Home Network Setup Recommendations

teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 11:48
Last edited 15/06/2021 - 11:49

Hey guys.
I've had issues with wifi with the last few routers I've bought, I've finally bought a house so I'm looking to network it properly.

I'm installing Ethernet at each side of the house (media room and study) and plan to install some poe ceiling wireless access points. Not looking at mesh.

Looking at a FTTC, 6RU rack, 24 port switch with at least 10 Poe for 8 cameras and 2 POE WAPS.

Originally I had decided on a TP-Link ac500 as a controller on sale for $145 at Amazon and mwave but the compatible WAPS (CAPS) are end of life.
This leaves me with the TP-LINK OC200 ormada setup with EAP265 WAPS but these seem heavily integrated into the cloud and might not be reliable for my simple setup.

Do you have any recommendations for controller and WAPS for my scenario?

I'd love UNIFI but budget is definitely a constraint.

Cheers.

Internet

Comments

  • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 12:12

    What's the budget? and are you planning on using your normal router (ISP Provided, or what you already have) with the radios off? and the AP's in its place? Do you have a NAS or a Raspberry Pi?

    • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 12:38

      I'd like to get all the hardware for less than 1k. I'm happy to use my existing router with the APs as the radio.
      No NAS or pi

      • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 12:53

        Cool, Is all the hardware including cameras etc?

        • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 12:56

          Nah no nvr or cameras yet
          Mainly rack, switch, controller, waps, patch panel

          • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 13:23
            +4

            @teacherer: I would go Ubiquiti AP's, Put the Unifi Controller on a Raspberry Pi (Can also run PiHole/AdGuard on the same Pi so that's a Value Add).

            POE Switch doesn't have to be Unifi, most brands will be fine, TPLink, Linksys (Just check that the POE type is compatible with the particular AP you choose), also check the overall wattage to make sure it can handle 2x AP's and 8x Cameras (8x is a lot for a domestic install). As for racks you can get a cheapie off ebay, or gumtree/FB Marketplace is usually good as Office fit outs/Moves happen all the time.

            You could do the below for less than 1k, Depends on what AP's You want/how big your house is.

            2 x Unifi U6-LITE AP @ $160 each
            1 x Linksys LGS326MP 24 Port Switch @ $350 ish
            1 x Raspberry Pi 4 (Full Kit) @ $130 ish.
            1 x Patch Panel - Cat6 @ $30 (Amazon/Ebay)
            1 x 6RU Rack - @ $120 (Amazon/Ebay)

            • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 14:00

              @PonyTable: Thanks for the write up, I do appreciate it.
              So here the main savings seems to be on the controller, are you taking about flashing the controller firmware into the rasp pi instead of buying a controller?

              Would the tp link controller not be just as good for $100? OC200

              • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 14:09

                @teacherer: Not really, the TP link product isn't likely to be a future proof as the Unifi platform.

                I suggest the Pi with the Unifi Controller software on there as its the same price (Actually Cheaper depending on which Pi and configuration) than a Unifi Controller @ $129ish, and you can do more with it. You can also add in a USG as your router very easily if you can stretch the budget another $150ish (Solving the issues suggested by @hoey888

                The main savings are in your POE Switch, Ubiquiti POE 24 Port is $500 odd.

            • garylovesbeer on 16/06/2021 - 11:46

              @PonyTable: Don't forget unbound.

  • hoey888 on 15/06/2021 - 14:03

    If you are on a budget, maybe consider repurposing your existing routers to become access points. Personal experience is that ISP routers generally get overloaded very quickly. Routing/Wireless/NAT/QoS within one device quickly overwhelms them easily.

    Suggestion
    ——————-ethernet———- Router 2 wireless (AP mode)
    Router 1 ——ethernet———- Router 3 wireless (AP mode)
    (wireless off)

    You'll get the same result although you'll have to have 2 separate wireless networks. This might be enough for your needs for now. Worse case, you may upgrade later on.

  • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 14:06

    Hi mate. I've binned my old routers out of frustration when moving.
    Budget is keeping me from a unifi dream machine not a $100 wap.
    I think my current routers problem is overloading

    • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 14:10

      Just checking, you do understand the controller (Tp Link and Unifi) are not routers, just controllers for their respective networking components.

      • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 14:12

        Yes I said above

        I'd like to get all the hardware for less than 1k. I'm happy to use my existing router with the APs as the radio.

        • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 14:13

          That's ok, was confused by the later comment - "I've binned my old routers out of frustration when moving"

  • honest-immortal on 15/06/2021 - 16:03

    I have a similar setup with cameras & Unifi WAPs.

    It all runs on a server PC I picker up for around $250 that runs everything on Linux and then through Docker.

    Hardware
    - 2x Pro APs (Lites would also be fine and cheaper)
    - Unifi Bullet Cameras
    - Unifi Security Gateway

    Software
    - Unifi Controller running through Docker so no extra hardware needed
    - Unifi Protect running through Docker so no extra hardware needed

    Got most my gear on sale and I think you get great bang for your buck going ubuiti.

    I also have Plex/Media server and some other services running on the same server PC so I think it's a very efficient way to run things.

    • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 16:14

      Thanks mate. Appreciate it.
      That security gateway acts as a router doesn't it.

      • PonyTable on 15/06/2021 - 16:42

        Yes, USG is the Router.

  • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 17:11

    Thanks all. I'll look at the unifi waps and try to stretch the budget to a usg.

    • honest-immortal on 15/06/2021 - 19:34

      Good choices 👍

      • teacherer on 15/06/2021 - 19:40

        I may have accidentally bought a Udm pro with my price protection credit card at $495

  • kaleidoscope on 15/06/2021 - 22:22

    I went straight to unifi setup. Couldn’t be happier. CCTV are on synology nas (it does have cam license fees though).

    USG
    16 port unifi Poe switch
    24 port unifi switch
    3x wifi aps
    I run the unifi server on docker in nas but you can use cloud key if needed.

    It’s by no means a tight budget setup. I got all my stuff 20% off eBay plus deal

  • seanw18 on 16/06/2021 - 11:08

    What about the combo of
    - 1 UniFi Dream Machine ($400ish)
    - 1 UniFi Switch Lite 16 PoE ($350ish)
    - 1 extra U6-LITE AP ($160ish) ?

    Less ports and not rack mounted but gets you to the budget.

    • teacherer on 16/06/2021 - 11:11

      I had the thought of the standard dream machine but would rather go rack mount and nvr for the extra $100 and the Udm wouldn't be in the best place.

      But yeah definitely better for budget. Cheers

  • garylovesbeer on 16/06/2021 - 11:53
    +1

    If on a budget have a serious look at a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X. Great bang for the buck.

    • xylarr on 16/06/2021 - 19:23

      Yeah I have this.
      Edgerouter X
      8 port POE switch
      Two Unifi AP Pro (powered from the POE switch)

      I then complicate things:
      I have two Raspberri Pis running pihole and unbound. One backs up the other using keepalived
      I have a Synology NAS
      I also have a ITX linux server. This runs most of my other software including the Unifi gateway software. I also run UISP which can help configure the ER-X, but I have mostly done it via it's own GUI and on the command line.

      You can futz around with this until the cows come home, but I've have the setup pretty stable for over a year now. The APs get updated automatically via the controller. The ER-X I update manually (BTW there was a hotfix2 release just the other day).

      • shuffle1 on 24/06/2021 - 13:07

        If one was to go the Edgerouter X route, do you need to have a server or other device to configure it through software, or can you just set it up through a web interface?

        Just wondering if the Edgerouter X + POE + APs can do the trick.

        Cheers

        • xylarr on 04/07/2021 - 11:17

          Edgerounter can be configured by it's own interface.
          In practice though I just did the base config via the web interface. For further things such as setting up vlans or firewalls and setting up anything for IPv6, you need to use the command line interface via ssh. It's a little bit to come up to speed with, but it's not too bad.
          Ubiquiti also have some software called UISP which is at attempt to centrally configure all the EdgeMax line (vs the Unifi line) of products. But you don't need it.

          Now for the APs, yes, you will need some sort of server to run the unifi controller software so you can configure things. I think you can also configure these directly via a mobile phone app. The APs will continue to operate fine without the controller (or app) once configured though. I run the controller on a linux box I have.

  • Orgazmo on 18/06/2021 - 22:19

    Hi guys,

    What would you recommend for a basic 5-10 port home network to share FTTN NBN? I'm currently using the Vodafone modem.

    Thanks

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