We explain the fundamentals of PLC network management and security. We describe how privacy and security are guaranteed in PLC. We introduce guidelines for configuring security keys in commercial PLC devices. Finally, we discuss potential issues with PLC security andcompare PLC with Wi-Fi from a physical-layer and security-protocols perspective.

In this, we first explore the evolution of heterogeneous networks and the candidate technologies for augmenting network reliability, including PLC, MoCA, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. We then turn our attention to power-line communications. We discuss high-bandwidth and IoT PLC applications, standardizations, and specifications. Finally, we present the book organization.

The IEEE 1905.1 standard aims at making interoperability between different technologies (Wi-Fi, PLC, MoCA) easier and more flexible. By introducing an abstraction layer between the MAC and IP layers (layer 2.5) and a common interface, it enables a device to seamlessly use or alternate between two or more technologies, depending on the network conditions. Its goal is also to make the management of heterogeneous networks simpler, by providing end-to-end QoS, autoconfiguration, common secured authentication and setup methods.

In this chapter, we present different standardized solutions for heterogeneous net- works. We describe in particular the IEEE 1905.1 standard. We also present algorithms that can be used in heterogeneous networks to improve performance.