Model: Western Digital Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Provided By: Western Digital
As one of the biggest names in the storage industry, Western Digital doesn't need much of an introduction. Founded in 1970, the company got its start by manufacturing calculator chips. As time went on, Western Digital expanded into the PC market, adding floppy and hard disc controllers to its product lineup. It wasn't until 1988 that it introduced its "Centaur" series of hard drives. Since then, the company has grown to become the world's second largest manufacturer of hard drives. Western Digital currently offers a wide range of internal and external hard drives as well as a growing number of multimedia devices.
With many of today's HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players offering access to online content, the need for some form of home network is greater than ever. While Ethernet offers the best performance, it's not always possible to drill holes and run the cables needed to connect each device. Wireless networks are another popular solution. Unlike Ethernet, there are no cables to run. However, performance and range can be greatly affected by obstacles such as walls or interference from other wireless devices.
Western Digital recently introduced its own home networking solution. Instead of Ethernet cables or wireless signals, their new WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit uses your home's existing electrical wiring to create or extend a network. As Western Digital likes to point out, setup is as easy as plugging in a lamp. Simply plug the adapters into your electrical outlets to create a high-speed network connection anywhere in your home. The two adapters included in the WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit are HomePlug AV compatible and are capable of data transfer speeds up to 200 Mbps. Each adapter also comes equipped with four Ethernet ports so that you can connect your router and up to seven additional devices.
Box Contents:
The WD Livewire Powerline AV network kit comes in a small, blue and white box. The front, back and sides of the box show the Livewire adapters from various angles and list many of the kit's features.
Inside the box you'll find two adapters, two ethernet cables, two power cables, a quick install guide, a documentation and software CD and a warranty and support guide.
Physical Features:
Like most network hardware, the Livewire adapters are very utilitarian in design. They measure 1.30" x 4.70" x 3.40" (32mm x 119mm x 86mm) and are constructed out of lightweight, black plastic. Along the front of each there is a series of LED indicators which show when the adapters are powered on, connected to the network and a device is attached to the corresponding Ethernet port.
One big advantage the WD Livewire kit has over other powerline networking solutions is that each adapter has a four port, 100 Mbit Ethernet switch. This allows you to plug in your router as well as seven other networked devices. To the right of these ports is the Sync button which is used to create a private network.
The power switch and power jack are located on the other end of the Livewire adapter. For best performance, WD recommends that you plug the adapter directly into a wall socket and not use a power strip, surge protector or extension cord.
The WD Livewire powerline AV network kit can be setup in a matter of minutes. To begin, connect one of the Livewire adapters to your router using an ethernet cable and then plug it directly into an electrical outlet. Once that is done, plug the second adapter into an outlet in another room where a wired network connection is needed. If the two adapters are working correctly, the PLC-Link indicator on each should be illuminated. The last step is to plug your computers, media players, network hard drives and game consoles into the adapters' ethernet ports.
If you live in an apartment building where the electrical system is not exclusive to your living space, you may want to create a private network. To do so, press the Sync button on the back of each adapter for less than three seconds within a span of two minutes.
Software:
The adapters included in the WD Livewire powerline AV network kit are entirely plug and play and can be used without having to install any software. Nevertheless, if you want to upgrade the firmware, run diagnostics or change the name of your private network, you will need to install the WD Livewire Utility which is located on the software CD. If you have autorun enabled, the menu pictured below will automatically come up when you insert the disc.
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Once you accept the license agreement, you'll see a button for the WD LiveWire Utility. Clicking it will begin the installation process. The first thing installed is WinPcap, which is an open source library for packet capture and network analysis.
Once WinPcap is installed, the setup program for the WD Livewire Utility will automatically launch. All you need to do is accept to the license agreement, specify the destination folder and wait for the files to be copied over to your computer.
The WD Livewire Utility is pretty straightforward. From the Main tab, you can connect to and upgrade the firmware of the local device. The utility can also scan for other power line devices and show the name, password, connection quality and data rate of each.
Clicking on the Privacy tab will bring up another screen where you can change the private network name. This can be set on the local device only or all of the devices on the network. Take note that if you decide to set this on all devices, you will need to enter their passwords on the Main tab first.
To test the performance of the WD Livewire Powerline AV network kit, I used Ixia's Qcheck software. Built using IxChariot technology, Qcheck is capable of testing a network's throughput and response time as well as the packet loss of data streamed between two endpoints.
For this test, I set up two endpoints. The first was a Dell Optiplex GX620 running Windows 7 Enterprise. This computer was located in my office and, depending on the test, was connected to either a 100Mbit switch or one of the Livewire adapters. The second endpoint was my Asus Eee PC 1201N netbook. This computer also runs Windows 7 Enterprise and was the one where the tests were controlled from. For the wireless tests, a Linksys WRT54GS 802.11g router was used.
The wireless and powerline network tests were run from two different locations. The first location was my downstairs bathroom. While only about 30' away from my office, there are concrete walls and metal ducts in between the two. The second location was the master bathroom. This room is located on the opposite side of the house. However, its a straight shot with only the ceiling and a few plaster walls separating the two.
First we'll take a look at the TCP and UDP throughput of the WD Livewire kit. For this test, I set the data size in Qcheck to 1000 kBytes.
As you'd expect, the Livewire's TCP throughput fell somewhere in between Ethernet and wireless. In the first location, I saw speeds as high as 52 Mbps. Farther away though, the throughput dropped down to about 39 Mbps. The Livewire's UDP throughput was not nearly as fast though. It peaked at 11 Mbps which was about 7 Mbs slower than wireless.
If you've ever played an online game, you know that response time is just as important as throughput. Using Qcheck, I tested the average and maximum TCP response times of the WD Livewire kit.
The Livewire's response times were slightly higher than what I saw with Ethernet or wireless. The performance was still quite good though, considering the difference was only a couple of milliseconds.
I also ran Qcheck's UDP streaming test to see if there was any data loss across the various networks. The test was run for 30 seconds with the data rate set to 1000kbps. While my wireless connection would occasionally lose some of the data, the WD Livewire kit passed this test with flying colors.
Lastly, I streamed a few high-def videos from my TVersity Media Server to my PS3. When done over wireless, there are normally a few sections where the video would be choppy or pause during playback. However, with the PS3 plugged into one of the Livewire adapters, everything played back smoothly from start to finish.
Final Thoughts:
The WD Livewire Powerline AV network kit is a great solution for anyone looking for a hassle free way to expand their home network. With no holes to drill or cables to be run, setup can be done in a matter of minutes. Simply plug the powerline adapters into your electrical outlets to create a network connection anywhere in your home. The Livewire's performance was also surprisingly good. While it didn't come close to reaching its maximum transfer speed in my tests, the throughput was more than enough to stream 1080p HD video. The Livewire adapters also feature 128-bit encryption and come equipped with four Ethernet ports which allow you to plug in multiple devices without the need for an additional switch.
The WD Livewire Powerline AV network kit is available now and can be purchased for around $100 through Amazon as well as some of the vendors on PriceGrabber.
Highs:
- Very easy to setup
- Four Ethernet ports on each adapter
- Fast enough for 1080p HD video streaming
- Data transfer protected by 128-bit encryption
- Works with other HomePlug AV devices
- Reasonably priced
Lows:
- WD Livewire Utility is Windows only
- Does not work with power strips or surge protectors
- Only a 1 year warranty in North America