ZyXEL Communications NBG-318S - Manual (Page 106)

Chapter 8 HomePlug AV
NBG-318S User’s Guide
106
After configuring the settings on all adapters (see Section 8.3 on page 108 ) your computer can
now connect to the powerline network and to the Internet. Your powerline network can be
further expanded by plugging additional powerline adapters into other outlets in your home
and connecting other computers or network devices (for example, a printer) to them.
In this User’s Guide the electrical wiring network may be referred to as the “powerline
network”.
8.2 Privacy and Powerline Adapters
When the NBG-318S communicates with each other HomePlug AV compliant powerline
adapters, they use encryption to scramble the information that is sent in the powerline
network. Encryption is like a secret code. If you do not know the secret code, you cannot
understand the message. The HomePlug AV standard uses 128-bit AES (Advanced
Encryption Standard) to safely transmit data between powerline adapters.
For the NBG-318S and powerline adapters to communicate with each other they all need to
use the same Network Membership Key (NMK). Otherwise, they cannot unscramble the
encrypted data sent in the powerline network.
The NMK is derived from the network password you assign to the
NBG-318S and powerline
adapters. By default all HomePlug powerline adapters are configured with the network
password HomePlugAV. This allows all HomePlug powerline adapters and the NBG-318S to
communicate with each other without any software configuration. This also means that if you
don’t change the network password, any HomePlug AV powerline adapter connected to your
powerline circuit can see your network data.
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Change the network password on your powerline adapters to ensure secure
data transmission on your powerline network.
8.2.1 Setting Up a Private Powerline Network
To prevent others compromising your network security, you can create a private network.
Create a private network by changing the network password only on the powerline adapters
you want to communicate in your network. The NBG-318S and powerline adapters convert
the network password to a Network Membership Key (NMK). Only the powerline adapters
with the same NMK can communicate in your network.
The following figure shows a scenario A - where all the powerline adapters have the same
NMK (NMK1) and scenario B - where some adapters use NMK1 and some use NMK2.