IEEE 1905.1 hybrid home networking standard and its implementation with PLC, Wi-Fi and Ethernet technologies

This paper considers “hybrid networking” with a convergence mechanism at layer 2.5 as addressed by the IEEE 1905.1 standard. The developed hybrid infrastructure network provides a seamless integration of three different communication technologies: Ethernet, Wireless LAN, and Power line Communication (PLC). The network enables a global view of the network topology regardless of the technologies running in the home network. Among other functions, it allows the use of parallel links to transmit flows and to reroute traffic in case of links degradation or failure. The major benefits of this implementation include the ease of use for the end users, the auto network configuration, the improved network diagnostic and the increased robustness.