TP-Link PA511 Kit?

[Riekopo]

Does anyone own the TP-Link PA511 Kit (powerline ethernet)? I just bought it on Amazon and installed it because it seemed like a great deal. This is my first experience with powerline ethernet. The management software is saying 60%-80% quality and about 283Mbps.

 

[L&LD]

What's your question?

 

[Riekopo]

My question is does anyone here have this and what are their thoughts?

 

[stevech]

The management software may be showing you the raw burst frame rate. Not likely the IP layer rate. Same with WiFi: connection speed might say 54Mbps, but the IP layer yield, after overhead, is 60% or so of the raw rate.

Truth comes from doing IP layer tests that pass through the power line IP adapters.

PC/laptop on each end. Or PC on one end, NAS on the other side's LAN.

Run ping and ensure it's consistent and small number, like 10mSec.

Run freeware Qcheck, and run file transfer (e.g., windows shared folder) of a large (100+ MB) file.

 

[Riekopo]

The management software may be showing you the raw burst frame rate. Not likely the IP layer rate. Same with WiFi: connection speed might say 54Mbps, but the IP layer yield, after overhead, is 60% or so of the raw rate.

Truth comes from doing IP layer tests that pass through the power line IP adapters.

PC/laptop on each end. Or PC on one end, NAS on the other side's LAN.

Run ping and ensure it's consistent and small number, like 10mSec.

Run freeware Qcheck, and run file transfer (e.g., windows shared folder) of a large (100+ MB) file.

These seem like good ideas, but I don't know how to do those things.

 

[kamaran]

I tested around 10 different 500mbps powerline kits and the PA511KIT gave me the best overall results.

With that said, the connection rate at the far end of the house still wasn't brilliant (orange light on unit), however that is determined by distance and quality of wiring.

 

[Riekopo]

I tested around 10 different 500mbps powerline kits and the PA511KIT gave me the best overall results.

With that said, the connection rate at the far end of the house still wasn't brilliant (orange light on unit), however that is determined by distance and quality of wiring.

Oh that's very good to know. I wasn't expecting the best performance from this because they were just about the cheapest 500Mbps kit I could find. I see on their European site they have a new 600Mbps version available. I guess that is using a new tech or standard.

 

[fizikz]

I've had the PA511KIT (got 2 kits) for several months now and it seems to be working well. The rate (and light color) vary depending on where in the house they're plugged in. Doing some file transfers I managed to get up to about 30Mbps in some less-than-ideal locations on opposite ends of the house. With better placement I was easily getting 60-90Mbps during my testing.

I think where you position them and how well you get rid of interference-causing devices will be strong factors in how satisfied you are with them. As far as the hardware goes, so far I have no complaints.