DS2 Blog

CeBIT 2010: Two new DS2-based home networking products from Billion

Billion will launch two DS2-based Powerline models at CeBIT Hannover 2010. The   BiPAC 2093 R2 (Pocket-sized 200Mbps PLC Ethernet Wall Plug) and BiPAC 2094 R2 (200Mbps PLC Ethernet Wall Plug with Noise-filtering Power Outlet) provide instant connectivity in the home and are great for connecting different devices such as modems, routers, PCs, set-top-boxes, IP Cameras, and game consoles using existing power cables. Using DS2's unique smart routing and repeating functions these products offer Smart Route to find the best transmission path and Smart Repeater to extend the connection for 100% coverage in larger homes and buildings. The BiPAC 2093 R2 and the BiPAC 2094 R2 include Smart Power Saving technology  that reduces power consumption when the units are not in use. Both products will be available early in the second quarter of the year.

Billion anticipates compatibility between these new products and future G.hn -based products. DS2 has demonstrated compatibility of its current UPA-based Powerline technology with its new G.hn prototypes. 

G.hn: reducing chip count by 50%

There is a growing interest among Telco/Cable Service Providers in deploying networks that can take advantage of all the existing wires available in the home (power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables).

Until recently, there was a number a proprietary technologies for wired networking, but each one of them was designed for one single medium (ie, one technology for powerline only, another for coaxial cable only, and so on).

Each of these technologies is fundamentally different from each other, so networking chips have to be specialized: For example, a chip designed to operate over coaxial cable cannot work over powerlines.

Why are the chips different? In many cases, the reason is simply that they were designed in separate groups, inside closed organizations, which took different decisions when choosing technical elements such modulation type, Forward Error Correction, QoS architecture, Security architecture, etc.

IEEE Communications Magazine paper on G.hn

With the recent approval of G.hn at ITU last week, IEEE Communications Magazine couldn't have chosen a better timing for the publication this month of the paper "G.hn: The New ITU-T Home Networking Standard", by my friends Vladimir Oksman (Infineon Technologies) and Stefano Galli (Panasonic Corporation).

Oksman and Galli are some of the most active participants at the ITU group in which Recommendation G.9960 (the Physical layer of G.hn) was developed. The paper, which is available for download at the HomeGrid Forum website, provides a good overview of the G.hn standard, including the overall architecture, the Physical Layer (Recommendation G.9960) and the Data Link Layer (Recommendation G.9961).

The paper provides interesting information on the issue of the Forward Error Correction (FEC) used in G.hn.

Reactions to NIST's endorsement of G.hn for Smart Grid

Last week's publication of the latest draft of the "NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards", which included G.hn in the list of "standards identified for implementation" has had a significant impact on the industry.

Brian Santo at CED Magazine has a good story on the long term implications of this decision::

Thinking several moves ahead of the game, the HomeGrid Forum is on the verge of getting the new G.hn standard approved for use in Smart Grid applications by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). [...]

G.hn becomes one of the Smart Grid "standards identified for implementation" by US Department of Commerce's NIST

Everybody involved in the Smart Grid industry was yesterday paying close attention to the expected publication of the "NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards" draft. This document includes the standards that NIST (an agency of the US Department of Commerce) has identified as key elements of the Smart Grid Initiative.

The NIST report presented by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke validates many of the ideas that DS2 has championed during the last months: that the Smart Grid should be based on IP standards, and that G.hn is the best standard for powerline communications for Smart Grid applications.

An introduction to G.hn security

G.hn is the new standard developed by ITU for high-speed networking over existing home wires (power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables). One of the key elements in a communication standard is the security mechanism that ensures that data confidentiality is protected and that external users cannot get access to users’ data.

G.hn’s security architecture is composed of four major elements:

1. Data Encryption: a procedure to encrypt data with a secret key
2. Data Integrity: a procedure to ensure that messages are not altered after they have been transmitted
3. Authentication: a procedure to ensure that only authorized nodes/users can access encrypted data
4. Key distribution: a procedure to distribute secret keys to authenticated devices in the network

John Dvorak @ PC Magazine on G.hn

John Dvorak, one of the best known technology columnists, which has been covering the PC and CE industry since the 80's, has recently published a short column in PC Magazine called "HDMI: Who Needs This Aggravation?", in which he provides his view of the G.hn standard and how it will fix the problem of a fragmented powerline networking industry.

John talks about past problems in the powerline industry ...

Here comes the latest iteration of power-line networking. It's the 1-Gbps G.hn now promoted by the HomeGrid forum. This time it may all come together. Until now a slew of incompatible technologies have been working against each other, thus preventing any real traction with home power-line networking.

Linley Group: "G.hn is likely to emerge the victor for powerline and phoneline networking"

Joseph Byrne, Senior Analyst at Linley Group (one of the leading research firms for semiconductors), has written an in-depth post ("Fruitless battle of proprietary home-networking tech nears end") on the current situation of the wired home networking industry and the potential of G.hn to solve the fragmentation problem:

There are two efforts abreast to change the situation. The most promising of the two is the G.hn spec being developed under the auspices of the ITU. The developers of this spec made two sage decisions.

Intel on the role of G.hn on "Consumer Electronics 3.0"

Last month, at the Annual Meeting of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), Brendan Traw, CTO at Intel Digital Home Group, presented Intel's vision of the Consumer Electronics industry at a keynote session called "Consumer Electronics 3.0: Bringing the Internet to the TV through Standards".

Intel publishes white-paper on G.hn standard

Intel is one of the most active companies pushing for unified industry standards. Intel has been instrumental at driving standards such as Wi-Fi, PCI, USB and many other technologies that have widespread use today.

Intel recently published a white-paper about HomeGrid Forum and the G.hn standard for wired home networking. The paper provides a good overview of the problems created by industry fragmentation in the past years, and how G.hn will solve these problems and will allow the creation of a competitive ecosystem around open standards.

The white paper also provides hints to how Intel expects to benefit from the G.hn standard: