Home Networking

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Starting a proper small home network (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ok, so I've been dealing with Asus routers for a while but over the last few years I've been having issues with them either dropping WiFi bands (but still saying they're broadcasting) or just straight stop working (but all lights are still lit properly). So I'm at the point of not trusting them for anything mission critical. (RT-AC86U, RT-N56U)

The household right now is 2 adults working from home with Google Meet and sheets being used a decent amount with hardwired computers. Most wifi clients are smarthome things and a few cell phones. Streaming is currently limited to one hardwired Chromecast. I currently have an external HD attached to my router that's used as a semi-NAS to mostly backup phone photos. It then synchs to off-site.

At this moment I'm now looking for a modem, switch (managed vs unmanaged?), and I guess one AP. If needed I can try adding one of the Asus routers as a second hardwired AP. I think I need around 6 ports but wouldn't be opposed to having space for 12. ISP is Spectrum and am considering gigabit but currently receiving 140Mbps down, 11 up on 5ghz wifi. I'm using ISP provided modem, then whatever router/switch I end up with. I don't really understand the difference between managed and unmanaged switches and what I need.

Based on a previous post I found a parts list would look like this:

TP-Link ER605
Aruba Instant On Switch (1430 8port or 1830)
Aruba Instant On AP22

But I'm open to other suggestions for parts or brands etc. Thanks for all the help!

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

As long as you are planning on using the TP-Link ER605 for your router, you might as well stick with TP-Link Omada capable APs as well as the OC100 controller so you can manage everthing from 1 UI.

I personally have the Ubiquiti UDM and love the UniFi controller that is built into the device. Get some Ubiquiti APs that fit your needs and add a USW-Lite-8-PoE switch to power the APs and provide additional ports.

Check out r/Ubiquiti sub.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for letting me know how you went. Did you look at using Omada stuff before choosing Ubiquiti? Also how easy is config on Ubiquiti for someone that's not really versed in anything networking.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I have actually looked at the Omada interface and it is similar to the UniFi one, but I like the UniFi setup much better. It's not really that hard to learn if you're willing to start slowly to understand what each component does. The initial setup is fairy simple out of the box. Additional features is where the learning curve is.