't actually use it to connect them like a driver. The software is Powerpacket Utility and is freely downloadable.

I believe it is common to all these devices but it is really confusing in design and documentation. The single password is used to do encryption, yes, but I guess the signal can leak all over the mains. By default, when you get a unit, they all have the same password, Powerline or something.

uses 56-bit <Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!> encryption to secure its data transmissions, and each unit comes with a unique 16-character alphabetic password (found on the underside of the unit) that must be entered in order to enable encryption on the unit. Encryption is set up simply by using PowerPacket to create a private group of HomePlug devices with a common network group name. The private group is then made invisible by any HomePlug adapter that's not a member of the group.

You see, you are asked to create a group, but what is that?

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by Mike0001 You see, that is what I can't understand! I bought a set to connect a media player (lounge) to my router(study). Yes, you get software, but all it seems to do is change the password on each unit, you don't actually use it to connect them like a driver. The software is Powerpacket Utility and is freely downloadable. I believe it is common to all these devices but it is really confusing in design and documentation. The single password is used to do encryption, yes, but I guess the signal can leak all over the mains. By default, when you get a unit, they all have the same password, Powerline or something. You see, you are asked to create a group, but what is that?

I assume a number of the adapters, with the same credentials?

[Mike0001]

what it doesn't explain is, is this stored in the adapters? If you have 3 adapters, can 1 create a group X with 3 and 2 create a group Y with 3? So 1 and 2 can communicate privately with 3 without 1 and 2 being connected?

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by Mike0001 what it doesn't explain is, is this stored in the adapters? If you have 3 adapters, can 1 create a group X with 3 and 2 create a group Y with 3? So 1 and 2 can communicate privately with 3 without 1 and 2 being connected?

I don't understand what you mean.

The signal won't go much further than your front door, and no one can access it anyway.

Surely you want all the adapters in your house to be able to communicate? I expect the passwords are stored in the units themselves.

On a local network, all the computers can see what the others are saying anyway, so why would it be different for Powerline?

[Mike0001]

Ok, so is it definite then that the "groups" are just "passwords"? Because it doesn't explain that anywhere. The way it is described, you set up a group to communicate with several other units privately, but that would allow others in a work environment also to set up their own groups.

If they are passwords, why not say so?

It is not clear that the signal stops at my front door, either. Encryption is only 56bit DES, therefore not exactly military grade!