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Can I use my telephone, DSL,
modem, fax and answering machines with a HomePNA network?
(FAQ | About
HPNA)
Yes, standard telephones, V.90 (56K) and other dial up analog modems,
faxes and answering machines, as well as DSL service can
be used simultaneously with HomePNA because, even though
they exist on the same telephone wires, they occupy
different frequency bands.
Please note:
When you are using an analog modem to
dial-up an Internet service provider, the HomePNA
network will not be affected. However, you still will be
unable to make or receive phone calls (if using a single
phoneline for both telephone and modem services), since
the line will be busy with the dial-up call to your ISP.
DSL or cable modem service is recommended as a more
convenient method of accessing the Internet and using
your phone at the same time.
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What is the maximum achievable
distance between nodes for a HomePNA network?
(FAQ | About
HPNA)
HomePNA Version 2.0 is designed to reach up to 1000 feet (300 meters)
between any two adapters. If the network has more than
two HomePNA adapters, all of the adapters must be within
1000 feet of each other. The actual distance may be
greater or perhaps less depending on the type or wire,
noise conditions and topology of the telephone wiring
within your home.
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Does the phone line need to be
active to create a HomePNA network?
(FAQ | About
HPNA)
No. A HomePNA network can be created on an inactive (no phone number)
telephone line as well as an active (has a phone number)
telephone line. A HomePNA network can be created on
spare telephone wiring or even on an available pair of a
CAT 5 cable. The HomePNA devices use the middle two
conductors of the telephone jack (RJ11).
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Which pair of wires should I plug
the HomePNA adapter into?
In a home with multiple telephone lines, which line should I
use? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
All HomePNA adapters must be connected to the same phone line. In there
are muliple telephone lines (telephone numbers) in a
home, all of the HomePNA adapters must be plugged into
the same telephone line. Some of the telephon jacks may
have been wired so that a second phone line is on the
middle conductors of the telephone jack (RJ11). In that
case, an adapter that rewires the pairs would be needed.
The HomePNA devices use the middle two conductors of the
telephone jack (RJ11).
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Will HPNA work over a PBX system?
(FAQ | About
HPNA)
Generally, HomePNA products will work seamlessly while sharing phone
lines with digital telephony devices (such as ISDN) and
do not have as a general requirement that they must be
used only with analog phone lines. However, PBX lines
are generally physically isolated within the PBX and
because of this, the HomePNA units will not communicate
with one another.
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What Linux kernels are
supported? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
Kernels 2.2.x and 2.4.x are supported. This includes
distributions such as RedHat 7, 7.1, 7.2; Mandrake
8.1
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How do I install the Linux
driver? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
The following is the basic installation procedure.
Different distributions may require different
procedures, the information below should be
considered guidelines. Most of the actions below
require "root" privileges to be performed properly.
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Make sure the PCI card is properly installed
and found by the system.
-
One way to check this is
to execute:
lspci
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It will have several lines of output and one
should be similar to:
01:0d.0 Ethernet controller: BROADCOM
Corporation: Unknown device 4210
-
Alternatively, the Broadcom device may be found
using:
cat /proc/pci
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Make sure the kernel source code is installed.
Sometimes this is called "development tools"
during the install process. E.g. located in:
/usr/src/linux-X.Y.Z
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Extract the driver files into a directory and
cd to the directory. The driver EXE file can be
extracted using MS Windows. Alternatively, the
Wine utility may be used to extract under Linux.
Using Wine has some quirks such as: extracting to
the default directory does not work, use a /tmp
directory instead and clicking on some buttons
doesn't work, use the Return key instead.
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Determine the kernel version.
-
One way of
determining the kernel version is to execute
uname -a
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Or, check the subdirectories in
/lib/modules
Some example kernel versions:
-
Execute gmake with the correct kernel version
for your distribution e.g.:
-
gmake LINUXVER=2.2.16 (for
RedHat 7.0)
-
gmake LINUXVER=2.4.2 (for RedHat
7.1)
-
gmake LINUXVER=2.4.7-10 (for
RedHat 7.2)
-
gmake LINUXVER=2.4.18-3 (for
RedHat 7.3)
-
gmake LINUXVER=2.4.8 (for
Mandrake 8.1)
This command depends on the kernel sources being
in /usr/src/linux-X.Y.Z
-
If the compilation is successful, the file "il.o"
will be created. Copy il.o to the
"net" modules directory. e.g.:
-
cp il.o /lib/modules/2.2.16-22/net/ (for
RedHat 7.0)
-
cp il.o /lib/modules/2.4.2/kernel/net/ (for
RedHat 7.1)
-
cp il.o /lib/modules/2.4.7-10/kernel/net/ (for
RedHat 7.2)
-
cp il.o /lib/modules/2.4.18-3/kernel/net/ (for
RedHat 7.3)
-
cp il.o
/lib/modules/2.4.8-26mdk/kernel/net (for
Mandrake 8.1)
Make sure the owner of il.o is root
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Temporarily install the module by executing:
insmod il
After it loads, syslog will record something like:
eth0: Broadcom InsideLinex0(tm) PCI
Network Adapter 2.34.0.2
If in console mode, the syslog line will be
immediately displayed. If in a windows/graphical
mode, you will need to grep the syslog to see the
load output:
grep Broadcom /var/log/*
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Edit file /etc/modules.conf to
add an alias for this new module.
(Some of the
older versions name this file /etc/modules.conf)
The second word in the alias should be the same
number as shown in the previous step. In most
cases, when this is the first and only network
interface it is "eth0".
If there are
other EtherNet adapters it could be "eth1"
or "eth2". So the typical line that
is added to the file is:
alias eth0 il
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Create an interface config file in
"/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts"
Assuming the interface number is "eth0"
the file name should be "ifcfg-eth0".
This file can be created in one of several ways
depending on how you want to setup your network.
For example, to use static addresses, you can copy
the content of ifcfg-lo to
ifcfg-eth0 and edit the contents of
ifcfg-eth0 to look something like:
DEVICE=eth0
IPADDR=192.168.0.33
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
BROADCAST=255.255.255.255
ONBOOT=yes
Dynamic (DHCP) networks should have a file
ifcfg-eth0 with contents similar to:
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROT=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
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Bring the interface up: ifup eth0.
If there are other HomePNA adapters connected to
the Linux adapter, the "link" light should turn
on. The interfaces can also be checked with the
command:
ifconfig
-
With the above
configuration, the HomePNA
module should load and the interface brought up
automatically after a reboot.
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How do I set up to share my
internet connection? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
You can share your Internet connection to all computers on your home
network using software or hardware.
The software method requires that you run an Internet
sharing application on the computer that is connected to
the Internet. This computer is designated as a "gateway"
to the Internet. The gateway computer shares the
Internet connection to all other computers on your home
network, and therefore must be turned on anytime other
computers want to connect to the Internet. Examples of
Internet sharing software is Microsoft's ICS, which is
included in Windows 98 Second Edition and later
editions. For more info from Microsoft, please see the
links:
WinXP ICS
Win2K ICS
WinME ICS
Win98 ICS Most HomePNA network cards include similar
Internet sharing software. For more information on
sharing your Internet connection using a software
solution, visit
Practically Networked Sharing Page
A much better way to share your Internet connection is to
use a residential gateway, sometimes called a router. A
residential gateway is a separate box that connects to your
cable or DSL modem, and shares the Internet connection with
the rest of your home network. Residential gateways can
connect to your HomePNA, Ethernet or wireless home network.
Any computer can access the Internet without requiring any
other computer to be turned on. Residential gateways include
a "firewall" to prevent access to your home network from
other computers on the Internet.
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How do I connect my HomePNA
network to other types of networks such as Ethernet or
Wireless? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
Different networks are typically connected through bridges or
residential gateways (routers).
A residential gateway is a separate box that connects
to your cable or DSL modem, and acts as a distribution
point that shares the Internet connection with one or
more home networking technologies (e.g. HomePNA,
wireless, EtherNet). Any computer can access the
Internet without requiring any other computer to be
turned on since the sharing is done with the residential
gateway. Residential gateways include a "firewall" to
prevent access to your home network from other computers
on the Internet. Residential gateways that support
HomePNA networks are listed on our HomePNA Products
Devices page in the
Gateways/Routers section.
A bridge simply connects two network technologies
(e.g. HomePNA, wireless, EtherNet) without sharing or
routing. A bridge can be used to extend a home network,
for example to add HomePNA to an existing EtherNet hub
or router.
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How do I connect my HomePNA
device if I have DSL splitters or filters?
(FAQ | About
HPNA)
In some DSL installations, filters, micro-filters or micro-splitters
are provide for telephone devices. These filters,
micro-filters, or micro-splitters should NOT be
connected between the wall jack and HomePNA devices.
Telephones should be plugged into the phone jack on the
HomePNA devices. Some filters if plugged between the
HomePNA device phone jack and the telephone may cause
the HomePNA device to stop working.
In other DSL installations, a regular DSL splitter is
installed outside of the home. That DSL splitter
isolates the home telephone wiring from a separate wire
run to the DSL modem. In this situation, the regular
telephone jacks should all be usable for the HomePNA
network. The (separate wire run) jack used by the DSL
modem should not be used for a HomePNA device.
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What about drivers for Windows
XP (WinXP)? (FAQ |
About HPNA)
Several HomePNA Adapters do not include drivers for Windows XP (WinXP)
on the installation disk. The HomePNA 2.0 drivers
(version 2.31) are included in the WinXP distribution.
HomePNA adapters on WinXP machines should use the
built-in drivers and should NOT use the drivers on the
adapter's installation disk.
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