I struggle with networking things, and coding and stuff like that (more of a mechanical / electrical person) and my ADHD makes me type way more detail than is really needed, so sorry for the length of this post.
i'm looking to change out our current home networking setup for something better, ideally all one brand so it all works together, but that's not a deal breaker..... budget, if i can buy the various bits individually and build the system up over a few weeks i will be able to spend more,
Thinking of spending upto £250 on the main router, £100 or so on a switch, £80 or so on each wifi AP (at least 2 needed) but can spend more if it'll give me a significantly better home system that will last longer (once i've convinced myself not to be so cheap)
We currently have the following home networking gear :
Things on the 3 wired ports of the 2nd AX3 (as one port is in use as the wan port connecting to the the main AX3)
The reason i'm even mentioning the NVR above is because the 'EAP115-Wall' wifi AP i use with it is a bit crap, the 2 wifi cams that use it keep disconnecting and it hasn't got much range,
So i'm thinking of replacing it with something like a 'TP-Link EAP225-Outdoor Access Point' and i am wondering if i could do things differently when i set the new networking stuff up.
I'd like to use that (or a similar) PoE outdoor AP for both the 3 wifi cctv cams in the garden on the NVR's subnet, and extend the home network's wifi signal into the garden, as there are some smart plugs and ESP32's out there that struggle on the current setups home wifi as it barely makes it outside the house walls.
Now i imagine i can't combine a 192 and 172 ip range from 2 seperate devices and send it to one wifi AP... whilst still keeping them seperate, i.e. not allowing the 3 wifi cameras onto the home network or internet,
So as i imagine i can't so that, i could put the NVR in 'Hybridge mode' which basically turns off it's 172 ip range and turns it into a PoE switch with the home networks router handling ip addresses and the DHCP thing on the regular 192 ip range.
But if i do that i'd want a way to keep the cameras separate from the home network, so i'd need to do a Vlan thing i believe?
And as you can tell, i am out of my depth and not sure if what i want is even feasible without having to get very expensive networking gear.
...
The main thing i want to do is get rid of the zyxel router and the AX3 wifi routers, replace them with a single (non wifi if possible) router that can connect to the isp, so it needs to do that pppoe authentication thing with the ONT,
Replace the 8 port switch with something like a 16 port switch, ideally one with a few PoE ports to run the video doorbell and some PoE wifi AP's, possibly it being a managed switch to handle Vlan stuff, or does the router do that... but the switch need to be able to handle the Vlan tags and all that??
The 8 port switch i have now is a managed one, but i've never done anything but look at the settings page and thought 'i have no clue what to do here' and left it running as a 'dumb plug and play' switch. i could use that at the other end of the house so i can plug all my wired networking stuff in down there.... but i'm wondering if a 2.5gig link between the switches / router (or even whole wired network) would something to consider?... also the 8 port 'managed' switch is very basic i believe, it was only £36, and i only bought a managed switch as it was as cheap as a non managed one when i got it a few years ago.
Then use some wifi AP's that plug into the switch (or router?) to make a wifi mesh network, possibly one of them being an outdoor one, one a wall mounted one and one a ceiling mounted one, PoE being prefered for ease of wiring (real active PoE that is, none of that passive stuff)
Am i barking up the wrong tree here and for my budget i wouldnt get much improvement from what i have?
i'm looking to change out our current home networking setup for something better, ideally all one brand so it all works together, but that's not a deal breaker..... budget, if i can buy the various bits individually and build the system up over a few weeks i will be able to spend more,
Thinking of spending upto £250 on the main router, £100 or so on a switch, £80 or so on each wifi AP (at least 2 needed) but can spend more if it'll give me a significantly better home system that will last longer (once i've convinced myself not to be so cheap)
We currently have the following home networking gear :
- The ISP is Quickline, it's FFTP... so their ONT is mounted on the wall at the end of their fibre cable.
- Zyxel router (provided by quickline) with it's wan port plugged into the ONT, the router has it's wifi turned off, so we are basically using it as a 'modem' i guess, it handles the pppoe thing to connect to the ISP.
- Huawei AX3 wifi router, providing wifi at that end of the house and is the main router(i think), it's wan port is plugged into the zyxel router.
- Another AX3 at the other end of the house, it's wan port is connected to one of the regular ports on the main AX3 via a ~30m cat5e cable, the routers are in 'link+' mode to give the same wifi throughout the house.
- TP-Link TL-SG108E 8-Port switch
- Reolink NVR*,
- PC,
- 2 x 3D printers,
- Sky box,
- Raspberry Pi 5 running Home Assistant,
- Inkjet printer / scanner
Things on the 3 wired ports of the 2nd AX3 (as one port is in use as the wan port connecting to the the main AX3)
- Smart tv,
- PS5,
- Reolink video doorbell via PoE injector,
- I also have a PC and denon AV-amp (for it's HEOS music streaming thing) that i've had to use on wifi as i ran out of network ports, Also my gaming laptop that i spend most of my time on connects via wifi in the same room as this AX3.
- About 15 x tapo P110 smart plugs, 4 x tapo P304M smart extension leads, 6 x tapo smart bulbs,
- 2 android phones and 5 android tablets,
- A few ESP32's running ESPHome via Home Assistant (garden lighting controller, fountain controller, light controller for some of the tapo smart bulbs etc) their numbers are increasing as i make more smart home controllers.
- 2 laptops, some kindle fires, and likely a few other thing's i've forgotten about, about half of the things are on the 5gig network, some can only use 2.4gig, and some are deliberately on 2.4 like the stuff in the garden to try and get the best signal due to the distance they are from the router.
- This has 13 PoE cameras, a TP-Link LS105GP 4 port PoE switch and a 'TP-Link EAP115-Wall' PoE powered wifi AP connected to the NVR's 100meg PoE ports, the wifi AP and PoE switch are located in the shed at the bottom of the garden, the wifi AP is so 3 wifi only cameras in hedgehog houses down there can connect to the NVR directly, and not via the home network (the home network wifi signal is non existent down there)
- The NVR is running in 'non hybridge' mode... so it's like a traditional cctv system's NVR that's separated from the home network, it's cameras (plus the wifi AP and tp link 4 port PoE switch) are on a 172.16.x.x private subnet controlled by the NVR.
- The NVR's 1gig network port connects to the home network via the 8 port switch allowing us to view the cameras and recordings on the home network, but keep the 24/7 traffic from the cams off the home network.
- There are 3 other reolink wifi cams that are on the home network (as i've run out of channels on the NVR), they are mounted on the 3D printers and viewed via home assistant, and they are only powered up when i'm 3D printing.
- And the PoE video doorbell that is currently connected to the 2nd AX3 for convenience, i will be running a cat6 cable from the doorbell to the main router at the other end of the house when it's cool enough to be in the attic to run the cable the length of the house (and a few others as needed)
The video doorbell will likely stay on the home network, but i will have option to plug it into the NVR if i wanted to which is located next to the main router etc... i only record motion triggered events from the doorbell, so it shouldn't be taking up much bandwidth on the home network, and half the time not using any.
The reason i'm even mentioning the NVR above is because the 'EAP115-Wall' wifi AP i use with it is a bit crap, the 2 wifi cams that use it keep disconnecting and it hasn't got much range,
So i'm thinking of replacing it with something like a 'TP-Link EAP225-Outdoor Access Point' and i am wondering if i could do things differently when i set the new networking stuff up.
I'd like to use that (or a similar) PoE outdoor AP for both the 3 wifi cctv cams in the garden on the NVR's subnet, and extend the home network's wifi signal into the garden, as there are some smart plugs and ESP32's out there that struggle on the current setups home wifi as it barely makes it outside the house walls.
Now i imagine i can't combine a 192 and 172 ip range from 2 seperate devices and send it to one wifi AP... whilst still keeping them seperate, i.e. not allowing the 3 wifi cameras onto the home network or internet,
So as i imagine i can't so that, i could put the NVR in 'Hybridge mode' which basically turns off it's 172 ip range and turns it into a PoE switch with the home networks router handling ip addresses and the DHCP thing on the regular 192 ip range.
But if i do that i'd want a way to keep the cameras separate from the home network, so i'd need to do a Vlan thing i believe?
And as you can tell, i am out of my depth and not sure if what i want is even feasible without having to get very expensive networking gear.
...
The main thing i want to do is get rid of the zyxel router and the AX3 wifi routers, replace them with a single (non wifi if possible) router that can connect to the isp, so it needs to do that pppoe authentication thing with the ONT,
Replace the 8 port switch with something like a 16 port switch, ideally one with a few PoE ports to run the video doorbell and some PoE wifi AP's, possibly it being a managed switch to handle Vlan stuff, or does the router do that... but the switch need to be able to handle the Vlan tags and all that??
The 8 port switch i have now is a managed one, but i've never done anything but look at the settings page and thought 'i have no clue what to do here' and left it running as a 'dumb plug and play' switch. i could use that at the other end of the house so i can plug all my wired networking stuff in down there.... but i'm wondering if a 2.5gig link between the switches / router (or even whole wired network) would something to consider?... also the 8 port 'managed' switch is very basic i believe, it was only £36, and i only bought a managed switch as it was as cheap as a non managed one when i got it a few years ago.
Then use some wifi AP's that plug into the switch (or router?) to make a wifi mesh network, possibly one of them being an outdoor one, one a wall mounted one and one a ceiling mounted one, PoE being prefered for ease of wiring (real active PoE that is, none of that passive stuff)
Am i barking up the wrong tree here and for my budget i wouldnt get much improvement from what i have?