PowerGrid 9142s Powerline Ethernet Adapter with WiFi User Manual Version A1.
Preface This manual provides information related to the installation and operation of this device. The individual reading this manual is presumed to have a basic understanding of telecommunications terminology and concepts. If you find the product to be inoperable or malfunctioning, please contact technical support for immediate service by email at INT-support@comtrend.com For product update, new product release, manual revision, or software upgrades, please visit our website at http://www.comtrend.
Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
CHAPTER 1: PRODUCT INFORMATION ................................................................................................ 5 1.1 WIFI FEATURES .................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 POWERLINE FEATURES ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 SAFETY INFORMATION .............................................................
2.7.2 Advanced settings ................................................................................................................ 41 2.7.3 Security settings ................................................................................................................... 43 2.7.3.1 Disable Security ................................................................................................................. 44 2.7.3.2 WEP ...........................................................................
Chapter 1: Product Information 1.1 WiFi Features • Compatible with IEEE 802.11b/g/n wireless network standard • Supports 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, and WPA2 wireless data encryption • Supports MAC address filtering • Supports WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) • Easy to use web-based GUI (Graphical User Interface) for network configuration and management purposes 1.
1.3 Safety Information 1. This Wireless-N Powerline Adapter is designed for indoor use only; DO NOT place this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter outdoors. 2. DO NOT put this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter at or near hot or humid places, like kitchens or bathrooms. 3. DO NOT pull any connected cable with force; disconnect it from the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter first. 4. There’s no user-serviceable part inside the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter.
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Chapter 2: Network Setup 2.1 Hardware Setup Front Panel and LED indicators LED Color OFF: No power (perhaps the socket to which the Wireless-N Power Powerline Adapter is connected does not work or is disabled) Green: Wireless-N Powerline Adapter is plugged in with voltage present Blink: Establishing connection Green: Excellent network traffic (i.e. the connection speed is more than 90 Megabits per second) Status Orange: Good network traffic (i.e.
WLAN Green: WiFi connection established Blink: Data transmitting or receiving over WLAN (secured network) OFF: WiFi disabled WPS Blink: WPS mode is on for 120 seconds OFF: WPS mode is off ETHERNET Green: LAN connection established OFF: LAN connection is not established Blink: Data transmitting/receiving Bottom Panel Item Name Description LAN Local Area Network (LAN) port Reset Press 11 seconds to reset the system with factory defaults
Front Panel Buttons Item Name Description Press more than 2 seconds to start WPS connection Press for between 2 – 11 seconds to join/establish a powerline Config network Press for over 11 seconds to leave a powerline network
2.2 Powerline Logical Network In the following example we are going to show how our PG-9142s works in conjunction with the PG-9141s. See the following illustration for reference. These steps show how to connect a PowerGrid 9141s unit to a modem or router. This guide assumes that a PowerGrid 9141s will be the primary connection to the modem / router and the PowerGrid 9142s will be used within the network to connect to WiFi capable devices (E.g. Tablet, IP Phone, Access Point).
2.2.1 Initial Setup 1. Ensure that your modem or router is powered on. 2. Plug a PowerGrid 9141s unit into the power socket closest to the modem/ router. The Power LED will blink GREEN. 3. Connect the PowerGrid 9141s unit to the LAN port of the modem/router with an Ethernet (RJ-45) cable. Wait 10 seconds for the PowerGrid’s Ethernet LED and Power LED to light up GREEN indicating a stable connection.
2.2.2 Device Connection These steps show how to connect a PowerGrid 9142s to a network device. Below we use an Ethernet camera as a network device. 1. Plug a PowerGrid 9142s unit into the power socket closest to the camera or other device. The Power LED on the PowerGrid 9142s should light up GREEN. 2. Power on your camera (or Ethernet device). Connect the PowerGrid 9142s to the camera with an Ethernet cable. The Ethernet LED on the PowerGrid 9142s should light up GREEN. 3.
2.2.3 Adding a New Device Follow steps 1-4 in section 2.2.2 to add additional PowerGrid 9142s devices to the network. Press the “Config” button on the new device and one other PowerGrid device in the network so they can pair and transmit data successfully.
2.2.4 PowerGrid 9142s WiFi setup 1. To connect your WiFi device (e.g. computer, tablet, smartphone) to the PowerGrid 9142s Wireless-N Powerline Adapter, go to your device’s WiFi settings to search for - and select - the SSID that is located on your PowerGrid 9142s device label. 2. When prompted, input the WiFi key located on the PowerGrid 9142s device label to connect. 3. You should now be successfully connected to the PowerGrid 9142s WiFi network.
2.2.5 WPS Setup If your client (e.g. smartphone, notebook, tablet) supports WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) then you can use this method to set up your PowerGrid 9142s’ Wi-Fi network. 1. Press and hold the WPS button for more than 2 seconds on the PowerGrid 9142s to activate its WPS. The PowerGrid 9142s’ WPS LED should flash to indicate a WPS connection is in progress. 2. Within two minutes, press the WPS button (often the WPS/Reset button) on your client to activate WPS.
2.2.6 How to use a power strip with the PowerGrid 9142s If you must plug your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter into a power strip, we suggest you use a basic power strip as the more advanced ones have a filter that can interfere with the Powerline signal. SURGE PROTECTED POWER STRIPS: Avoid plugging PowerGrid units into power strips with surge protection as this will reduce network speed and may even prevent their use. 2.2.
2.2.8 Troubleshooting The following information should help you diagnose basic setup or installation problems. 1) POWER LED is OFF: If the POWER LED goes off, please make sure that your power socket is working properly (perhaps by testing with another device).Then plug in your PowerGrid 9142s again. If the POWER LED does not light up, please contact your equipment supplier for further information.
2.2.9 Frequently Asked Questions This PG-9142s Wireless-N Powerline Adapter has been designed to be reliable and easy to use in creating or extending your existing home network. However, should you experience any problems, please refer to the list below to aid in troubleshooting. 1. What to do if the LEDs do not display as expected? • Power indictor is flashing, the other indicators are off: The PG-9142s Wireless-N Powerline Adapter went into power saving mode.
3. Why is SDTV video not streaming? • • • • • Check the STATUS indicator LED in the adapter connected to the STB. If the indicator is RED this means that the PLC link is not able to play an SDTV streaming. Try to reposition the adapter into another outlet in order to obtain an ORANGE or GREEN indication. If the indicator is ORANGE or GREEN, it should now be able to play SDTV video.
6. What if my Powerline Adapters don’t fit into the plug socket? • • Your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter might not fit because the sockets are too close to the floor or are in the skirting board. The easiest way around this is to use a trailing power strip, and plug the Adapter into the strip. Please make sure that the strip is not an anti-surge adapter strip. 7. What if the house next door has Powerline Adapters as well? • Each pair of Wireless-N Powerline Adapters has its own unique security key.
2.3 Connecting to PG-9142s Wireless-N Powerline Adapter by web browser After the network connection is complete, the next step you should do is setup the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter with proper network parameters, so it can work properly in your network environment. Before you can connect to the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter and start configuration procedures, your computer must be able to get an IP address automatically (use dynamic IP address).
2.3.1 Windows 7 IP address setup 1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel. Double click Network and Internet and click Network and Sharing Center, the Network and Sharing Center window will appear. 2. Click Change adapter settings and right click on the Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. The Local Area Connection window will appear. 3. Check your list of Network Components. You should see Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) on your list.
2.3.2 Connecting to Web Management Interface All functions and settings of this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter must be configured via web management interface. Please start your web browser, and input ‘192.168.0.10’ in address bar, then press ‘Enter’ key.
2.4 Quick Setup After login, the Quick Setup screen will appear. It is the default screen when no connections exist. This screen allows for the configuration of DSL settings and the IP configuration. It includes LAN, Wireless and Security setup screens. NOTE: If you can’t see the web management interface, and you’re being prompted to input user name and password again, it means you didn’t input username and password correctly. Please retype user name and password again.
DNS Input the IP address of the domain name server. DHCP Disable or Enable DHCP client. If Enabled, IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and DNS will be got by DHCP client automatically. Click the Next button to continue. 2.4.2 Wireless Settings This page is used to configure the parameters for the wireless connection of tablets, smart phones, and laptops. Band Select the wireless band you wish to use.
Mode PG-9142s only supports AP mode. Network In Infrastructure Mode, wireless clients can access the other Type networks (perhaps Internet) via this AP. For AP. Only Infrastructure Mode is allowed here. SSID Input the ESSID (the name used to identify this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter) here. You can input up to 32 alphanumerical characters. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ESSID IS CASE SENSITIVE.
2.4.3 Security Settings Turn on WEP or WPA encryption to prevent unauthorized access to your wireless network. Select the Encryption method from the drop down menu. Then select and fill in the required parameters. Click the Apply button to display the following. Do not turn off or reboot the device during this time.
2.5 Status 2.5.1 Device Status This page shows the current status and some basic settings of the device. Up time Displays the total time passed since the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter was powered on. Firmware Version Displays Firmware version of wireless Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. Mode Displays current wireless operating mode. Band Displays the transmission mode (802.11b, 802.11n or 802.11g).
Associated Clients Displays the number of connected wireless clients. Attain IP Protocol Displays the method of obtaining the IP address. IP Address Displays the IP address of this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. Subnet Mask Displays the net mask of IP address. Default Gateway Displays the IP address of default gateway. DNS Displays the IP address of the DNS server.
2.5.2 System Log This page shows the system's operational information; start up time, system events, and also lets you enable or disable certain logging features. To enable the System Log tick the check box and make your selections. Click the Apply Changes button to display the following. Click the Reboot Now button for the changes to take effect. Click the Reboot Later button to continue to make changes and reboot the device at a different time.
2.5.3 Statistics This page shows the packet count for the Wireless and Ethernet LAN.
2.6 General Setup 2.6.1 Time Zone Setting Automatically synchronize your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter time with Internet time servers. Select your local time zone from the drop-down menu. This page is used to configure NTP client to get current time.
2.6.2 Password This page is used to set the account to access the web server of your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. Emptying the user name and password fields will disable the protection. Click the Apply Changes button to create the new password setting. Click the Reset button to reset/clear the data just input on screen.
2.6.3 TR-069 Client WAN Management Protocol (TR-069) allows an Auto-Configuration Server (ACS) to perform auto-configuration, provision, collection, and diagnostics of this device. Select desired values and click Apply Changes to configure TR-069 client options. ACS URL URL for the CPE to connect to the ACS using the CPE WAN Management Protocol. This parameter MUST be in the form of a valid HTTP or HTTPS URL. An HTTPS URL indicates that the ACS supports SSL.
ACS User Name Username used to authenticate the CPE when making a connection to the ACS using the CPE WAN Management Protocol. This username is used only for HTTP-based authentication of the CPE. ACS Password Password used to authenticate the CPE when making a connection to the ACS using the CPE WAN Management Protocol. This password is used only for HTTP-based authentication of the CPE. Periodic Inform Whether or not the CPE periodically sends CPE information Enable to the ACS.
2.6.4 LAN Settings Enable your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter to dynamically receive an IP Address from your home gateway. Your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter must have an IP Address in the Local Area Network's existing IP range. IP Address The IP address for the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter Subnet Mask The Subnet Mask for the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter Default Gateway The LAN default gateway DNS Specify the IP address of the default gateway of your network here. DHCP Disable or Enable DHCP client.
2.7 Wireless 2.7.1 Basic settings This page is used to configure the parameters for the wireless connection of tablets, smart phones, and laptops. Disable Wireless Click it will disable your Wireless LAN Interface. The LAN interface Wireless Interface default is Enable. Band Please select the wireless band you wish to use. By selecting different band setting, you’ll be able to allow or deny the wireless client of a certain band. If you select 2.4GHz (B), 2.4GHz (N), or 2.
If you select 2.4GHz (B+G), then only wireless clients using 802.11b and 802.11g band will be able to connect to this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. If you want to allow 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11 Draft-N clients to connect to this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter, select 2.4GHz (B+G+N). Mode PG-9142s supports not only AP mode, but also provides WDS, AP+WDS. Please refer to below for detailed wireless Basic Settings. In Default, PG-9142s will work with AP mode.
When you enable WMM function, the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter will define the priority of different kinds of data, to give higher priority to applications which require instant responding. Therefore you can improve the performance of such network applications. Data rate Set the wireless data transfer rate to a certain value.
2.7.2 Advanced settings This Wireless-N Powerline Adapter has many advanced wireless features. Please note that all settings listed here are for experienced users only, if you’re not sure about the meaning and function of these settings, please don’t modify them, or the wireless performance will be reduced. You can click ‘Advanced Setting’ on the left to enter advanced settings menu, and the following message will be displayed: Fragment Threshold Set the Fragment threshold of wireless radio.
Preamble Type Set the type of preamble of wireless radio, Do not modify default value if you don’t know what it is, default setting is ‘Short Preamble’ IAPP Click to enable or disable the IAPP function. Protection Click to enable or disable the Protection function. Aggregation Click to enable or disable the Aggregation function. Short GI Click to enable or disable the Short GI function. STBC Click to enable or disable the STBC function. LDPC Click to enable or disable the LDPC function.
2.7.3 Security settings This Wireless-N Powerline Adapter provides many types of wireless security (wireless data encryption). When you use data encryption, data transferred by radio signals in the air will become unreadable for those people who don’t know correct encryption key (encryption password). You can click ‘Security’ on the left to enter Security settings menu, and the following message will be displayed: Encryption Select the encryption supported over wireless access.
2.7.3.1 Disable Security When you select ‘Disable’, wireless encryption for the network is disabled. 2.7.3.2 WEP WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is a common encryption mode, it’s safe enough for home and personal use. But if you need higher level of security, please consider using WPA encryption (see next Section). However, some wireless clients don’t support WPA, but only support WEP, so WEP is still a good choice for you if you have such kind of client in your network environment.
802.1x While Encryption is selected to be Open and WEP. Authentication Click the check box to enable IEEE 802.1x authentication function. Key Length There are two types of WEP key length: 64-bit and 128-bit. Using ‘128-bit’ is safer than ’64-bit’, but will reduce some data transfer performance. Key Format There are two types of key format: ASCII and Hex. When you select a key format, the number of characters of key will be displayed.
WPA Authentication While Encryption is selected to be WPA. Mode Click to select the WPA Authentication Mode with Enterprise (RADIUS) or Personal (Pre-Shared Key). Cipher Suite There are two type of Cipher :TKIP and AES Pre-shared Key Please select the format of pre-shared key here, available Format options are ‘Passphrase’ (8 to 63 alphanumerical characters) and ‘Hex (64 hexadecimal characters – 0 to 9 and a to f).
2.7.4 Access Control Another security measure you can use to keep hackers and intruders away is ‘Access Control’. You can pre-define a so-called ‘white-list’, which contains MAC addresses of the wireless clients you trust. All other wireless client with the MAC address which is not in your list will be denied by this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter.
2.7.5 WPS Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is the simplest way to build connection between wireless network clients and this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. You don’t have to select encryption mode and input a long encryption passphrase every time when you need to setup a wireless client, you only have to press a button on wireless client and this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter, and the WPS will do the setup for you.
Disable WPS Check this box to enable or disable WPS function WPS Status Displays WPS status. If data encryption settings of this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter has never been set, ‘unConfigured’ message will be displayed her.; if data encryption settings has been set before, ‘Configured’ message will be displayed here.
STOP WSC Click ‘Stop WSC’ to stop WPS setup procedure. Client PIN Number Please input the PIN code of the wireless client you via client wish to connect, and click ‘Start PIN’ button. The ‘WLAN’ LED on the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter will be steady on when this Wireless-N Powerline Adapter is waiting for incoming WPS request.
2.8 Tools 2.8.1 Configuration Tools Use the "Backup" tool to save the current configuration of your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter to a file named "config.dat". You can then use the "Restore" tool to recover the saved configuration to your Wireless-N Powerline Adapter. Click the Backup button to display the following. Click the Save button to backup your current configuration.
2.8.2 Firmware Upgrade This page allows you upgrade the Wireless-N Powerline Adapter firmware to new version. Please note, do not power off the device during the upload because it may crash the system. After click ‘ Upgrade Firmware’ on the left of web management interface and the following messages will be displayed: Click the Browse button to locate the file. Click the Apply button to apply the upgrade.
2.8.3 Factory Defaults This page allows you to reset the current configuration to factory defaults. Click the Apply button to reset the configuration.
2.8.4 Save/Reload setting This page allows you save current settings to a file or reload the settings from the file that was saved previously. Besides, you could reset the current configuration to factory default.
Chapter 3: HomePlug AV User Application Tool This section provides the installation instructions for the HomePlug AV User Application Tool. This utility is meant to be used in the home by the end user for viewing and configuring the CG2x10 home network.
Should the above windows pop up, please go to Comtrend’s North American Website to download the relevant software. When the following window displays click the Next button.
Select the Start Menu folder and then press Install: Press Finish: If you don’t have Microsoft .
Click on the “Install” button to run the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 installation (from the web).
3.2 User Guide 3.2.1 Configuration When you open the application, you will be asked to select the network card that is connected to your CG2x10 HPAV device: Select the network card from the drop-down list. NOTE: The PC NIC must have a fixed IP, either a static one or one that is given by a DHCP server (like a home router). For example, let’s suppose that IP 172.16.16.114 is connected to the CG2x10 HPAV device. In this case, you should select the proper card, and click on OK to continue.
3.3 Network Topology 3.3.1 Topology Infornmation In the network topology tab, a graphic representation of all devices connected to your local CG2x10 HPAV device will be shown. In the example below, there are no CG2x10 devices connected to your PC: The example below shows one CG2x10 HPAV device connected to your PC.
The example below shows two CG2x10 HPAV devices connected to the network. The name of the local device on the left is “Room1,” and the name of the remote device on the right is “Room2.
3.3.2 Device Details The MAC address and other information relevant to a device (e.g. firmware version, manufacturer name) can be seen by placing the mouse cursor over one of the devices of interest listed on the screen. For example, placing the mouse over device “Room1” will give the following: * Please note that all the information fields might not be available if the device has been removed from the network.
3.3.3 Connectivity Information on the Entire Network In order to get the current PHY rate for the entire network, you need to run traffic between the two CG2x10 HPAV devices. (Any program that sends bi-directional data between the two hosts connected to the “Room1” and “Room2” devices will be good enough.) After running some traffic, you should immediately receive information about the quality of the connection.
3.3.4 Connectivity Information for a Specific Device 1. “Room 1” CG2x10 device 2. “Room 2” CG2x10 device 3. “Room 3” CG2x10 device 4.
If you click on a specific device, you will get the connectivity quality towards that device from each of the other devices in the network.
3.3.5 Average Network PHY Rate The average network PHY rate is shown in the center of the network topology screen. For the case shown in the previous table, the average rate is 110Mbps (excellent average connectivity among all devices).
3.3.6 Network Topology Legend Connectivity legend: Excellent > 80 Mbps Good 50 – 80 Mbps Poor < 50 Mbps Not connected no traffic ICON Legend: The local drive is indicated with a picture of a PC connected to it. A CG2x10 HPAV device is represented by the black plug icon. A foreign (non-CGx10) device is represented by a black plug icon with hash marks. A device that is disconnected from the network topology will completely disappear after a long time-out.
3.4 Change Device ID A free-text unique name can be given to each HPAV device. To do so, choose the “Change Device ID” tab, select the device from the MAC-Address drop-down list, enter the new device name, and press on the “Change Device ID” button. In the example below, the user selected the MAC (00:c5:d9:00:40:47) named “Room1” and entered a new name for the device (“New Room”). Pressing the “Change Device ID” button will change the name of the device.
In this example, we click on the “Room 1” name: And enter a new device name in the white rectangle:
3.5 Update Firmware It is possible to update the firmware of a working device to a new firmware version. This is currently supported for local devices only. You are required to supply the bin file via the “Browse” button found in the Upgrade Firmware tab. The following steps are required to update the firmware on a device: 1. Press on the “Browse” button, select a firmware file and press open.
2. Press on the “Upgrade Firmware” button. 3. Confirm the update message (Click on Yes).
4. Wait until the upgrade process is finished. 5.
3.6 Configuration Wizard This wizard enables you to create a new private network and to add remote devices to that network.
3.6.1 First Step – Creating a New Private Network Press the “Launch Wizard” button. Check the “Change Password” box and enter a Network Password. You may enter any string of characters (up to 64 characters). In the example below, “FooPassword1234” was used as the password.
3.6.2 Second Step – Adding Remote Devices to the New Private Network For each remote device that is added to the private network, you must enter the Device Password found on the remote device's label. Use the screen below to enter this information. In this example, the remote device's password is: AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD In the Configuration-Wizard tab, click on the “Launch Wizard” button and then click on the “Next” button. Enter the remote password, select with/without Hyphen, and click on “Add Device.
In case of a failure, you will receive the following failure notification: In case of success: 1. You will receive the following success notification: 2. You should also see the details of the other device that you have just added to your network.
3. The network topology, before adding the remote password “AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD”, was: The network topology, after adding the remote device, is: If you have more devices to add, you can add them by entering their device password and by clicking again on the “Add Device” button.
3.7 Language It is possible to dynamically change the UA language between English and Chinese (traditional).
3.8 Troubleshooting Error Message: Explanation: The application failed to read the network topology information from the local device. Please check your IP settings and check your cables. Another CG2x10 application is open and communicating with the device. Please close any other tool you might have running on your PC. The application has identified a CG2x10 device connected to your PC, but the firmware of the device is corrupted. Please upgrade the firmware with the “Upgrade Firmware” tab.
Appendix A: Specifications Interface RJ-45 x 1 for Ethernet connection Internal WiFi Antenna x 2 AC power plug x1 PLC paring button x1 Reset button x1 WPS button x1 Ethernet 10/100 Mbps BaseT auto-sense Auto rate and duplex negotiation MDI/MDX support WLAN (WiFi) 802.11 b/g/n WLAN (2.
