D-Link Powerline AV 500 4-Port gigabit Switch (DHP-540)

The D-Link Powerline AV 500 4-Port Gigabit Switch (DHP-540) makes it easy to bring multiple Internet-ready devices online without having to run CAT-5 cable throughout your house. This intelligent switch uses your home's electrical wiring to send and receive data over your home network, but at $199.99 (list) it is significantly more expensive than competing products that offer the same performance and give you more features.?

Features and Specs
Unlike the Netgear Universal Internet Adapter for Home Entertainment-3D (XAVB5004) kit, which includes a 4-port switch and a powerline adapter, the DHP-540 is a stand-alone 4-port powerline switch. It comes with one Ethernet cable, a power cord, and a CD with installation and user manuals, plus a utility that helps you mange the switch. If you don't already have a powerline network installed, you'll have to shell out even more money for a Powerline AV 500 adapter to connect to your router (the D-Link DHP-500AV adapter goes for $99.99 list).

With dimensions of 1.6 by 5.0 by 3.9 inches (HWD) the shiny black DHP-540 is bulkier than the Netgear XAV5004, but just slightly. It has a small D-Link logo on the front panel along with six LED status indicators. The Power LED glows solid green when the switch is powered up and blinks during setup and when cycling through the security process. The Powerline LED is solid green when the switch is connected to a network and blinks when transmitting data. A green light indicates a link rate greater than 80 Mbps, amber is between 50-80Mbps, and red means the link rate is below 50Mbps. Off to the right are four numbered LAN LEDs (one for each port) that glow green when the port is connected and blink when it is receiving or sending data.

A button on top of the switch generates a random 128-bit AES encryption key that can be used for all powerline devices installed on your network. Simply press the button for two seconds and when it stops blinking, it is secure. Pressing the security button on other powerline adapters (within two minutes of the first one) assigns the same encryption key to each device.

At the rear of the switch are four numbered Ethernet ports, with number 1 getting the highest QoS (Quality of Service) priority, then number 2, and so on. When connecting devices to the switch, use port number 1 for high bandwidth applications such as streaming video or playing graphics intensive online action games. You can't manually assign QoS priorities with the DHP540 as you can with the Netgear XAV5004, however. Also on the rear are a power switch and a two-pronged power cord jack, and there's a recessed factory reset button on the bottom of the switch.

The DHJP540's utility is very straight-forward and easy to use; the Home page menu displays all powerline available devices on the network, their link rate, and quality (HD video ready or data transmission ready, depending on the link rate). A Setup Wizard icon takes you through the basic installation steps and shows you how to enable the security feature. The Advanced icon takes you to a page with three tabs; the Device tab opens a page that displays the device name, MAC Address, and firmware version and has a button that lets you update the firmware. In the Network tab you can view each device on the network, its location (local or remote), link rate, MAC address, and password. Each powerline device has a unique password on its label that is needed to change the encryption key on remote devices. The Diagnostics tab shows detailed information, including firmware version and date and the name and OS version of any connected PCs. The Home page also contains a troubleshooting guide and a customer support link that takes you to D-Link's website.

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