Devolo MicroLink dLAN Starter Kit review

Wireless networking is great.

It allows you to connect PCs in different parts of the house without trailing cables all over the place. But what if the walls of your house are really thick, or one computer is in the basement and the other in the converted loft at the opposite end of the house? Well, then you're in trouble. To wirelessly network your two PCs effectively, you'd need lots of repeaters - devices that amplify and re-broadcast a wireless signal. And you'll need to think carefully about where you put them.

If that sounds like a bit too much hassle, you could try using the MicroLink dLAN starter kit from Devolo. This consists of two adapters and two Ethernet cables. You simply plug the adapters into the normal power sockets in your wall, one next to each of the computers you want to connect up, and then connect each adapter to the Ethernet network socket of the nearby PC using the cable supplied. That's it! All you need to do after that is set Windows up to share files, folders or an Internet connection (a quick and easy job). We had our two test computers networked within less than five minutes.

Transferring our 100MB of test files with the dLAN took four minutes and 55 seconds. Our recommended wireless router, KCorp's Gateway Router Gold, transferred the same files in just 55 seconds. That's a hefty difference in speed. But, the dLAN is much easier to configure than a wireless network, and it will cope with distances and awkward shaped buildings in a way that's more complicated to achieve using a wireless network.

At this speed, you won't want to use the dLAN for anything that requires a constant flow of network traffic, such as playing network games or streaming audio or video. But if you just want to share an Internet connection, a printer or both, then this speed will be fine.

The other advantage of this type of network is that, assuming you're on a closed electric supply, it's much more difficult to eavesdrop on than a wireless network. If you're an open supply - in a block of flats, for instance - you'll need to rely on the device's password encryption to stop any neighbour who also happens to have a dLAN from stumbling across your network.

The MicroLink dLAN isn't a competitor to wireless, and if your house is suitably designed for wireless, we'd advise you to go for that, as you'll get a faster connection for the same money. If you can't get a good wireless signal, however, the dLAN is decent, easy-to-use substitute.