Arris SBX-1000P Surfboard Wired Network Extender With RipCurrent.
Powerline networking provides an easy way to bring wired Ethernet to areas of your home that can't maintain a healthy Wi-Fi signal. The two main standards, HomePlug AV2 and Gigabit Home Networking (G.hn), both use your home's existing wiring to transfer data, but G.hn can use electrical, telephone, and coaxial cabling, whereas HomePlug AV2 uses electrical wiring only. Arris utilizes a proprietary version of G.hn technology, dubbed RipCurrent, to move data via home wiring and has incorporated this technology into its Surfboard line of routers and extenders. The Arris SBX-1000P Surfboard Wired Network Extender with RipCurrent ($59.99) delivered the fastest file-transfer speeds we've seen from a powerline adapter in testing. Its throughput performance was also impressive, but not quite as fast as our Editors' Choice for powerline adapters, the Tenda P1002P 2-Port Powerline Adapter Kit.
Design and Features
Most powerline-adapter kits come with two adapters—one that plugs into the wall and is connected to your router with a LAN cable, and another that you can plug into any electrical outlet in your home. In contrast, the SBX-1000P is a single adapter that requires another RipCurrent device, such as the Arris SBR-AC1900P Surfboard Wi-Fi Router with RipCurrent, or another SBX-1000P, to create a powerline network. It comes with an Ethernet cable and a Quick Start Guide.
The SBX-1000P looks nothing like any powerline adapter that we've reviewed in the past. Every device we've tested, including the D-Link Powerline AV2 2000 Gigabit Starter Kit (DHP-701AV) and the Netgear Powerline 1200 (PLP1200), is either square or rectangular, but the SBX-1000P is shaped like an oversized hockey puck. It measures 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick, and has the same white, textured finish as the Arris SBR-AC1900P router. What it doesn't have is a secondary LAN port or a pass-through outlet that lets you reclaim the outlet that it uses. The TP-Link AV1200 Powerline Starter Kit (TL-PA8030P Kit) and the Tenda P1002P both offer pass-through outlets and multiple LAN ports. Despite its bulk, the SBX-1000P does not block access to the second outlet of a two-outlet receptacle.
There's an LED status bar on the face of the adapter that is green when the device has an excellent signal, amber when it is good, and red when it is fair. There's a three-prong plug on the back of the device and a single Gigabit LAN port on the bottom, along with a Reset switch and a Pairing button. A small LED status light located on the right side of the puck blinks green while going through the pairing process and is solid green when properly paired with another Surfboard device.
Installation and Performance
The SBX-1000P is very easy to install, especially if you already have a RipCurrent router. However, for the best possible performance, neither the router nor the extender should be plugged into a power strip or an extension cord; instead, make sure they are both plugged directly into a wall outlet. I connected the SBX-1000P to the Arris SBR-AC1900P router by plugging it into a wall outlet in the same room as the router. I pressed and held the pairing button on the router for 3 seconds, and did the same on the extender. Within 20 seconds, the extender's pairing light turned solid green, as did its LED status bar, indicating excellent signal strength. I then moved the extender to another room in the house that is in close proximity to my HDTV and a Sony PlayStation 4 console. It's where I test all powerline devices.
On the JPerf tests, which measure throughput performance, the SBX-1000P scored 71.2Mbps, beating the Comtrend G.hn PG-9172 Powerline Adapter Kit (62.3Mbps), which also uses G.hn technology, but not the Tenda P1002P (93.2Mbps) or the TP-Link AV1200 (77.6Mbps), both of which use HomePlug AV2 technology.
File-transfer performance was the fastest we've seen from a powerline-networking device. The SBX-1000P moved a 500MB folder containing a mix of music, document, photo, and video files in 58 seconds, outperforming the Tenda P1002P (64 seconds), the TP-Link AV1200 (82 seconds), and the Comtrend G.hn PG-9172 (77 seconds). Its speed of 2 minutes 57 seconds on the 1.5GB test beat all comers; the Tenda P1002P needed 3:03, the TP-Link AV1200 needed 4:41, and the Comtrend G.hn PG-9172 needed 4:56 to move the massive folder.
The SBX-1000P's solid throughput provided plenty of bandwidth for streaming high-definition video. I watched the Janis Joplin documentary, Janis: Little Girl Blue on Netflix with no lag, stutter, or pixelation, and the audio was perfectly in sync with the video.
Conclusion
With the Arris SBX-1000P Surfboard Wired Network Extender with RipCurrent, you can easily bring wired network connectivity to any area of your home that has a power outlet. Its RipCurrent G.hn powerline technology delivered speedy throughput on our tests, and its large file-transfer performance is second to none. You'll need to pair it with another RipCurrent device to use it, but if you already have an Arris Surfboard router, this is a smart choice. A secondary LAN port would be a welcome addition, as would a pass-through outlet. You get both, as well as faster throughput performance, from our Editors' Choice for powerline adapters, the Tenda P1002P 2-Port Powerline Adapter Kit.
Source: www.bing.com
Images credited to www.bing.com and www.bhphotovideo.com
