D-Link DHP-343

One disadvantage of powerline networking is that connecting more than one device to your home network is inconvenient. You need extra gear – either a wireless access point, switch or multiple single port plug adapters. D-Link's DHP-343 kit circumvents this problem.

Instead of supplying two simple, single port powerline adapters in the box, D-Link replaces one of them with a box that has four Ethernet ports and powerline networking built in, allowing you to connect more than just the one computer. It's a neat solution that means you don't have your networking equipment hogging your mains sockets, and it keeps wiring to a minimum too.

It's UPA (Universal Powerline Association) rather than HomePlug AV certified, which means fewer compatible devices to choose from, but this standard boasts comparable raw transfer speeds of up to 200Mbits/sec.

Naturally, there's encryption built in too. This can be set up using the supplied software utility or the usual complicated combination of long and short button presses on the units themselves. Quite why manufacturers don't print a crib sheet on the back of each device explaining this procedure is beyond us. It's hardly convenient having to dig out the manual each time you want to extend your network by adding new adapters.

In our performance tests the DHP-343 kit proved a bit of a mix. We experienced excellent speeds at close range, with average transfers reaching 59MBit/sec with both source and target computers in the same room as each other. As soon as we started to make life difficult, performance fell.

With the two adapters separated by a simple breaker switch in a modern domestic fuse box, speeds fell to 46Mbits/sec and then to 33Mbits/sec in our long distance tests. Despite this the D-Links maintained a very good overall average score of 42Mbits/sec in our tests.

It's worth noting you can pick up an eight port switch and a standard pair of UPA adapters for less than this kit, but D-Link's is a much more elegant solution. That, combined with decent all-round performance means the DHP-343 kit is well worth considering if you need to more flexibility in your powerline network.

Author: Jonathan Bray