PLA4215 500Mbps Powerline Pass-Thru Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Edition 1, 9/2011 www.zyxel.com www.zyxel.
About This User's Guide About This User's Guide IMPORTANT! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USE. KEEP THIS GUIDE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. Intended Audience This manual is intended for people who want to configure the PLA4215 using the PLA42xx Series Configuration Utility version 5.2.0. You should have your basic Internet access or home network already set up. Related Documentation • Quick Start Guide The Quick Start Guide is designed to help you get up and running right away.
Document Conventions Document Conventions Warnings and Notes These are how warnings and notes are shown in this User’s Guide. Warnings tell you about things that could harm you or your device. Note: Notes tell you other important information (for example, other things you may need to configure or helpful tips) or recommendations. Syntax Conventions • The PLA4215 may be referred to as the “PLA4215”, the “ZyXEL device”, the “device” or the “powerline adapter” in this User’s Guide.
Document Conventions Icons Used in Figures Figures in this User’s Guide may use the following generic icons. The icons used may not be an exact representation of your device.
Safety Warnings Safety Warnings • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Do NOT use this product near water, for example, in a wet basement or near a swimming pool. Do NOT expose your device to dampness, dust or corrosive liquids. Do NOT store things on the device. Do NOT install, use, or service this device during a thunderstorm. There is a remote risk of electric shock from lightning. Connect ONLY suitable accessories to the device. Do NOT open the device or unit.
Table of Contents Table of Contents About This User's Guide ......................................................................................................................3 Document Conventions .......................................................................................................................4 Safety Warnings....................................................................................................................................6 Table of Contents ......................
Table of Contents 4.1 Overview ...........................................................................................................................................26 4.1.1 Powerline Network Security .....................................................................................................26 4.1.2 Device Access Key (DAK) .......................................................................................................27 4.2 Starting the Configuration Utility ..........................
P ART I User’s Guide 9
C HAPT ER 1 Introducing the PLA4215 1.1 Overview This chapter introduces the main applications and features of the PLA4215 HomePlug AV compliant powerline adapter. This chapter introduces the main applications and features of the PLA4215 HomePlug AV compliant powerline adapter. In this User’s Guide the electrical wiring network is referred to as the “powerline network”. The HomePlug AV standard specifies how network devices communicate using standard electrical wiring. 1.
Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA4215 Connect your PLA4215 to an Internet gateway such as a modem and plug it into an ordinary power outlet in your home. Plug a second PLA4215 into another power outlet and connect a computer to the PLA4215 for Internet access. Your network can be further expanded by plugging additional PLA4215s into other outlets in your home and connecting other computers or network devices (for example, a printer) to them.
Chapter 1 Introducing the PLA4215 1.4.2 Setting Up Security The ENCRYPT feature automatically sets up security on your powerline network. Use this feature if your powerline devices have the ENCRYPT button. If your devices do not have the ENCRYPT button, use the PLA42xx Series Configuration Utility to set up security on the PLA4215. Although the PLA4215 is a “plug-and-play” network expanding solution there are several reasons for enabling security on the powerline network in your home.
C HAPT ER 2 Installing the Utility This chapter guides you through the installation of the configuration utility for your PLA4215. 2.1 Overview of the Installation Process The installation of the configuration utility does the following: 1 Checks for and installs Microsoft’s .NET Framework version 2.0 software on your computer. This software is necessary for the installation of the PLA42xx Series Configuration Utility. If you already have .NET Framework version 2.
Chapter 2 Installing the Utility 1 Insert the included CD-ROM 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. A prompt appears asking you to install the .NET Framework version 2.0. Review Microsoft’s License Agreement, select Accept to proceed. Figure 2 .NET Framework Installation Prompt 2 The next screen allows you to see the progress of the installation. Figure 3 .
Chapter 2 Installing the Utility 4 If you want the utility to be only available to the currently logged in user, select Only for me(...). Otherwise, click Everyone to allow all users to use the configuration utility. Click Next to install the utility to the default folder, or click Browse to specify a different location on your computer. Figure 5 Install Destination Folder Note: You can also click Disk Cost to know how much available disk space you have in the hard drives found in your computer.
Chapter 2 Installing the Utility When you plug the PLA4215 into an electric socket, it waits for an Ethernet connection. When no connection is detected after sixty (60) seconds, the Power LED blinks indicating that it is going into Low Power mode. The same process occurs when you disconnect the PLA4215 from a previously working Ethernet connection. Sixty (60) seconds after disconnecting the Ethernet cable, the PLA4215’s Power LED blinks signalling that it is going into Low Power mode.
Chapter 2 Installing the Utility 18 PLA4215 User’s Guide
P ART II Technical Reference 19
C HAPT ER 3 The ENCRYPT Button Use the ENCRYPT button to automatically set up a secure powerline connection between your powerline devices. 3.1 ENCRYPT Button Overview The ENCRYPT button allows you to set up a secure powerline connection with other HomePlug AV compliant powerline devices which also support the ENCRYPT feature. No other powerline setting changes are required to connect.
Chapter 3 The ENCRYPT Button 2 Press the ENCRYPT button at the side of your powerline device for 1~2 seconds. The power ( light will blink as the powerline device tries to set up a connection. ) Figure 7 ENCRYPT Connection Procedure press 2 seconds press 2 seconds within 2 minutes Note: The ENCRYPT button’s location varies for each Powerline model. 3 Repeat step 2 in this section for the other powerline device you wish to connect.
Chapter 3 The ENCRYPT Button 5 Then repeat steps 2 and 3 in this section using any powerline device (A or B) you have connected using ENCRYPT and the powerline device you want to connect (C). You must use the ENCRYPT button on both devices. Figure 8 Adding More Powerline Adapters to Your Network A B A OR B C 6 If you disconnected your computer or modem (or any other networking product connected to your powerline device) in step of this section, you can now reconnect them.
Chapter 3 The ENCRYPT Button For example, you have already set up a powerline network in your home (A) which accesses a printer (B). Now you want a separate powerline network connection from your laptop to your printer (C). Figure 9 One Existing Powerline Network A C B 1 Click the ENCRYPT button on (A) for more than 10 seconds until the power ( disconnects (A) from (B). ) light flashes. This 2 Click the ENCRYPT button on (A) and (C) for 1~2 seconds and within two minutes of each other.
Chapter 3 The ENCRYPT Button Congratulations. You now have two separate powerline networks as shown above. If the HomePlug ( ) lights on both powerline devices do not light up, the powerline devices are not connected. Repeat the connection process, making certain you press the ENCRYPT buttons for the correct time and within two minutes of each other. If that does not work see Section 6.5 on page 51 for suggestions. 3.
C HAPT ER 4 The Configuration Utility 4.1 Overview This chapter shows you how to use the Configuration Utility (or Utility) to secure, manage and set up Quality of Service (QoS) on your powerline network. The PLA4215 is designed as a plug-and-play network expanding solution.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility By default the PLA4215s are all configured with the network name HomePlugAV, this allows you to simply plug the devices in and not worry about setting up security. If you want to enhance the security on your powerline network, you can change the network name on the powerline adapters you want to allow to communicate in your powerline network. 4.1.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility Note: Use the Figure 13 icon to view online help information in each screen of the utility. Configuration Screen The following table describes the labels in this screen. Table 3 Configuration Screen LABEL DESCRIPTION Network Topology Use this to select which powerline network information is displayed. Different powerline networks are identified by the Ethernet interface (network card) connected directly to the PLA4215.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility Table 3 Configuration Screen (continued) LABEL DESCRIPTION Network Name (NMK) The default network name (sometimes called a network password or network membership key (NMK)) of the PLA4215 is “HomePlugAV”. HomePlug compatible devices use the same network name to recognize and communicate with each other over the powerline network. If you change the network name of one device on the network, it will no longer be recognized as part of that network.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility Note: Be sure to upload the correct model firmware as uploading the wrong model firmware may damage your device. Figure 14 Firmware Screen 4.5 Network Info Screen Use the Network Info screen to see the rates at which a specific PLA4215 is communicating with other powerline adapters on your powerline network.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility The following table describes the labels in this screen. Table 4 Network Info Screen LABEL DESCRIPTION Adapter This field identifies which powerline network information is displayed. Different powerline networks are identified by the Ethernet interface (network card) connected directly to the PLA4215. Typically there is only one connection, however, if your computer has two network cards and both are connected to a PLA4215, then you have two powerline networks.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility messages FROM your powerline adapter are sent in your powerline network. Transmissions TO your powerline adapter do not receive any priority. For example, if you have a file server on your home network to deliver music and movie files to computers in your home, you should set the priority of the powerline adapter connected to this server to Medium. If video traffic is delivered too slowly, quality problems may occur.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility • Although device E receives audio or movie files, it does not send a lot of traffic, so the powerline adaptor attached to it can be set to a low priority. Figure 16 Priority Settings C D E B A Use this screen to configure priority settings for traffic from the powerline adapters on your network.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility The following table describes the labels in this screen. Table 6 Advanced Screen LABEL DESCRIPTION Adapter This field identifies which powerline network information is displayed. Different powerline networks are identified by the Ethernet interface (network card) on your computer which is connected directly to a powerline adapter. Typically there is only one connection.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility The following table describes the labels in this screen. Table 7 About Screen LABEL DESCRIPTION Utility version: This field displays the software version of the configuration utility. Firmware version This field displays the firmware version of the device you selected in the Device Selection field of the Configuration screen.
Chapter 4 The Configuration Utility 36 PLA4215 User’s Guide
C HAPT ER 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 5.1 Overview Use this tutorial to expand your existing powerline network. After setting up your first home powerline network (instructions for that are in the Quick Start Guide for your ZyXEL powerline adapter) you may want to extend the network or create a new one by adding additional powerline adapters. This tutorial shows you the following. • How to start up your new powerline adapter. You need to do this before you can begin the next sections.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 5.2 Accessing Your Powerline Adapter 1 Plug the powerline adapter you want to add to your network into a power socket and, if needed, switch the power socket on. Figure 19 Plug Your Powerline Adapter into a Power Socket 1 2 Connect the powerline adapter to your computer. 3 Use a LAN or Ethernet cable (shown below) to connect the LAN or Ethernet port on your adapter to the same kind of port on your computer.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial • See Section 5.5 on page 42 to set up a second network with your existing adapters. 5.3 Adding a Powerline Adapter This section shows you how to add a new powerline adapter to expand your existing network. The figure below shows the family computer with Internet access on a powerline network. Expand the network by adding a new powerline adapter connected to a printer.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 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 C 4 Click Save and click OK on the pop-up. Figure 25 Network Name Pop-up 5 Your new adapter will now have the same Network Name as your existing network and so has now joined your existing network.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial Internet access but with a media adapter such as the ZyXEL DMA-1100P you 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 open the configuration utility as shown in Section 5.4 on page 40. The screen shown below appears. 2 Type a Network Name that is different from the Network Name for your existing network.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 5.5 Splitting a Network into Two Networks This section shows you how to split your existing network into two networks. This is useful if you want to set up a second powerline network in your home, for example, in your study connecting a laptop and printer. See Figure 26 on page 41 for an example. To set up your existing powerline network you had to set each powerline adapter with the same network name.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial • Then type the new network name in the Network Name field. Figure 29 Adding an Adapter to Your New Network A B 4 Click Save. • If you do not type the DAK password or type it incorrectly either of the following pop-ups appear. Click OK and type the DAK Password correctly in the DAK Password field. Figure 30 Incorrect DAK or No DAK • If you have correctly entered the DAK Password, click OK on the pop-up.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 5 The settings for the adapter will now grey out and the adapter will disappear from the table after a few minutes. Figure 32 An Adapter on Your New Network 6 Go back to step 3 in this section to set the same, new Network Name for all remote adapters you want to add to your new network. 7 Check you have added the adapters correctly by changing the network name for the local adapter.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial • Check you have entered the correct network name for your network. • Check your powerline adapter is connected to the same electrical circuit as other powerline adapters on your network.
Chapter 5 Powerline Network Setup Tutorial 46 PLA4215 User’s Guide
C HAPT ER 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting This chapter describes the behavior of the LEDs (lights) and offers some suggestions to solve problems you might encounter. 6.1 LEDs The following sections describes the lights on the PLA4215. The following figure is the front panel of the PLA4215. Use the lights to determine if the PLA4215 is behaving normally or if there are some problems on your powerline network.
Chapter 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting The following table describes the behavior of the lights on the PLA4215. Table 8 PLA4215 LIGHTS POWER ICON COLOR STATUS DESCRIPTION Green On The PLA4215 is on and receiving power. It also indicates a successful connection using the ENCRYPT button. Blinking The PLA4215 is starting up. It also indicates the PLA4215 is trying to connect with another device using the ENCRYPT function.
Chapter 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting 3 Disconnect and re-connect the power cord to the PLA4215. 4 Remove the powerline adapter from the outlet. Then connect an electrical device that you know works into the same power outlet. This checks the status of the power outlet. 5 If the problem continues, contact the vendor. The ETHERNET light does not turn on. 1 Check the hardware connections. See the Quick Start Guide. 2 Inspect your cables for damage. Contact the vendor to replace any damaged cables.
Chapter 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting The POWER and HomePlug light blink at the same time. • You have pressed the ENCRYPT button for more than three seconds. Try setting up a connection again, this time pressing the ENCRYPT buttons on both devices for less than three seconds. 6.3 Configuration Utility Problems The PLA42xx Series Configuration Utility displays an error during installation. • Make sure your computer is using Windows XP or Windows Vista (32-bit) operating system.
Chapter 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting 3 Your powerline adapters may be placed close to electrical devices such as electrical insect-killers which produce radio waves. These may interfere with the powerline signals. Move the adapters further away from such electrical devices. 4 Your wiring may be old and/or low quality or with a long wiring path. 6.5 ENCRYPT Button Problems This section applies only to PLA4215s with the ENCRYPT button.
Chapter 6 LEDs and Troubleshooting The POWER lights on both devices blink, then many lights blink and the HomePlug light blinks red. Do not worry, the connection process is proceeding normally. The POWER lights on both devices finished blinking, but only one device’s HomePlug light is on. One device may have connected to a third powerline device. To check device A is connected to device B and not another device, disconnect device B from its power source.
A PPENDIX A Legal Information Copyright Copyright © 2011 by ZyXEL Communications Corporation. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any part or as a whole, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, photocopying, manual, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of ZyXEL Communications Corporation. Published by ZyXEL Communications Corporation.
Appendix A Legal Information • This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operations. This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
Appendix A Legal Information This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada. Viewing Certifications 1 Go to http://www.zyxel.com. 2 Select your product on the ZyXEL home page to go to that product's page. 3 Select the certification you wish to view from this page.
Appendix A Legal Information 56 PLA4215 User’s Guide
Index Index Symbols F .
Index multiple networks 13 T trademarks 53 N transfer rates 11 transmit rate 30 network example 26 troubleshooting 47 network information 30 U P Parameter Information Block, see PIB 29 utility launching 27 passwords 26, 28, 29 types of 12 PIB (Parameter Information Block) 29 plug-and-play 26 priority settings 31 application type 32 priority levels 34 W warranty 55 note 55 web configurator 12 private network 12 problems and solutions 47 product registration 55 PWR LED 47 R receive rate 30 regist
