Analysis of IP over power lines in conjunction with ADSL as a rapid network deployment package.

1
Analysis of IP over power lines in conjunction
with ADSL as a rapid network deployment package.

• David Mackie
• Supervisor Prof. P. Clayton

2
Power Line Communication (PLC)

• IP-over-Power
• Transmission of data across existing power
  circuits
• Special applications in the past
• Street lighting Geyser control
• Door-bells and baby monitors
• Relatively new and not in wide use to provide
  broadband networks
• Up-and-coming, with Eskom showing an interest

3
PLC (2)

• Growing demand for bandwidth
• South African Context
• Second Network Operator (SNO)
• Last Mile alternative
• Protected from free market force
• Putting little in getting lots out

4
PLC (3)

• High Voltage
• Distribution network
• Power lines
• E.g. Eskom
• Low Voltage (What we are using)
• Building internal power circuit
• Power sockets
• E.g. SNO

5
Resources - PLC

• Glossy company brochures
• General Information from websites
• Technical data is hard to come by
• NDAs proprietary information
• New technology
• Standards
• Confusing
• different countries different power regulations
• Hampered by over-regulation of power networks

6
Resources Low Level

• Possible areas I might have to look into
• Signal Processing
• Low voltage power circuits in the South African
  context
• 3-phase power circuits

7
Design Considerations

• Initial decision on supplier decided by market
  funders considerations
• Ascom
• ADSL as the data link
• Match between bandwidths
• Ease of install
• Rapid roll-out
• COE Project

8
Design Considerations (cont)

• Implementation in a Rhodes residence
• Large number of users to test with
• ResNet
• Cullen Bowles (CB) has been initially chosen
• Lego Land
• All cement and everything is built-in
• Difficulty in wiring
• Not on ITs Road Map so far
• Far from campus, long walk to the labs

9
Ascom

• European Company
• Local Supplier already has systems running in the
  country
• http//www.ascom.com/plc/

10
Independent Outdoor and Indoor Systems
11
Indoor System
12
Why 2 systems?

• Provides a level of separation along
  responsibility boundaries
• Utility Companies (Eskom Telkom)
• Owner
• This Project only deals with the Internal System

13
Indoor System

• Consists of a couple of plug-and-play devices
  which build on each other
• Two main devices
• Indoor Controller
• Indoor Adapters (terminals)
• Master-Slave principles

14
The Network

• Shared medium
• Bandwidth currently 4.5 Mbits/s
• 20Mbits/s envisaged in the medium term
• Point-to-Multipoint principle
• Flexible bandwidth management
• Packet-switched data transfer

15
Adapter

• Like a modem
• Plug into normal power socket
• Standard interfaces
• Ethernet, USB
• telephone

16
Controller

• Administrator
• Gateway
• Time-slices bandwidth
• Configurable using DHCP and SNMP

17
The Work.

• Initial investigation into CBs power plant and
  circuit infrastructure (done)
• Design of a optimised PLC system
• Order Implement a base system for testing and
  feasibility of original plan
• Implement a full system
• Test!

18
(No Transcript)
19
Expected Outcomes
A report on the feasibility of implementing a PLC
network in combination with ADSL as a rapid
deployment package to buildings that do not
already have a data network infrastructure

• Some of the things that will need to be
  investigated
• Time scale for deployment and configuration
• Costing considerations
• Limits to the number of users/adapters
• How the network handles
• Over-usage (students)
• Dirty power and spikes
• Other PLC systems like geyser control
• and the effect on the bandwidth

20
Possible Extensions

• As this project is going to be a
  work-in-progress, extensions can only really be
  looked at later in the year.
• But
• 3-phase power in CB
• Continuing Education Centre
• Link from Kimberly Kitchen

21
Questions?