Router Performance

I ran three sets of performance tests on the HGW200. One with an HPNA LAN client, the second with an Ethernet client, and the third to test HPNA/Ethernet bridging speed.

(Details of how we tested can be found here.)

Routing - HPNA LAN Client

Routing - Ethernet LAN Client

Bridging - HPNA & Ethernet LAN Clients
Remember the following test does not include the router performance!

Comments:  The HGW200's performance is all-around excellent, almost eerily similar to the 2Wire HomePortal100.  There were no lockups or hiccups on any tests and no penalty for using an HPNA vs. Ethernet connection.  Most routers show some data loss at a 500kbps UDP stream rate but there was none to be found for the HGW200.  So I pushed the UDP stream data rate up and found that data loss started at around 700kbps, a very good showing!

One minor complaint is that the HPNA front panel light indicates only link status and doesn't blink to indicate network activity.

If you have both HPNA1.0 and 2.0 devices on your network, your 2.0 clients will not reach 10Mbps speeds. This is not a problem with the HGW200, but the way that the HPNA spec works.  See this for the explanation!

Summary

Panasonic has done an excellent job with the HGW200 routing and HPNA bridging engine, with performance far beyond the needs of most broadband users!  All they need to do is add the missing features, drop the price to $200 to match 2Wire's HomePortal, get an 802.11b wireless option, and expand their on-line distribution.  Then they'd really be able to shake things up in the SOHO networking market!