> I have used these homeplug[1] type ethernet adaptors in the past where a
> wireless unit would not work due to old house, thick walls and distance.
>
> As for Zyxel, here the one I recommend [2], they normally come with a
> wireless
> usb dongle although you can get a router and home plug kit
>
> [1] http://www.wifi-antennas.co.uk/index.php?target=products&product_id=34
>
> [2]
> http://www.zyxel.co.uk/web/product_family_detail.php?PC1indexflag=20040812093058&CategoryGroupNo=AC5783AE-9475-41AD-BDA5-0997187F44AA
>
I know several people here recommend zyxel but I've had nothing but
problems with mine, and a friend who has the same router (P660H) has also
had similar problems. The main issue I have with it is randomly rebooting,
which gets worse over time (depending on how many of the features of the
router, such as upnp, syslogging etc. are turned on, as a result I don't
use any of the "power" features any more, which was half the reason for
buying it!) until eventually I have to do a factory reset and then
reconfigure. My friends version also consistently connected at a lower
speed than the netgear he has now bought to replace it. I wouldn't buy one
again, but maybe I've just seen 2 bad cases :).
As for homeplug. Do remember that it is not a switched technology, it
essentially is the same technology as wireless but turns all the wires in
your house into the "air". But as with wireless this is a hub rather than
a switch style solution, each transfer will eat into the total available
bandwidth.
I have also seen various issues similar to wireless where depending on
your cabling etc. you will probably not get the quoted speeds. There is
quite an overhead, similar to wireless, and you rarely get the full
throughput. A guy I worked with looked at supposedly 100meg homeplug
adapters but in reality they could not provide enough bandwidth to stream
high def video over (which was the whole reason for buying them) despite
in theory there being enough headroom to do so.
I would say homeplug is a good replacement for wireless, but not a good
replacement for ethernet cables and a switch.
