Home network help, multi-routers...

Scumball

Scumball

Scumball

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Hi folks, just after some ideas...

This is a diagram of my home network, it's a few years old, the endpoints are all updated, but the network nodes are still in that state.

The house has thick walls and is very long front-to-back, hence the roaming APs for the wifi network, but I love having all the static devices hard wired.

0CA5EA21-3395-4254-B4CB-B13FB873029A.jpg


The D-Link routers were ideal, as they were £5 each brand new from various Virgin Media customers on eBay, and have been good, but now they're failing and limited with wifi mode and 10/100 interfaces.

Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive router (as I'll be buying 3) with solid reliability, customisable (or open source flashable) decent wifi and ideally 10/100/1000? I'll sacrifice 1000T if that's the best way!

Thanks in advance!

TL;DR - Spec me 3 cheap decent routers? ;)
 
Why are you after so many routers? Just for Wifi extension?

I'd offer up the suggestion of putting one decent router (perhaps a PfSense home build as you seem to know your stuff) and then hang some Ubiquiti APs off that if, as I suspect, you're using the routers specifically to extend your wifi. Probably £300 to do the lot but you'll be gigabit and AC everywhere. Cheap 5 port gigabit switches where you have your routers currently
 
Thanks for the reply, multiple routers are to cover a long house with thick walls (also means the back of house AP can reach the garage), diagram should say dhcp client on everything except the primary. Will look at your recommendation, would I be better having switches for hardwired kit and pure APs as required?
 
Generally yes. Not because the routers aren't doing a job, but dedicated APs and switches can do the one job their supposed to do better. Same is true of a router. Get your router routing, switches to take care of hard wired stuff and APs for wifi. Without doing that you're not going to get much of an upgrade on a fairly decent setup you have already.
 
You only need one router and 3 wireless access points - one of the access points might or might not be integrated into the router.
 
nutcase_1uk said:
You only need one router and 3 wireless access points - one of the access points might or might not be integrated into the router.
Click to expand...

True - but I think from the diagram given the additional routers are labelled as running DD-WRT and DHCP clients that they are in effect acting as both AP and a switch and not as routers. (At least I hope not as you'd have some weird triple-NATing going on!)

If I understand correctly the question here is not that it isn't working but that performance could be better as the D-Links are 100Mbit only and thus I'm guessing also won't do the faster wireless standards.

If I assume cost is also an issue then there's nothing wrong with looking at using another set of routers with gigbit and wireless AC acting as APs and switches again although I'd argue with the amount of kit on this network individually focused appliances would be better and future proofed.

I wouldn't know if 3 x flashable routers with AC/gigabit is cheaper or more expensive than say an ER-L or pfSense homebrew + 3 x Ubiquiti APs + 2 or 3 ggiabit switches which would be more future proof.

On reflection, if you're happy with the wireless performance you have with the flashed D-Links then you could leave them in situ but hang them off gigabit switches that connect to the rest of your wired cabling. This'll mean wired-to-wired transfer will be at gigabit speeds with the exception of your gateway out to the internet. This will only be a problem if you have a Virgin connection in excess of 100Mbit. If you do then you're going to have to replace the gateway router whatever to get full speed out of it.
 
A nice coherent system using a single software interface to manage everything would be.

Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateway (USG)

and

2 x Ubiquiti UniFi Switch 8 Port - US-8-60W (this suits the AP AC PRO's)

or

2 x Ubiquiti UniFi Switch 8 Port - US-8 (this suits the current AP AC Lite's)

and

3 x Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Pro

or

3 x Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Lite


Would cost around £700 - 800 though.

Have seen some talk of the AP AC Lite's having a refreshed version with either 802.3af and/or 802.3at though so if you want the cheaper option of the Lite's I'd wait until those materalise. If the newer AP AC Lite's have 802.3af then you could use the US-8-60W switches and forgo the need to use PoE injectors.

If you place the switches suitably as to where you require the WAP's then you would have an easier job at running some Ethernet to a ceiling mount point for each WAP as you wouldn't have to pass cable through any floor joist this way.

You may need to link one switch to the other though since it's unclear whether the VOIP connection on the USG can be repurposed to a 2nd LAN port.
If you require wireless in the location of the 1st current router then you'd need to add a cable run from one of the switches.
 
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