What I Have Now

My existing network consists of a modem-router in the study, which connects to the internet (obviously), my desktop PC, my NAS, an ethernet-over powerline adapter, and my laptop (when used in the study), as well as providing wireless-N connectivity.

My powerline network consists of:

 

• one Netgear XAVB 5001 adapter (in the study connecting the router to the network), and
• two XAVB 5004 adapters with four gigabit ports (one in the bedroom, one in the living room).

They work great, media players in the two rooms, my DVD recorder, my Hauppauge Broadway, and my two music streaming boxes are all on the same network, can see the NAS, and I get stable transfers in the 70-80 mbit/sec range. They have been in place for a couple of years, work fine, and I'm generally happy with the performance so far.

What I want to Do

I want to expand my network to a couple more rooms, move some powerstrips onto surge protected ones (which powerline adapters don't like working through) so I want to move to adapters with AC passthrough, and also add a powerline WiFi access point to a place where my coverage is crappy. I want to keep using my netgear adapters (esp the 4-port hubs, which are fairly unique), as they work well and I don't want to spend to replace them if at all avoidable.

Netgear adapters don't seem readily available in NZ available any more, and their model with AC passthrough doesn't even seem available in NZ. I have latched onto the Netcomm adapters (NP507 and NP508) as the ones that look the best. They cost a bit more than the alternatives, but seem to have the best specs and performance.

So, I want to move a few adapters around, and add two NP507s and one NP508 to the mix.

The Issue

I'm a bit worried about whether the Netcomm adapters will "play nice" with the Netgear ones. In theory they are both Homeplug units so *should* be compatible. But I have also seen some stern injunctions that mixing different brands may not work well.

So I'm wondering whether any GZers have any experience with this, and can advise whether adding Netcomms into the mix is likely to be sensible idea or not.