HPNA2.0: An Improvement?

Home Phone Networking Adapters first appeared toward the end of the millennium. These initial stabs at relieving the typical home user of a potential CAT5 cabling mess were coolly received. While version 2.0 (HPNA2.0) cropped up over a year ago, acceptance still appears to be rather weak. Is HPNA a viable long term solution for those who can't or won't trouble with copper wires or even the vastly improved wireless standards?

Factory Specifications

Compex TH102A

Bridge & Router Modes
Packet Filtering / NAT Firewall
Up to 16Mbps Connectivity
Link Distance: 1000 Ft. Max
Warranty: 3-Years
Price: $130.95

Compex

6/10 Rating

Factory Specifications

Compex HP10

10Mbps HPNA 2.0 Standard
Backward Compatible w/1.0Mbps
PCI Slot required
Warranty: 3-Years
Price: $37.95

Compex

6/10 Rating

At the heart of the telephone interface is the TH102A. It can act as a pure bridge, which merely extends existing networking capabilities, or as a full gateway/router where no previous network was setup.

The TH102A is a very small device, somewhere in the vicinity of those new "pocket routers" or a small 5-port switch. It so small that, unless laid on a flat surface, it will topple unless the supplied plastic base is utilized.

The second piece of the networking puzzle is the specialized HP10 network adapter. Standard 10/100 RJ45 adapters don't work due to the RJ11 phone connector. Thus, a minimal configuration of the this type requires at least a TH102A and an HP10.

The HP10, appears in every way save one to be a 10/100 adapter; however, in place of the RJ45 socket, there is a smaller RJ11 socket. The bright pink card attached to the business end of the NIC states the this module has been burned in with over one million packets. Packet size isn't mentioned, and while that spec can vary widely, pre-testing is welcomed over receiving a DOA card.

Between both units all accessories are included: an AC adapter for the TH102A, drivers/software on CD and floppy, and one long and one short phone wire.

I am most interested in performance. The HPNA2.0 specs claim up to 16Mbps (2.0MB/s), so all tests were performed in optimum conditions to check this claim. The TH102A was connected directly to the HP10 via the supplied 6-ft cable included with the card. No installed existing telephone wiring was used.

One major downside of any HPNA setup could be existing wiring. If it's half-century old and has 4-taps, the network quality could be intermittent let alone slow. Because of the massive uncertainty of most phone wiring, the only test I felt would be valid is mentioned above. As always, your results will vary and in this case, most likely significantly downward from my results.

Both retail boxes say these pieces are compatible with Windows 95, 98 (all versions), NT4.0 (SP4 or later) and Windows 2000. No mention of WinME or XP or dotNET. Windows 98SE, ME, 2K, XP and dotNET were fully tested with no issues whatsoever. All results obtained were matched throughout all of the operating systems (no O.S. proved better or worse than any other).