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Overview
With multiple outlets in almost every room, residential powerlines
are the most pervasive network in the world. As the uses of the
Internet grow, types of broadband access expand, and consumers plug
a new generation of electronic devices into the Web, powerlines
present a cost-effective, ubiquitous, easy-to-adopt home networking
solution for consumers around the globe.
Consortiums:
Some of the leading consortiums/technologies backing powerlines
based home networking are HomePlug, CEBus, X-10, and LONWORKs.
HomePlug: HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation established to provide a forum for
the creation of specifications for worldwide home powerline networking products and services; and, to accelerate the demand for these products and services through the sponsorship of market and user education programs. HomePlug has chosen
Intellon's high-speed powerline networking technology as the baseline upon which to build the Alliance's first-generation specification. HomePlug offers 10 Mbps data rate, clear compatibility, robustness, and ease of implementation.
LONWORK: Echelon Corporation is a founding member and sponsor
of the LonMark
Interoperability Association - an organization that promotes
LONWORK products, recommends design guidelines for interoperable
LONWORK-based products, and verifies that products meet the Association's
guidelines for interoperability. LONWORKs technology allows all
kinds of control devices to communicate with each other through
a common communication protocol that is shared among all devices.
Challenges:
Home powerline wiring was not designed for communicating data signals,
and only recently has the market demanded a way to use them for
high-speed data networking in the home. The physical topology of
the home wiring, the physical properties of the electrical cabling,
the appliances connected, and the behavioral characteristics of
the electric current itself all combine to create technical obstacles
to the use of powerlines as a networking medium.
Xilinx Solutions
The Spartan™-II FPGA architecture has enabled a whole new generation
of low-cost high volume solutions. This, combined with a vast portfolio
of soft IP (Intellectual Property) cores allows Spartan-II FPGAs
to provide solutions at a significantly lower cost than ASSPs and
custom ASICs, while offering all of the time-to-market and flexibility
benefits associated with programmable devices. The presentation
provides specific details on how Xilinx solutions enable powerlines
based home networking.
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