Ecological Home Network: An Overview

A home network is one of the next-generation information and communication technology (ICT)-centered applications, and this paper discusses the current state of relating technologies and various aspects necessary for better home network realization. It is necessary to discuss the technologies for a good home network, but it is also important to consider this from the different aspects other than technologies. Cost, power consumption, maintainability, and relevant data volume are such view points, and they support better ecological home network. This paper first discusses the technology components which support realization of a home network. They are network technologies, varieties of devices, software-based systems and standards, and home gateway, the key component of a better home network. Then, the author shows several considerations from the ecological viewpoints such as cost saving, energy saving, human load saving, and data volume saving. The real technology and business for a home network is still in an evolving stage, and it is necessary to discuss the implementation issues for a home network. Home gateway is an important component for managing a home network, and the author proposes a home gateway architecture suitable for better implementation of a home network as a whole.