pla-util

A powerline adapter utility

Overview

The purpose of this program is to allow users to manage DHP-700AV powerline adapters from x86-64 Linux. Two of these adapters are included in the DHP-701AV PowerLine AV2 2000 Gigabit Starter Kit. DHP-700AV adapters use the Broadcom BCM60500 chip.

Supported Powerline Adapters

This program may work with other powerline adapters that comply with the HomePlug AV2 specification and are based on Broadcom chips. The following powerline adapters are supported:

D-Link DHP-700AV
Tenda PH3
Netgear PLP1000 (uses BCM60333)

Development Environment

This program is being developed using:

openSUSE Leap 15.3
GNAT Community Edition 2021, which includes the GNAT Studio IDE and the GPRbuild tool
Git 2.26.2

How to Build the Program with GNAT Studio

Use git to clone this repository.
Launch gnatstudio, select Open existing project, and browse to the pla_util.gpr project file.
Use GNAT Studio's Build All toolbar button to build the project, or try Build > Project > Build All.

If the build is successful, the pla-util executable will be in the same directory as the pla_util.gpr project file.

How to Build the Program with GPRbuild

Launch a terminal.
Use git to clone this repository.
Go to the working directory (the newly created pla-util directory with the pla-util.gpr file).
Run gprbuild -P pla_util.gpr.

If the build is successful, the pla-util executable will be in the same directory as the pla_util.gpr project file.

How to Grant the Program Permission to use Packet Sockets

Before you can use the program, you will need to grant the program permission to use packet sockets. Otherwise, you may see the following error messages when you run the program:

Execution terminated by unhandled exception
raised ETHERNET.DATAGRAM_SOCKET.SOCKET_ERROR : Operation not permitted

To grant permission, you can use the following command:

sudo setcap cap_net_raw+ep pla-util

How to Run the Program

To run the program, use one of the following commands:

./pla-util <nic> discover
./pla-util <nic> reset <pla-mac-address>
./pla-util <nic> restart <pla-mac-address>
./pla-util <nic> get-hfid manufacturer
./pla-util <nic> get-hfid user
./pla-util <nic> get-network-info member
./pla-util <nic> get-network-info any
./pla-util <nic> set-hfid <id>
./pla-util <nic> set-nmk <pass-phrase>
./pla-util <nic> check-dak <plc-pass-phrase>
./pla-util <nic> check-nmk <pass-phrase>

where <nic> is the name of an ethernet network device (e.g., eth0 or enp0s25) connected to a powerline adapter. <pla-mac-address> is the MAC address of a powerline adapter as reported by the discover command.

License

This program is licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 3.

xsellier/pla-util