ghn-tweak

A simple command line tool for configuring G.hn powerline network adapters that use the common MaxLinear chipsets, including G.hn devices from Comtrend, Zyxel*, NexusLink, and others.

*Zyxel's G.hn products are uncertified.

Usage

ghn-tweak <host>[,...] <password> [<key>[=value] ...]

ghn-tweak <host> <password>
ghn-tweak <host> <password> <key>
ghn-tweak <host> <password> <key>=<value>
ghn-tweak <host1>,<host2>,<host3> <password> <key1>=<value1> <key2>=<value2> <key3>=<value3>

host is the IP address or hostname of your G.hn device(s), e.g. 192.168.0.5. Multiple hosts can be provided (comma-separated, no spaces) but must share a password.

password is the admin password for the device, e.g. admin

key refers to the setting name. If the key is omitted, a list of all settings is dumped. Multiple keys can be specified (space-separated).

value is the new value to save for the setting. If value is omitted, the current value of the setting is returned. Multiple key-value pairs can be specified (space-separated).

Examples

List the whole configuration and status:
$ ghn-tweak 192.168.0.5 admin

Get the device's Ethernet MAC address:
$ ghn-tweak 192.168.0.5 admin SYSTEM.PRODUCTION.MAC_ADDR

Enable power-saving on Ethernet inactivity:
$ ghn-tweak 192.168.0.5 admin POWERSAVING.GENERAL.MODE=2

On 3 powerline adapters, enable DHCP and NTP:
$ ghn-tweak 10.0.0.2,10.0.0.3,10.0.0.4 admin \
    DHCP.GENERAL.ENABLED_IPV4=YES \
    DNS.GENERAL.IPV4_TYPE=DHCPv4 \
    NTP.GENERAL.ENABLED=YES

On 3 powerline adapters, set a manual pairing key and powerline domain:
$ ghn-tweak 10.0.0.2,10.0.0.3,10.0.0.4 admin \
    NODE.GENERAL.DOMAIN_NAME=StrangerThings \
    PAIRING.GENERAL.PASSWORD=wzy47yhlzltq42t2txuusg6wg \
    PAIRING.GENERAL.SECURED=YES

Do a hardware reset on 3 powerline adapters:
$ ghn-tweak 10.0.0.2,10.0.0.3,10.0.0.4 admin SYSTEM.GENERAL.HW_RESET=1

Installation

ghn-tweak is just a shell script with minimal dependencies: bash v4 or later, curl, and POSIX standard utilities including grep, sed, and tr. Download it, make it executable, and drop it in your path.

Compatibility

Tested on:

• Comtrend PG-9182PT
• Comtrend PG-9182PoE

Should work on most MaxLinear-based G.hn adapters from Comtrend, Zyxel, NexusLink, etc.
Please share your experiences.

CAUTION

• This is an unofficial tool that accesses unsupported and undocumented settings, including settings that were never meant to be changed.
• This tool allows you to modify a device that interacts with high-voltage, high-current electricity. This tool will not warn you or prevent you from doing dangerous things.
• Changing some of these settings will lead to unhappy outcomes like permanently damaging your device or blowing your circuit breaker. This will definitely void your device's warranty.
• Do not integrate this tool into another end-user product or utility. It'll definitely break.

Q&A

What settings can be changed?

This tool uses the same API as the web UI to read and write settings. All or most settings shown the web UI can be changed, as well as dozens of hidden settings.

Some settings include:

• changing the device's IP address (DHCP, IPv6)
• turning on/off power saving
• pairing devices with shared encryption keys
• modifying MAC address allow/deny lists
• modifying VLAN configuration
• modifying QoS configuration
• a lot of deep and dangerous stuff channel gain, coexistence, flow control, boost thresholds, and master selection

What statistics or states can be read?

In addition to settings, some info available for reading includes:

• CPU, memory, temperature
• physical interface stats like rx/tx collisions & errors
• throughput to each neighboring G.hn device
• uptime

Is there a guide to these settings?

No. These are proprietary settings from the MaxLinear firmware. Zero of these are documented.

If G.hn is an open standard, why rely on a clunky private API?

G.hn can supposedly be managed with LCMP, the Layer 2 Configuration Management Protocol, but open source tooling for this doesn't appear to exist. While some tools exist for HomePlug/AV2 devices, G.hn hasn't caught up yet.

Changelog

• v0.2
  • Added support for sending requests to multiple hosts
  • Added support for setting multiple parameters at once
  • Authentication tokens are now cached locally for faster commands
  • Retrieving individual keys now uses a more efficient API that only reads the requested keys
• v0.1 - Initial Release