How Do I Select Hpna Devices?

WebSTAR DPR300 Series Cable Modem Gateway User’s Guide

How Do I Select and Place Home Phoneline Networking Devices?

Home phoneline networking is also known as HPNA. HPNA service allows all the components of a home network to interact over the home’s existing telephone wiring without disturbing the existing voice or fax services. Home phoneline networking (HPNA) processes, manages, transports and stores information, and enables the devices in a home network such as telephones, fax machines, desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners and Web cameras to connect and integrate over a home’s telephone wiring topology.

This section does not provide all of the information required to install specific HPNA devices, but instead provides a general overview. For specifics, please consult the documentation provided by the manufacturer of your HPNA device(s).

You can use a large variety of HPNA devices with your cable modem gateway. These include NIC cards, USB adapters, routers, and bridges. On the HPNA network, all devices impact the characteristics of the network because each device requires a certain amount of bandwidth to operate. Contact your cable service provider or consult the documentation for your HPNA device for more information on selecting the appropriate HPNA devices for your home or office purposes.

Where is the Best Location for My HPNA Devices?

You should work with your cable service provider to choose the best location for your HPNA devices. Consider these recommendations:

•Not all homes are wired the same. It is very important to ensure that the wall telephone jack is wired and functioning correctly to support a HPNA-certified device. You can test your telephone wiring using a simple phone line tester available at a variety of retailers.

•All HPNA devices must be connected to a single telephone line. Some home have more than one telephone line for a fax machine or a second voice line.

•The phone line used does not have to be an “active” telephone line with a telephone number. A spare telephone wiring pair may be used, but all HPNA devices must be connected to the same telephone wiring pair.

Now that you have selected a location for your HPNA network devices, the next step is to place and connect your HPNA network devices. Go to How Do I Connect Home Phoneline Networking Devices?, next in this guide.