Many companies are busy designing and selling networked products for home entertainment, security, gaming, education and health applications. The most recent products are designed to be service delivery platforms as opposed to providing a dedicated, standalone application or solution. The box through which the service is delivered is constantly connected to a hosting server to update various service elements. If it is a gaming platform, the box updates the list of online users that may join the game. A movie streaming box connects to download the list of top selling movies to propose. A health tracking platform will fetch the menu of the day. The list goes on and on. Without a reliable link to the Internet, the whole service offering comes to a stand still. In the opposite direction, if the hosting server cannot access the platform at the consumer premise then there can be no software updates, user statistics and a whole list of other operations that have to happen for the system to function properly. The issue is that the service provider does not have control over the home network. The service provider must assume that if the network connection within the home malfunctions then the user will be able to take the necessary steps to get it fixed, often with a phone call to the support team of the Internet Service Provider. Yet in this case the Service Provider frequently has no visibility nor troubleshooting ability to assist in resolving the problem within the home network. What’s wrong with this picture? Many consumers use an Ethernet cable (trip wire) to connect their media or gaming box to the Internet router. Very few though would publicly admit to that fact. Who would want Ethernet cables all over their house. Even one cable is an accident waiting to happen, not to mention the "damage" to the home decoration and subsequently to the relationship between the happy couple. 
Home Networking Infrastructure Alternatives The home user may select from the following home networking options:
An important item to note here is that all these technologies have sufficient bandwidth to support the variety of residential applications and services to be offered. Another important item to mention is that the delivery platform could be the Personal Computer too, not just a stand alone box. The same rules apply to both. Why is this residential network issue a big problem for the service provider and not the user? Using the case of a service delivery platform for movies: 1- Installation of the multimedia service such as an IPTV decoder becomes a major drain on the support team with long support calls and very unhappy users. The home environment induces various random network failures between the residential gateway and the IPTV box which leads to more load on the support team.2- Far more important, if the end user cannot get the IPTV box to operate reliably then he will not consume any movies, hence the service will not create the intended additional revenue for the operator. 3- If the Internet link to the IPTV box is not stable then the box would pop in and out of the operator’s infrastructure at random which puts more load on the remote configuration servers for no real reason. In the end, a simple broken Ethernet wire, a failed WIFI access point or a spike in powerline noise will prevent the service provider from meeting the revenue expectations and will increase the cost of the technical and customer support departments. The answer to these network issues is actually straightforward. The link between the Internet access point and the service delivery platform has to allow remote management. The service provider’s support team has to be able to remotely access, diagnose and upgrade this link as the team does today to the platform. This reduces the support load and ensures the integrity of the broadband link all the way to the multimedia server, be it the IPTV box or game console. The question now is, which technology to select to make this link and what is required to have it be under remote management? Plaster Networks selected the HomePlug AV powerline networking standard to solve this problem. Powerline networking technology has made huge advances in data security and throughput over the past few years. After a few years of design and development, Plaster Networks has produced the total comprehensive residential networking solution which consists of: 1- Intelligent HomePlug AV powerline network adapters that fit exactly this managed, secure infrastructure requirement. The adapters have embedded remote management and diagnostics to help optimize powerline performance for carrier class infrastructure deployments. 2- Powerline isolators to fix identified problems to improve performance and reliability. 3- Embedded web-based local management software for network administration. 4- Plaster Networks Service for remote network administration and optional integration with existing OSS software The combined elements present a total solution for reliable links in the home based on an industry standard technology that is evolving to provide even higher throughput for future home applications. 
Plaster Networks Service: Remote Management of the Residential Powerline Network Powerline networking delivers a proven technology for enabling broadband networking within the home without the cost of installing Ethernet cables in the walls, and without the potential for interference and fading common with many wireless networks. Today’s powerline networks achieve Ethernet physical layer throughput rates reaching 200Mbps which is more than adequate for most residential network applications today. Unlike adapters from other manufacturers, Plaster Networks PLN3 Powerline AV adapters include a dedicated network processor that continually monitors network throughput performance. The adapters automatically relay any changes in performance to Plaster Networks Service, where the operator can view both the current network performance, as well as an historical record of the network throughput measurements. The adapters are standards-based, hence compatible with any HomePlug AV unit and use 128-bit AES for data encryption. 
Each Plaster Networks adapter reports into Plaster Networks Service, if configured as such, on a continual basis with a range of statistics on the performance and status of every link in the powerline network. The adapters transmit performance information only. Application-level data remains encrypted and secure within the end user’s home. If desired, users and the operator can disable the adapter from transmitting performance data to Plaster Networks Service. Plaster Networks adapters are secure from outside snooping, worms, Trojans, or viruses because they reside behind the user’s firewall/router. The adapters do not accept inbound network connections originating from outside the firewall. The adapters initiate all communications with Plaster Networks Service using an outbound connection through the firewall. They require no change to the standard router settings, such as opening specific ports. As a result, they help maintain the security of your LAN. 
The service provider can then remotely identify underperforming links and can take action to fix the network performance over those specific links. The provider can remotely update the firmware in a controlled fashion. The support team can see instantaneous network performance as such: 
or a performance history as the one in this graph:  The service provider has to simply ship two powerline network adapters with each service delivery platform. The combination forms a complete system that connects on one end to the Internet router and on the other end to the platform. The whole system is then under remote control and configuration by the provider and the link is totally reliable with no new wiring required. Overall benefit to the service provider is a better margin due to:
The technology of the network connection between the residential gateway and the delivery platform is no longer the key selection factor today. The key factor is whether the technology used allows the service provider to integrate the link into the provider's network infrastructure and be able to remotely manage, diagnose and update all system elements. The most reliable connection is a cable plugged into the Internet gateway. If that option is not possible then the next best thing is a pair of smart powerline adapters that will give the service provider access to the link status and performance which goes a long way to ensure a reliable operation of the delivery platform. In this age of advanced Internet and cloud computing, all network elements need to be managed, updated and diagnosed remotely before we finally reach the dream of every light bulb being networked with its specific IP address, and of any service provider being able to offer an increasing variety of reliable services for homes and businesses worldwide.
About Plaster Networks Plaster Networks was founded by Paul Baran, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur widely known as the inventor of packet switching, the foundation technology for the Internet. For more information, visit www.plasternetworks.com. Plaster Networks, LLC Copyright © 2010 Plaster Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Plaster Networks is a trademark of Plaster Networks, LLC. |
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A Service Delivery Platform Requires a Reliable Internet Connection: Which One to Select and Why? |