ZyXEL Communications Powerline Ethernet Multiplug Center PLA491 User manual

Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved
PLA491
Powerline Ethernet Multiplug Center
Quick Start Guide
Version 3.0.5
5/2008
Edition 1
CONTENTS
ENGLISH 2
DEUTSCH 13
ESPAÑOL 26
FRANÇAIS 37
ITALIANO 49
SVENSKA 61

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ENGLISH
Overview
The PLA491 connects a HomePlug AV powerline network,
which uses your electrical wiring, to your LAN (and Internet
gateway).
The PLA491’s power outlets have Electromagnetic Interference
(EMI) filters which reduce interference on the power circuit from
electrical applicances such as cell phone chargers. EMI can
cause a reduction in the speed of your powerline network.
"Please note your power outlets and power plugs
may differ to the ones shown in this Quick Start
Guide.
INTERNET
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3
This Quick Start Guide covers the following:
1Hardware Connections
2Set Up Your Powerline Network
3Set Up a HomePlug AV Network with ENCRYPT
See the User’s Guide on the included CD for details on all of
the PLA491’s features. Insert the CD into your CD-ROM, if a
screen does not pop-up, use Windows Explorer (My
Computer) to go to the CD-ROM (commonly drive D) and
browse for the User’s Guide.
"Your PLA491 is only compatible with HomePlug
AV products with the latest firmware. You can
upgrade your other ZyXEL HomePlug AV
products by downloading the latest firmware
from the ZyXEL website (www.zyxel.com).

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1 Hardware Connections
1Use an Ethernet cable to connect a LAN port on the
PLA491 to an Internet gateway (for example a DSL
modem).
2Use an Ethernet cable to connect another LAN port on the
PLA491 to a computer.
3Connect the attached power cord on the PLA491 to a
power outlet. This is also your powerline connection. Do
not connect the power cord to the PLA491’s power outlets.
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INTERNET

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4Connect electrical devices that cause high amounts of
EMI such as cell phone chargers to the PLA491’s power
outlets. Do not connect other powerline adapters to these
outlets.
5To turn on the PLA491 powerline adapter set the
HomePlug switch on top of the PLA491 into the On
position. The red light should turn on.
6To turn on the PLA491’s power outlets set the AC switch
on top of the PLA491 into the On position. The red light
should turn on.

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1.1 Look at the LEDs (lights)
The power ( ) light should be on and the Ethernet ( ) light
should be on or blinking.
VIf the ()light is not on, check your power
connections. If that does not work, check your
outlets are working properly. Unplug the PLA491
and plug in another electrical appliance that you
know works. This checks if the power outlet is
working properly.

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VIf the ()light is not on, check all Ethernet
cables are securely connected. If that does not
work, check the Ethernet cables you are using
are category 5 or higher. Most cables are
labeled with their specifications.
2 Set Up Your Powerline Network
You can expand your network by connecting another
HomePlug AV powerline adapter to an outlet on the same
electrical circuit as the PLA491.
In the figure above, computer Acan now access the Internet
via the powerline link (B) and the Internet gateway (C)
connected to the PLA491. (This figure is an example only, you
can connect almost any networking device to your powerline
adapters.)
Internet
PLA491
PLA401 v2
A
B
C
for example

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• If the HomePlug ( ) lights turn on, your HomePlug AV net-
work is ready for use.
• If the HomePlug ( ) lights do not turn on, or if you want to
make your network more secure, go to the next section to set
up a HomePlug AV network using the ENCRYPT button. If
your powerline devices do not have the ENCRYPT button,
see the User’s Guide for instructions on setting up a secure
powerline network.
3 Set Up a HomePlug AV Network with
ENCRYPT
Use the ENCRYPT button to set up a secure connection
between your PLA491 and another HomePlug AV product with
an ENCRYPT button (The PLA-400 v2 is shown in the following
figure as an example).
1Place the powerline devices close to each other, so you
have time to set up each one. After you set up the first
powerline device, you have 120 seconds to set up the
second powerline device.
• You can disconnect them from the computer or modem (or
other networking product) if you need to, but the powerline
devices need to be plugged into power outlets.

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2Press the ENCRYPT button at the rear of your powerline
device for 1-2 seconds. The power ( ) light will blink as
the powerline device tries to set up a connection.
• If the power ( ) light does not blink, you have probably
pressed the ENCRYPT button for too long. Try again, press-
ing the ENCRYPT button for 1-2 seconds.
3Repeat step 2in this section for the other powerline
device you wish to connect. This must be done within 120
seconds of pressing the ENCRYPT button on the PLA491.
4Check the lights on the two powerline devices. The power
( ) and HomePlug ( ) lights should be blinking.
Occasionally all lights may blink at the same time and the
HomePlug ( ) light may also show red. Wait for roughly
one minute while your powerline devices connect.
• If the HomePlug ( ) lights on both powerline devices do
not light up, the powerline devices are not connected.
Repeat steps 2and 3in this section. If that doesn’t work,
1...2
1...2

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use the PLA-4xx Series Configuration Utility. See the User’s
Guide for more information.
5To add more powerline devices to your network, repeat
steps 2and 3in this section using a powerline device
connected to your HomePlug AV network and the
powerline device you want to add to the network.
6If you disconnected your computer or modem (or any
other networking product connected to your powerline
device) in step 1of this section, you can now reconnect
them.
This sets up a home network between the two powerline
devices (or more) and any products you have connected to
your powerline devices, such as your home computer or
network modem. If you have correctly set up an Internet
connection, you can now use your computer to access the
Internet.
Troubleshooting
If the light is off.
• Make sure the PLA491’s power cord is connected to a suit-
able power source and that the HomePlug switch on top of
the device is set to ON.
• Try moving the second powerline adapter to an adjacent
power outlet (to the PLA491) and see if the light dis-
plays. If the light shines this time, possibly your powerline
adapters were not on the same electrical circuit.