Appendix A: Troubleshooting; Common Problems And Solutions; Frequently Asked Questions - Linksys Instant PowerLine PLEBR10 User Manual

Appendix A: Troubleshooting

Common Problems and Solutions

This section provides possible solutions to problems regarding the installation
and operation of the EtherFast 10/100 Bridge or USB Adapter. Read the
description below to solve your problems. If you can't find an answer here,
check the Linksys website at www.linksys.com.
1. The power LED does not light up after I installed the Instant PowerLine device.
• Unplug the UTP Category 5 or USB cable from the computer. Unplug
the power cord from the power outlet. Then repeat the hardware installa-
tion process. Make sure the power outlet is working properly.
2. The Link LED for Ethernet status does not light up on the EtherFast 10/100
Bridge.
• When the Ethernet port detects a LAN connection, the Link LED will
light up. Check the Ethernet adapter on your computer to see if the con-
nection and adapter are working properly. Make sure you are using a
straight-through UTP Category 5 cable to connect the 10/100 Bridge to
your computer.
• For use with a router, connect a straight-through UTP Category 5 cable
to the uplink port of the router, or connect a crossover UTP Category 5
cable to a LAN port on the router.
3. I can't connect to other computers on my powerline network or to the Internet.
• Make sure the IP address and TCP/IP protocol are set up correctly for all
the powerline networked computers. For more information on IP
addresses, see Appendix C: IP Addressing.
• Make sure all devices on the powerline network have been configured
using the Security Configuration Utility. The network password must be
the same for all devices in order for them to communicate with each
other. See Chapter 10: Using the Security Configuration Utility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the Instant PowerLine products cause interference with other home network-
ing or powerline products?
No. The Instant PowerLine products can co-exist with phoneline and wireless
networking technologies. Instant PowerLine operates in a different frequency
band than powerline control and can co-exist with technologies such as X-10,
CEBus, and LONworks.
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Instant PowerLine Series
TM
EtherFast 10/100 Bridge and USB Adapter
®
How do the Instant PowerLine products handle signal interference between two
adjacent homes? How is eavesdropping prevented?
The Instant PowerLine products use 56-bit DES security encryption to ensure
network separation between homes. To enable 56-bit DES security encryption
on Instant PowerLine products, you must run the Security Configuration Utility
on each and every Instant PowerLine product.
How do the Instant PowerLine products handle node addressing on the network?
The Instant PowerLine products adhere to standard Ethernet addressing proto-
cols using destination and source MAC addressing.
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