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ZyXEL Communications PLA SERIES manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    Quick Start Guide www .zyxel.com PLA Series P owerline Ethernet Adapter Utility V ersion 7.0.0 Edition 1, 11/2013 Default Network Name : HomePlugAV Copyright © 2013 Z yXEL Communications Corpor ation User’s Guide[...]

  • Page 2

    PLA Series User’s Guide 2 IMPORT ANT! READ CAREFULL Y BEFORE USE. KEEP THIS GUIDE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. Note: This guide is a re ference for a ser ies of products. Therefore some features or options in this guide ma y not be av ailable in your product. Screenshots and graphics in this book may differ sl ightly from your product due to differences[...]

  • Page 3

    Table of Contents PLA Series User’s Guide 3 Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................. ..................................................... ........... ................ 3 Part I: User ’ s Guide .............. .............................. .............................. ................. 5 Chapter 1 I[...]

  • Page 4

    Table of Contents PLA Series User’s Guide 4 3.2.2 Installing the Utility . ................. ................ ............. ................ ............. ................ ...... ............. .... 27 Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility ............................ ..................................................... ..................... ......[...]

  • Page 5

    5 P ART I User ’ s Guide[...]

  • Page 6

    6[...]

  • Page 7

    PLA Series User’s Guide 7 C HAPTER 1 Introducing the PLA 1.1 Overview This chapter introduces the main applications an d features of y our Z yXE L HomePlug A V compliant powerline adapter , which is called “PLA ” in this guide. The following generic icon is used to represent all PLA models. In this User’s Guide the electrical wiring netw or[...]

  • Page 8

    Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA PLA Series User’s Guide 8 1.2 LEDs The following sections describes the lights on the PLA. The following figure is the front pa nel of the PLA. Use the lights to determine if the PLA is behaving normally or if there are some problems on your powerline network. Figure 1 PLA Lights The following table describes the beh[...]

  • Page 9

    Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA PLA Series User’s Guide 9 1.3 S t andby Mode (Power Saving Mode) Y our PLA is a certified green product. It goes into standby mode when there is no Ethernet connection. When you plug the PLA into an electric sock et, it waits for an Ethernet connection. When no connection is detected after sixty (60) seconds, the P o[...]

  • Page 10

    Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA PLA Series User’s Guide 10 1.4 W ays to Manage the PLA Use the RESET/ ENCRYPT button to add powerline devices to you r powerline network if they ha v e this button. See Chapter 2 on page 13 for instructions on using the ENCRYPT feature. Use the ZyXEL PLA Series Configuration utility (or utility , for short) to manage[...]

  • Page 11

    Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA PLA Series User’s Guide 11 1.6.1 Passwords Y ou use two types of passwords in the Hom ePlug AV po werline network. The following table describes the differences between the passwords. 1.6.2 Setting Up Security The ENCRYPT feature automatically sets up security on your powerline network. Use this feature if your power[...]

  • Page 12

    Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA PLA Series User’s Guide 12 1 Connect one powerline adapter to a router or switch on the first Ethernet network and assign a Network Name (for example “P assword1”) to this powe rline adapter . Add additional powerline adapters to your network by plugging them in to your powerline outlets and assigning them “P a[...]

  • Page 13

    PLA Series User’s Guide 13 C HAPTER 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Button Use the RESET/EN CRYPT button to automatically set up a secure powerline connection between your powerline devices. Note: In this guide RESET/ENCRYPT refers to the ENCRYPT button in PLAs that have separate RESET and ENCRYPT buttons. 2.1 RESET/ENCR YPT Button Overview The RESET/ENCRYPT[...]

  • Page 14

    Chapter 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Bu tton PLA Series User’s Guide 14 1 Press the RESET/ENCRYPT button at the side of your powerline device for 0.5 to 3 seconds. The power ( ) light will blink as the powerline device tries to set up a connection with a new r andom network name. Figure 3 ENCRYPT Connection Procedure Note: The RESET/ENCRYPT button’s loc[...]

  • Page 15

    Chapter 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Button PLA Series User’s Guide 15 4 Press the RESET/ENCRYPT button on both powerline devices ( A and D , B and D or C and D ) for 0.5 to 3 seconds to add powerline device D . This mu st be done within 2 minutes (120 seconds) of pressing the RESET /ENCRYPT button on the PLA. Figure 4 Adding More Powerline Adapters to Y [...]

  • Page 16

    Chapter 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Bu tton PLA Series User’s Guide 16 2.4 Multiple Sep arate Powerline Networks Y ou can use the RESET/ENCRYPT button to create multiple sepa rate powerline networks. Use the RESET/ENCRYPT button on only two PLAs at a time. 1 Press the RESET/ENCRYPT button on powerline devices E and F for 0.5 to 3 seconds. This must be do[...]

  • Page 17

    Chapter 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Button PLA Series User’s Guide 17 The following table summarizes the actions that occur when the RESET /ENCRYPT button is pressed for specific lengths of time. Note: The network name is unknown when you use the RE SET/ENCRYPT button. 2.6 PLAs with Sep arate RESET and ENCR YPT Buttons Re fe r t o T able 1 on page 7 to s[...]

  • Page 18

    Chapter 2 The RESET/ENCRYPT Bu tton PLA Series User’s Guide 18 2.6.2 RESET Button Behavior Use a pointed device such as a pin to reset the Network Name back to default HomePlugAV . See T roubleshooting in Chap ter 6 on page 50 for suggestions on problems with the RESET/ ENCRYPT button and the lights. T a ble 7 RESET Button TIME ACTION POWER LI GH[...]

  • Page 19

    19 P ART II T echnical Reference[...]

  • Page 20

    20[...]

  • Page 21

    PLA Series User’s Guide 21 C HAPTER 3 Installing the Utility This chapter guides you through the installati on of the configur ation utility for your PLA. 3.1 Windows This section uses the Windows XP screens as an example to show you how to install the Windo ws vesi on of the ZyXEL PLA Series Configuration utility . 3.1.1 System Requirement s At [...]

  • Page 22

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 22 1 Insert the included CD into your computer’s CD -ROM drive. The setup utility runs automatically . Alternatively this can also be done manually by double clicking the setup.exe file on the CD . If WinPcap 4.1.3 is already installed on your computer , the following screen appears. Clic[...]

  • Page 23

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 23 3 Select Automatically start the WinPcap driver at boot time if you want to start WinPcap automatically when the computer boots. Click Install to install WinPcap. 4 Select I want to manually reboot lat er , and click Finish to exit the wizard. 5 A prompt appears asking you to install the[...]

  • Page 24

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 24 Note: If you already have .NET Framework v ersion 4 installed on y our computer this step can be skipped. 6 The next screen allows you to see the progress of the installation.[...]

  • Page 25

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 25 7 Click Finish to close the window . 8 The utility installation wizard runs automatically . Click Yes or Next to continue through the initial screen. Click Cancel only if you w ant to abort the installation.[...]

  • Page 26

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 26 9 Click Install to install the utility to the default folder . Figure 7 Install Destination Folder 10 The screen shows you the progress of the installation. Figure 8 Utility Installation Process[...]

  • Page 27

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 27 11 Click Finish to exit the wizard. Figure 9 Installation Complete Note: Y ou may be asked to restart your comput er wh en the install ation is complet e. Click “Y es” to restart your computer . If you select “No , I will restart m y computer later” , you wi ll not be able to lau[...]

  • Page 28

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 28 2 Double-click the PLA Utilit y 1.0.0.mpkg file on the CD to run the in stallation program. When it opens, follow the on-screen instructions. 3 Click Install to install the utility to the default folder , or click Change Install Location ... to specify a different location on your comput[...]

  • Page 29

    Chapter 3 Installing the Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 29 4 When the installation is finished, a screen appears to confirm th e PLA Series Config uration Utility has been successfully installed to your computer . Click Close . 5 After installing the utility , you can find the utility icon in y our Applications folder . If you are running Mac OS[...]

  • Page 30

    PLA Series User’s Guide 30 C HAPTER 4 The Configuration Utility 4.1 Overview This chapter shows you how to use the ZyXEL PLA Series Configuration utility (or utility) to secure, manage and set up Quality of Se rvice (QoS) on your powerline network. The PLA is designed as a plug-and-play network expanding solution. This means that once you complet[...]

  • Page 31

    Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 31 For the powerline adapters to communicate with each other they all need to use the same network name. This network name allows the powerline ad apters to understand the encrypted information sent in the powerline network. By default the PLAs are all configured with the network name Ho[...]

  • Page 32

    Chapter 4 The Con figuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 32 Y ou can select to view the connection status represented by icons ( ) or view transmission/ receiving rates in a list ( ). 4.3.1 Icon View Use the up/down arrow or just click a device icon at the left side to select a powerline adapter in your network. The screen shows you the netwo[...]

  • Page 33

    Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 33 powerline adapter connected to the computer running the configuration utilit y to all the Remote powerline adapters. Figure 14 Network Info Screen (Icon) > Info 4.3.2 List V iew Figure 15 Network Info Screen (List)[...]

  • Page 34

    Chapter 4 The Con figuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 34 The following table describes the labels in this screen. T a ble 8 Network Info Screen (List) LABEL DESCRIPTION Adapter This field identifies which powerline networ k information is displayed. Di fferent powerline networks are identified by the Ethernet interface (network ca rd) conn[...]

  • Page 35

    Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 35 4.4 Configuration Screen Use the Config uration screen to see which devices are recognized by your powerline network, to configure your PLA and to set up a secure powerline network by changing the powerline network name. This screen opens up when you launch the utility . Figure 16 Con[...]

  • Page 36

    Chapter 4 The Con figuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 36 4.5 Advanced Screen Y ou can configure the powerline adapters on your network to giv e priority to network traffic depending on its importance. When you set the prio rity of a powerline adapter , you set how quickly messages FROM your powerline adapter are sent in your powerline netw[...]

  • Page 37

    Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 37 Allocate priority settings based on application type as follows. The figure below shows an example powerlin e home network connected to the Internet. • Device A is a printer and does not handle tr affi c with high importance, so the powerline adapter connected to it can be set to lo[...]

  • Page 38

    Chapter 4 The Con figuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 38 Use this screen to configure priority settings fo r tr affic from the powerline adapters on your network. Figure 18 Advanced Screen The following table describes the labels in this screen. Ta b l e 1 1 Advanced Screen LABEL DESCRIPTION Adapter This field identifies whic h powerline n[...]

  • Page 39

    Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility PLA Series User’s Guide 39 4.6 About Screen Use the About screen to view information regarding the configuration utility version of the PLA you are connected to. Click the icon in the top right corner of the utility to view the About screen. Figure 19 About Scre en The following table describes the labels in th[...]

  • Page 40

    PLA Series User’s Guide 40 C HAPTER 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 5.1 Overview Use this tutorial to expand your existing powerline network. After setting up your first home powerline netwo rk (instructions for that are in the Quick Start Guide for your Z yXEL powe rline adapter) you may w a nt to exten d the network or create a new one by ad[...]

  • Page 41

    Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 41 5.3 Accessing Y o ur Powerline Adapter 1 Plug the powerline adapter you w ant to add to yo ur network into a power socket and, if n eeded, switch the power socket on. Figure 20 Plug Y our Powerline Adapter into a Power Socket 2 Connect the powerline adapter to your computer . 3[...]

  • Page 42

    Chapter 5 Powerlin e Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 42 The figure below shows the family computer with Internet access on a powerline network. Expand the network by adding a new power line adapter connected to a printer . Figure 22 Add a Printer t o Y our Powerline Network Note: Y ou do not need to know the network na me of the ne[...]

  • Page 43

    Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 43 3 Select your adapter by selecting Local and type the network name for your existing network in the Network Name field ( C ). Figure 24 Adding an Adapter to an Existing Network 4 Click Write and click OK on the pop-up. Figure 25 Network Name Pop-up 5 Y our new adapter will now [...]

  • Page 44

    Chapter 5 Powerlin e Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 44 Internet access but with a media adapter such as the Z yXEL DMA-1100P y ou can use your TV to watch movies and play games which are stored on a computer . Figure 26 Add New Adapters to Make a Second Network 1 Connect your new powerline adapter and op en the configur ation util[...]

  • Page 45

    Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 45 5.6 S plitting a Network into T w o Networks This section shows you how to split your existing network into two netwo rks. This is useful if you want to set up a second powerline network in yo ur home, for example, in your study connecting a laptop and printer . See Figure 26 o[...]

  • Page 46

    Chapter 5 Powerlin e Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 46 Figure 29 Adding an Adapter to Y our New Network 4 Click Save . • If you do not type the DAK password or type it incorrectly the fo llowing pop-up appears. Click OK and type the DAK Pas sword correctly in the DAK Password field. Figure 30 Incorrect DAK or No DAK • If you h[...]

  • Page 47

    Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial PLA Series User’s Guide 47 6 Go ba ck t o s t ep 3 in this section to set the same, new Network Name for all remote adapters you want to add to y our new network. 7 Check you have added the adapters correctly by ch anging the network name for the local adapter . All adapters with the new Network Name now[...]

  • Page 48

    PLA Series User’s Guide 48 C HAPTER 6 Troubleshooting This chapter offers some suggestions to solve problems you might encounter . 6.1 Power and Light Problems The PLA does not turn on. None of the lights turn on. 1 Disconnect and re-connect the PLA. 2 R emove the powerline adapter from the outlet. Then connect an electrical device that you know [...]

  • Page 49

    Chapter 6 Troubleshoo ting PLA Series User’s Guide 49 3 Make sure that all your powerline adapters are HomePlug A V compliant. Check the package it came in or ask your vendor . This PLA can not detect ear lier versions of HomePlug powerline adapters such as HomePlug 1.0 or 1.0.1. (Although they can coexist on the same electrical wiring without in[...]

  • Page 50

    Chapter 6 Troubl eshooting PLA Series User’s Guide 50 6.3 Powerline Problems The signal on my powerline network is weak. 1 Y our powerline adapters may be connected to electrical surge protectors. Connect them to standard power outlets. 2 Y our powerline adapters may be located close to large appliances such as refriger ators or air- conditioners[...]

  • Page 51

    Chapter 6 Troubleshoo ting PLA Series User’s Guide 51 The POWER light blinks two times quic kly then pauses, before repeating. The ENCRYPT process has failed. Press the RESET/ENCRYPT button on both devices for 5 to 8 seconds, then try to reconnect. The POWER lights on both devices blink when I press the RESET/ENCRYPT butt ons, but the HomePlug li[...]

  • Page 52

    PLA Series User’s Guide 52 A PPENDIX A Customer Support In the event of problems th at cannot be solved by using this manual, you should contact your vendor . If you cannot contact your v endor , then contact a Z yXEL office for the region in which you bought the device. Regional websites are listed below (see also http://www .zyxel.com/ about_zy[...]

  • Page 53

    Appendix A Customer Suppo rt PLA Series User’s Guide 53 Korea • Z yXEL K orea Corp. • http://www.zyx el.kr Malaysia • Z yXEL Malaysia Sdn Bhd. • http://www.zyx el.com.my Pakist an • ZyXEL P a kistan (Pv t.) Ltd. • http://www .zyxel.com.pk Philipines • Z yXEL Philippines • http://www .zyxel.com.ph Singapore • Z yXEL Singapore Pte[...]

  • Page 54

    Appendix A Customer Support PLA Series User’s Guide 54 Belgium • Z yXEL Communications B.V . • http://www .zyxel.com/be/nl/ Bulgaria •Z y X E L България • http://www.zyx el.com/bg/bg/ Czech • Z yXEL Communications Czech s.r .o • http://www.zyx el.cz Denmark • Z yXEL Communications A/S • http://www.zyx el.dk Estonia •Z y [...]

  • Page 55

    Appendix A Customer Suppo rt PLA Series User’s Guide 55 Lithuania • Z yXEL Lithuania • http://www .zyxel.com/lt/lt/homepage.shtml Netherlands •Z y X E L B e n e l u x • http://www.zyx el.nl Norway • Z yXEL Communications • http://www.zyx el.no Poland • Z yXEL Communications Poland • http://www.zyx el.pl Romania •Z y X E L R o m [...]

  • Page 56

    Appendix A Customer Support PLA Series User’s Guide 56 T urkey •Z y X E L T u r k e y A . S . • http://www.zyx el.com.tr UK • Z yXEL Communications UK Ltd. • http://www.zyx el.co.uk Ukraine •Z y X E L U k r a i n e • http://www .ua.zyxel.com Latin America Argentina • Z yXEL Communication Corpor ation • http://www.zyx el.com/ec/es/[...]

  • Page 57

    Appendix A Customer Suppo rt PLA Series User’s Guide 57 Oceania Australia • Z yXEL Communications Corporation • http://www .zyxel.com/au/en/ Africa South Africa • Nology (Pty) Ltd. • http://www.zyx el.co.za[...]

  • Page 58

    PLA Series User’s Guide 58 A PPENDIX B Legal Information Copyright Copyright © 2013 by Z y XEL Communications Corporation. The contents of this publication may not be repr oduced in any part or as a whole, tr anscribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into an y language, or transmitted in any form or by an y means, electronic, mechanica[...]

  • Page 59

    Appendix B Legal Informa tion PLA Series User’s Guide 59 1 Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. 2 Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver . 3 Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiv er is connected. 4 Consult the dealer or an experienced r adio/TV technician for help.[...]

  • Page 60

    Appendix B Legal Information PLA Series User’s Guide 60 distributor for details about the W arranty P eriod of this product. During the warr anty period, and upon proof of purchase, should the product ha ve indications of failure due to faulty workman ship and/or materials, ZyXEL will, at its discretion, repair or replace the defective products o[...]

  • Page 61

    Appendix B Legal Informa tion PLA Series User’s Guide 61 Y our product is marke d with this symbol, whic h is known as the WEEE mark. WEEE stands for W aste Electronics an d Electrical Equ ipment. It means that used electric al and electroni c products should not be mixed with gener al waste. Used elec trical and electronic equi pment should be t[...]

  • Page 62

    PLA Series User’s Guide 62 Index Index A about screen 39 AC P ass- Through 7 Advanced Encryption Standard, see AES 10 AES 11 , 30 AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 10 applications 7 C certifications 58 notices 59 viewing 59 configuration screen 35 configuration utility 10 connections overview 10 contact information 52 copyright 58 customer suppo[...]

  • Page 63

    Index PLA Series User’s Guide 63 M MAC address 35 management multiple networks 11 overview 30 managing the device using the utility maximum PHY rate 7 multiple networks 11 N network example 30 network information 31 Network Name 11 network name 17 O other documentation 2 P pass-through 7 passwords 30 , 35 , 36 types of 11 PLA Comparison 7 plug-an[...]