SMC unveils HomePlug adapters, 10/100 switch

SMC Networks recently continued its burst of product introductions with a family of HomePlug-compliant devices and a Layer 3 switch.

HomePlug, as I mentioned last week, is a home-network technology that uses the electrical lines in your walls as data network cabling. There are more than 50 products listed as compliant with the standard on the HomePlug Powerline Alliance’s Web site, but none yet from SMC.

Two adapters are being released, one to connect USB ports to a HomePlug network and one to connect Ethernet ports to HomePlug. With the HomePlug-to-Ethernet adapter, you can connect a switch or router to the home wiring, and you’ve just extended your LAN wiring throughout the house.

One interesting application SMC points to is bringing Internet connectivity to a game console, like a PS2 or Xbox.

Each adapter costs $80.

The TigerSwitch 10/100 Standalone L3 Managed Switch that SMC is shipping this month has 24 ports of 10/100M bit/sec copper-based Ethernet and two slots for Gigabit Ethernet or fiber Fast Ethernet modules.

Security features include access control lists set according to Layer 2-4 information, SSH, SSL, RADIUS and IEEE 802.1x.

The switch has a suggested retail price of $1,144.