Home network components please

freemason

freemason

freemason

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Joined
13 Oct 2013
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97
Hi all.

Please could I have some assistance on what to buy

I'm after

1 modem
2 Wi-Fi access points
1 8 port giga switch with full duplex maybe managed??

I'd Like to bin my bt isp router and get something more pro. I'm looking to run modem/switch and wifi access downstairs and run wifi access upstairs along with some wired ports for master bedroom Will I need a second switch? Is this even possible ?

I'm new to networking but fancy giving it ago. I've already got a NAS box running but it's slow as hell when transferring files to my laptop through wifi. This is one of th3 reasons I want gb lines available downstairs as well as in the master bedroom
 
andy_mk3 said:
This will largely depend on your budget for said items. But have a look into Ubiquiti stuff :)
Click to expand...

Thank you my budget is not limitless I was thinking around the 400 pound Mark.

I do like the look of a network cabinet with patch panels and stuff but maybe this is behond my budget? I would have an option to install a UPS as well later on which would be a cool future to have incase of world apocalypse what are your thought

Really looking for something to play around with and have the chance to learn about something as I go along so not overly worried about the complexity

Thanks for replying
 
My 'modem' do you mean router?

Are you on ADSL or VDSL (fibre)?

How did you decide that you'd require two access points?

All Gigabit switches are full duplex. What are you wanting to do that'll require a managed switch?

You can daisy-chain switches to add additional ports. A nicer option is to plan ahead and run all of the cables to a central location and have one big switch.
 
freemason said:
Thank you my budget is not limitless I was thinking around the 400 pound Mark.

I do like the look of a network cabinet with patch panels and stuff but maybe this is behond my budget? I would have an option to install a UPS as well later on which would be a cool future to have incase of world apocalypse what are your thought

Really looking for something to play around with and have the chance to learn about something as I go along so not overly worried about the complexity

Thanks for replying
Click to expand...

Sounds like you want something potentially similar to my setup. I have Sky Fibre, and ditched their hub many years ago for an ASUS router, but now ditched that for some rackmounted gear.

I bought a Dell R210 II, this is a small rackmount server with fairly low power usage, it mainly runs pfSense as my router, which also does ad-blocking and firewall, as well as a VPN server and client. I have a Unifi AC-Pro for wireless, and a HP ProCurve 2510G-24 gigabit managed switch. UPS is something I'm looking to get next.

Worth having a look at /r/Homelab for some inspiration. But it really does depend how far you want to go.
 
bremen1874 said:
My 'modem' do you mean router?

Are you on ADSL or VDSL (fibre)?

How did you decide that you'd require two access points?

All Gigabit switches are full duplex. What are you wanting to do that'll require a managed switch?

You can daisy-chain switches to add additional ports. A nicer option is to plan ahead and run all of the cables to a central location and have one big switch.
Click to expand...


ADSL

I need 2 access points one for upstairs one for downstairs. I don't want poor wifi signal any more. My house is large so was going to split the wifi access per floor

I wanted a managed switch so I can well.... manage it. Stop my children using high speeds if I need it. As well as many more things plus it's an extra thing I can mess and learn about
 
freemason said:
ADSL

I need 2 access points one for upstairs one for downstairs. I don't want poor wifi signal any more. My house is large so was going to split the wifi access per floor

I wanted a managed switch so I can well.... manage it. Stop my children using high speeds if I need it. As well as many more things plus it's an extra thing I can mess and learn about
Click to expand...

Unifi AP's will do this well. You will need a controller (either their cloud key or hosted on your on PC), but you will get seemless switching between the 2 AP's.
 
freemason said:
I wanted a managed switch so I can well.... manage it. Stop my children using high speeds if I need it. As well as many more things plus it's an extra thing I can mess and learn about
Click to expand...

I think you'll find that managed switches generally don't do what you're expecting.

You also can't just buy a managed switch and assume that the features you're wanting are supported.
 
bremen1874 said:
I think you'll find that managed switches generally don't do what you're expecting.

You also can't just buy a managed switch and assume that the features you're wanting are supported.
Click to expand...

Would never assume anything that's why I'm here. Please if your not too busy spent some time and explain what they can and cannot do and what to look out for to make sure it's all supported.

I'm here to learn and listen
 
It's usually safe to say that if you don't know why you want a managed switch then you don't need one.

VLAN support and link aggregation are probably the most common reasons for using them (domestically).
 
bremen1874 said:
It's usually safe to say that if you don't know why you want a managed switch then you don't need one.

VLAN support and link aggregation are probably the most common reasons for using them (domestically).
Click to expand...

I was hoping to have a managed switch so I can restrict throughput from my kids and let my server take propriety etc???
 
Even the most basic Unifi system is going to be £600 once you add in the ADSL modem.

New/Used BT modem - £20 from eBay
Unifi Security Gateway 3P - £105
Unifi US-8-150W Switch - £200
Unifi UAP-AC-Lite - £80 x 2 or 2 x Unifi UAP-AC-IW @ £90 each as that will give you a couple of RJ45 network sockets by each network access point.
Unifi Cloud Key - £80

However, what will give you a really decent home network. If you want to economise you could swap the switch for a US-8-60W or even a US-8 and power the APs from the supplied PoE injectors and the Cloud Key from a USB PSU.

If you want to really build for the future then swap the access points for UAP-nanoHD which are 4x4 muMiMo but they are £170 each.
 
You're confusing your kids hogging all the internet bandwidth with your local network capacity.

A gigabit switch let's all the stuff in your house talk to each other at high speed. If your kids are capable of swamping that on a gigabit switch then they're moving some big files around a lot!

What it sounds like you want is decent WiFi, a reasonable affordable switch to connect everything and something on the router to deal with bandwidth hogs.
 
WJA96 said:
Even the most basic Unifi system is going to be £600 once you add in the ADSL modem.

New/Used BT modem - £20 from eBay
Unifi Security Gateway 3P - £105
Unifi US-8-150W Switch - £200
Unifi UAP-AC-Lite - £80 x 2 or 2 x Unifi UAP-AC-IW @ £90 each as that will give you a couple of RJ45 network sockets by each network access point.
Unifi Cloud Key - £80

However, what will give you a really decent home network. If you want to economise you could swap the switch for a US-8-60W or even a US-8 and power the APs from the supplied PoE injectors and the Cloud Key from a USB PSU.

If you want to really build for the future then swap the access points for UAP-nanoHD which are 4x4 muMiMo but they are £170 each.
Click to expand...

Or, sticking more on budget:

New/used BT modem - £20
Unifi Security Gateway - £105
TP-Link metal case PoE gigabit switch £40
Unifi UAP-AC-Pro (for standard PoE support) x2 - £245
Unifi iOS or Android app to set up APs - free

Total of £410 for the same end result. He could swap the Pros for Lites and drop the PoE link switch to a regular switch at half the cost and use the included PoE injectors if he desperately needed to stay under the 400 mark.

OP it sounds more like you want QoS limits for the LAN clients. You could get a decent second hand machine running pfSense to do that for you for much less money and then you just need to add the wifi kit.
 
bremen1874 said:
If these used BT modems people are mentioning are the ones BT provided for their fibre connections then they aren't going to work with the OP's ADSL.
Click to expand...

I've got a used BT branded FTTC modem working just fine on my ADSL. A FTTP one wouldn't work agreed.

However it did need flashing and configuring for PPPoA etc.
 
bremen1874 said:
Given the level of the questions the OP is asking I'd still consider that as it won't work.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Its not something I'd propose as a solution.

bremen1874 said:
Does what ever you did allow a PPPoE only router to raise the PPPoA connection (in the same way the Vigor 120/130 modems do)?
Click to expand...
Mariusz said:
The HG612 will work with adsl. There are setup guides on Internet.
Click to expand...

That's just what I did. Found a guide on the net for turning one of these into a rock solid ADSL modem (I had some ISP free thing that was appalling user interface), and I let pfSense do the hard work of routing, filtering and cutting my lads internet off when he should be asleep.
But its hardly a plug-n-go solution.
 
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