The Home Networking Megathread - Yes the OP is out of date

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Home Networking Megathread - Yes the OP is out of date

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Cyks: Mar 17, 2008; The trenches of IT can scar a muppet for life

KozmoNaut posted:

Since I've finally gotten over the hurdle of convincing myself to pull cat6 in our apartment, rather than relying on wifi, I can use the TP-Link AP I've been using in client mode for my desktop PC, as an actual access point instead. Perhaps get perfect 5GHz coverage in both ends of the apartment.

So which channels does the AP support?

36, 40, 44, 48, in your choice of 20, 40 or 80MHz. That is literally it.

TP-Link you absolute cheapskates

Found a post by a community leader (Fae) on the tp-link forums that DFS support should be coming in Q2 this year with a firmware update for the new EU based APs.

TP-Link, your Omada platform looks really promising but come on, don't be silly.

Cyks fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Apr 1, 2021

# ? Apr 1, 2021 22:42

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 07:21

KozmoNaut: Apr 23, 2008; Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle

This is a relatively ancient and low-end AP200, which hasn't had a firmware update since 2017 or something, so I'll probably just replace it with something not crap.

# ? Apr 1, 2021 23:04

astral: Apr 26, 2004

Jolo posted:

I've been reading up a bit on modems and routers lately but it's probably best that I ask here before trying anything out. Here's my current situation. I have a 150mbps plan through Cox which is cable broadband. My current modem/router combo is a Netgear N450 Wifi Modem. I also have a Linksys AC1200 Dual-band Router. I know the Netgear is a modem/router combo but when I got a security system installed the hub box couldn't talk to the Netgear. I believe it was because the Netgear just does 2.4Ghz and the Linksys does both bands.

Wireless internet in our house is pretty inconsistent whether we're connected to the Linksys or the Netgear. Wifi on either results in speeds of around 25-50 mbps on a cellphone, but the Playstation can only muster around 10-15 mbps. I believe the Netgear is the bottleneck, with 8/4 dl/ul channels, but I'm not sure. Seems like the Linksys should be able to provide better speeds because it's got a wired connection directly to the modem but it's about the same speed.

What should I look for here? I can try to provide any other info that might help out. I couldn't find the dl/ul for the Linksys to compare. Thanks in advance for your help.

edit: Option available from Cox directly is to pay $12 a month for a modem/router combo. Uh, nope.

What do your wired speed tests show?

What wifi channels are your routers using?

Have you used a wifi analyzer type app to see which channels are in use by neighbors that you should be avoiding?

# ? Apr 1, 2021 23:41

Cyks: Mar 17, 2008; The trenches of IT can scar a muppet for life

25-50 mbps may not be that bad depending on the type of phone you have and if it was connecting using 2.4ghz, but I'm not completely tracking on that setup either.
Don't go with a monthly payment for a combo. Go with a Cox approved modem like the SB6183.

The Linksys AC1200 isn't winning any awards either with its 100mbps ports (assuming you have the E5400). Along with astral's questions, the model numbers of what you have would be useful (including what you are testing on).

Cyks fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Apr 1, 2021

# ? Apr 1, 2021 23:56

Hadlock: Nov 9, 2004

What is the go-to software these days for creating a public hotspot, but rate-limiting users/maximum lifetime up/down caps. Preferably linux.

Basically I want this:
50 MB to https://www.mysite.xyz
15 MB to gmail.com
10 MB to everything else
blacklist the most obvious porn sites

No I don't want to use whatever software is installed on XYZ router, I would like to do this on a raspberry pi or similar.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 03:09

Jolo: Jun 4, 2007; ive been playing with magnuts tying to change the wold as we know it

Wired tests come back at 150 and 10 up. I just read about the Linksys AC1200 and it's slower speed Ethernet ports so if I opt for a new modem it'll have to go too.

Netgear N450 is a model CG3000Dv2
Linksys AC1200 is a model EA6100

I see a few others around 90m or so away on the same channels as the Netgear on the 2.4Ghz channel. I also noticed that the security box is using the same channel as the Netgear even though it's connected to the Linksys router.

I know the Linksys is a dual band but I only see it on the 5Ghz list. I see that there are channels 36-65 and then 100-165. There's another on the same channel over 100m away, does it make a difference between the higher or lower groups of open channels?

The wifi works fine with our phones. It's mostly an issue with the PlayStation which is sometimes 10mbps DL or less and can't handle streaming video.

Thanks for taking your time to help me out!

# ? Apr 2, 2021 03:26

Jolo: Jun 4, 2007; ive been playing with magnuts tying to change the wold as we know it

Wow, changing the netgear's channel to a less busy one took the ps4 from 20mbps to 60mbps. I did this years ago at an apartment but completely forgot about it here in a house in the suburbs.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 03:48

astral: Apr 26, 2004

Jolo posted:

Wow, changing the netgear's channel to a less busy one took the ps4 from 20mbps to 60mbps. I did this years ago at an apartment but completely forgot about it here in a house in the suburbs.

If performance is still unsatisfactory, I'd recommend getting a modem-only and a modern router; combo units are the worst.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 07:46

HalloKitty: Sep 30, 2005; Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Jolo posted:

Wow, changing the netgear's channel to a less busy one took the ps4 from 20mbps to 60mbps. I did this years ago at an apartment but completely forgot about it here in a house in the suburbs.

If that blows your mind, just think what you could get with the new-fangled technology called a cable

# ? Apr 2, 2021 12:03

withoutclass: Nov 6, 2007; Resist the siren call of rhinocerosness; College Slice

Hey cool, the only way I can access my unifi controller from the mobile app is by logging out of my UI account.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 15:04

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

I'm an absolute technical idiot who has a new house that is somewhat wired with ethernet and just had fios installed.

My old place was tiny and well-served with just a single wireless router but that definitely wont work with the new place. I have this Verizon installed ONT thing in the basement that they've wired the den ethernet cable to. This is where I've plugged in the wireless router for the time being, but now I'm not sure where to go. The basement by the panel has all of the ethernet cables terminating there, but I am lost as to next steps.

How do I get all of these cables installed and attached? I'd like for each ethernet Jack in the house to be live and to eventually set up some sort of mesh wifi system.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 15:28

KozmoNaut: Apr 23, 2008; Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle

Hutzpah posted:

I have this Verizon installed ONT thing in the basement that they've wired the den ethernet cable to. This is where I've plugged in the wireless router for the time being, but now I'm not sure where to go. The basement by the panel has all of the ethernet cables terminating there, but I am lost as to next steps.
...
How do I get all of these cables installed and attached? I'd like for each ethernet Jack in the house to be live and to eventually set up some sort of mesh wifi system.

I would move the router next to the ONT and add a switch, so you go ONT->router->switch, and then connect every ethernet outlet in the house to the switch. That gives you a central connection point for everything. Get a switch with a few more ports than you need right now, in case you want to add a NAS or server in the basement. Don't get anything that isn't at least 1Gbps ethernet.

For wireless, as the router is now in the basement, you will need to add however many access points in your den etc. as needed for good coverage. AFAIK most mesh systems will also happily use a wired backhaul, which is by far the best choice if you have ethernet wiring throughout your house. All of the commonly recommended mesh systems should be super easy to set up.

The traditional way have good wifi coverage is to put up several access points yourself. Make sure the APs have the same SSID and security settings (WPA2-PSK, AES and password), but are on different channels, as APs with the same channel allocations will interfere with each other. With the APs set up correctly, most devices should roam just as well between them as they would on a mesh system.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 16:00

KKKLIP ART: Sep 3, 2004

How is the TP Link prosumer/SMB stuff compared to Uniquiti? Their track record with pushing ads in updates, a product stack that doesn�t always make sense, and some really bad decisions about user privacy and account security leaves something to be desired.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 16:08

KidDynamite: Feb 11, 2005

So as someone that just bought a Ubiquiti switch and AP's should I find something else? I'm planning on running cat6 and setting everything up in my house next weekend. Could y'all point me in the best other direction for what I bought? Also if FIOS installs their "good" router should I bother replacing it with an edgerouter(heh). At my current place I have FIOS and an archer ac1750 rather than their router, with an old Ubiquiti AP AC-Lite running off that.

Here's the list of what I bought

KidDynamite posted:

Trying to plot out what I need to buy for home wiring job. Can y'all give thoughts on my parts list?

UniFi nanoHD Access Point x1 back half of 2nd floor opposite living room
UniFi In-Wall HD Access Point x2 1 for the living room on the second floor, 1 for the basement room
Unifi Switch(POE) 16 150w
Edge Router Lite
and some monoprice plenum rated cat6

The switch is where I have no idea wtf I'm doing. also is 1000ft ok or do I need more?

edit: also my use case is turn on the AP's and never think about them again so much so i forgot the password to get into the AP AC-lite and it has not mattered. I might try to figure out a pi-hole and set up a NAS at the home since I'll hopefully be there for quite a while.

KidDynamite fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Apr 2, 2021

# ? Apr 2, 2021 16:11

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

KozmoNaut posted:

I would move the router next to the ONT and add a switch, so you go ONT->router->switch, and then connect every ethernet outlet in the house to the switch. That gives you a central connection point for everything. Get a switch with a few more ports than you need right now, in case you want to add a NAS or server in the basement. Don't get anything that isn't at least 1Gbps ethernet.

For wireless, as the router is now in the basement, you will need to add however many access points in your den etc. as needed for good coverage. AFAIK most mesh systems will also happily use a wired backhaul, which is by far the best choice if you have ethernet wiring throughout your house. All of the commonly recommended mesh systems should be super easy to set up.

The traditional way have good wifi coverage is to put up several access points yourself. Make sure the APs have the same SSID and security settings (WPA2-PSK, AES and password), but are on different channels, as APs with the same channel allocations will interfere with each other. With the APs set up correctly, most devices should roam just as well between them as they would on a mesh system.

This is real helpful. What switch would you recommend? I see about a million of them all over the place. I'd need something with >8 hookups. And as far as a router, is there any issue with using the one I have? Lastly, is there a current recommended mesh system? I took a look at the OP but it appears to be from 2018.

# ? Apr 2, 2021 16:41

KozmoNaut: Apr 23, 2008; Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle

Hutzpah posted:

This is real helpful. What switch would you recommend? I see about a million of them all over the place. I'd need something with >8 hookups. And as far as a router, is there any issue with using the one I have? Lastly, is there a current recommended mesh system? I took a look at the OP but it appears to be from 2018.

I've got one of these that I've been perfectly satisfied with: https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/unmanaged/gs108/

That series comes with just about any number of ports you want (get the 16-port GS116 for your needs), and if you don't need a managed switch or PoE, that is about as fancy as you need to go. PoE could used for your access points if you want, but you can also just use the power adapters that come with the access points, as long as you have an outlet near them.

Your router is probably just fine, with that sort of setup you don't need anything fancy in regards to integrated wireless, so as long as it can route your full connection speed, just keep it.

For mesh systems, I've heard good things about Google Nest, Eero and Asus. I don't know about Linksys and TP-Link. Pick your poison

KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Apr 2, 2021

# ? Apr 2, 2021 17:11

gregday: May 23, 2003

I use a Ubiquiti EdgeMax ERPoE-5 as my router, and as a router, I love it. Hanging off of that has been an Apple Time Capsule for several years. I've recently migrated all my Time Machine backups to a Synology, so it's time to look into phasing out the TC entirely. My long term plan is to get better whole house coverage, so I'm also looking into a mesh system. I absolutely don't mind using one that lets me fiddle with all the fiddly bits -- that's why I love my ERPoE-5. But I also want to avoid double-NAT'ing or replacing my EdgeMax router. I want it to continue being the router and just let the AP's be AP's.

I understand with most mesh systems, there's usually one that acts as a master/controller. But which ones let you designate all of them, even the master, as a simple WiFi bridge that does no routing whatsoever? I want my EdgeMax to obtain the public IP from the ISP and be the sole DHCP server and private IP provider to all the devices on my network.

Looking around, I *think* NetGear Orbi might do this? Maybe TP-Link Deco? For weird and irrational paranoia reasons I'd rather not use Eero if I can help it.

Edit: looks like the Linksys Velop devices will do exactly what I want.

gregday fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Apr 2, 2021

# ? Apr 2, 2021 17:17

Bank: Feb 20, 2004

Is there a decent way to get parental filters/website blocking implemented at a device level? (I know you're probably thinking Chrome extension or edit the Windows host file, but I have a bit of a complicated situation).

I have a Netgear R7000 and it lets you block certain websites, but it's not specific by MAC/IP address, so if I block Google.com, it blocks it for everyone.

My situation is that my oldest son has been doing distance learning, and has a school-issued Chromebook. During class, he's got a Google Meet tab open, and a random game tab open in another. It's driving my wife and I insane. We can't watch him the entire time because of work. Yes, we have spoken to him about it many times he's on the spectrum, so I'm pulling the sympathy card here... I was just going to download a Chrome extension, but since it's school-issued it blocks us from it. I'd like to do this at the networking level. The "easiest" thing I can think of is to segment our network by buying a Google WiFi puck and have him connect to that, then blocking everything there.

Is there anything else I can try? Otherwise I may buy a Windows laptop and edit the hosts file on that, but it's an expensive workaround..

# ? Apr 3, 2021 00:24

KKKLIP ART: Sep 3, 2004

Can a PiHole do something like that where you program just his devices to use the pihole with a stout blocklist? But the school device part might not let you edit the proper setting.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 00:36

rufius: Feb 27, 2011; Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets.

Bank posted:

Is there a decent way to get parental filters/website blocking implemented at a device level? (I know you're probably thinking Chrome extension or edit the Windows host file, but I have a bit of a complicated situation).

I have a Netgear R7000 and it lets you block certain websites, but it's not specific by MAC/IP address, so if I block Google.com, it blocks it for everyone.

My situation is that my oldest son has been doing distance learning, and has a school-issued Chromebook. During class, he's got a Google Meet tab open, and a random game tab open in another. It's driving my wife and I insane. We can't watch him the entire time because of work. Yes, we have spoken to him about it many times he's on the spectrum, so I'm pulling the sympathy card here... I was just going to download a Chrome extension, but since it's school-issued it blocks us from it. I'd like to do this at the networking level. The "easiest" thing I can think of is to segment our network by buying a Google WiFi puck and have him connect to that, then blocking everything there.

Is there anything else I can try? Otherwise I may buy a Windows laptop and edit the hosts file on that, but it's an expensive workaround..

I use NextDNS.io and it has these options.

NextDNS is basically a PiHole except you don�t have to manage any software or devices yourself. You just use their DNS servers - they�ve got some clever stuff to allow identifying your account that�s easy to use.

Edit: youll also want to make sure you either have captive DNS or that your son can�t change the DNS servers on the device. Even if you set it up at the router, if he can change the chromebook�s DNS to 1.1.1.1 then it won�t matter.

At that point you have to use a Captive DNS solution which is a intermediate to advanced setup on a router like an EdgeRouter.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 00:48

KS: Jun 10, 2003; Outrageous Lumpwad

gregday posted:

Edit: looks like the Linksys Velop devices will do exactly what I want.

I don't know that I'd pay for a mesh system and not use it as a fw/router. Why not just buy some APs?

Bank posted:

Is there a decent way to get parental filters/website blocking implemented at a device level? (I know you're probably thinking Chrome extension or edit the Windows host file, but I have a bit of a complicated situation).

Google wifi does do per-device parental controls but looks like it only blocks adult content or allows scheduling of the entire connection. I don't see a "gaming" blacklist.

Hutzpah posted:

This is real helpful. What switch would you recommend? I see about a million of them all over the place. I'd need something with >8 hookups. And as far as a router, is there any issue with using the one I have? Lastly, is there a current recommended mesh system? I took a look at the OP but it appears to be from 2018.

Given that you have ethernet backhauls for the mesh system, buy a system that takes advantage of that. That'd be Eero (not the extender) Google Wifi (not Nest) and several others.

You also have the option of just buying APs here, and in that case you might want a POE switch.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 00:48

Mister Speaker: May 8, 2007; WE WILL CONTROL
ALL THAT YOU SEE
AND HEAR

How much do dowloading and uploading really affect one another? I know this is a fairly open-ended question, but there are some particular considerations to my apartment's situation and I'm curious how they might be affecting things, if at all.
- Our internet plan is 75Mbps down / 10Mbps up
- Myself and one of my two roommates are both DJs, occasionally running livestreams via OBS->Restream- or directly to Twitch/MixCloud/YouTube/FB/etc.
- The other roommate watches Netflix and uses PSN but AFAIK doesn't do much uploading at all
- The primary router is in my bedroom and every machine in the room (except my phone) is hardwired to it
- I've run an ethernet cable into the hallway to a repeater that the roommates are connecting to wirelessly
- Previously I've run into virtually zero issues streaming via Restream or directly to Twitch (etc.), even while doing things like watching a hockey game simultaneously
- Most recently (just now) the roommate had his uploading cut out after about an hour, and while I was home I was only browsing the forums and watching some TV on my Plex server

What's the most likely bottleneck here? The repeater in the hall, the fact that he's connecting wirelessly to it, another roommate streaming media? I would think it's not my use of Plex since that's a local thing running off of my NVidia Shield with a hard drive instead of Netflix's servers for example, but I could be wrong. Would opting into a higher bandwidth ISP package help solve our issue? Thanks for your time.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 01:05

Quaint Quail Quilt: Jun 19, 2006; Ask me about that time I told people mixing bleach and vinegar is okay

After a brownout my openwrt compatible router's wifi messed up, wired worked fine. Weird I have a $200 UPS.

I bought an orbi mesh system (costco sale) and 1100 netgear modem , I had the 600 modem

I lost my bufferbloat stuff, but man the orbi just works, it came with 2 repeaters/access points and I think those are also like 1.2 ghz so.. more mhz of processing overall anyway.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 01:10

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

KS posted:

Given that you have ethernet backhauls for the mesh system, buy a system that takes advantage of that. That'd be Eero (not the extender) Google Wifi (not Nest) and several others.

You also have the option of just buying APs here, and in that case you might want a POE switch.

I'm getting a little lost with the lingo, sorry. Anything more complicated than plugging in a single wireless router is new ground for me. So if I opt for the eero or google wifi then each hub will be plugged into an ethernet jack, right? And each jack will then go down to the basement through that ethernet switch, which is hooked up to my current router. Am I missing something?

Also, for that gs116, that has 16 ports for ethernet cables up in the house, right? Is there a 17th or something on the back to hook up to the router, or does the router take up one of the 16?

# ? Apr 3, 2021 01:35

KS: Jun 10, 2003; Outrageous Lumpwad

Exactly that, although you would also replace your router with one of the mesh units. Most only function when they can be the router as well, and that gains you most of the advanced features since it can identify clients.

You would use one of the 16 ports on the switch to connect a router, and the other 15 are available for connections through the patch panel to your house drops.

Monoprice is good for patch cables if you need them.

Mister Speaker posted:

How much do dowloading and uploading really affect one another? I know this is a fairly open-ended question, but there are some particular considerations to my apartment's situation and I'm curious how they might be affecting things, if at all.
....
What's the most likely bottleneck here? The repeater in the hall, the fact that he's connecting wirelessly to it, another roommate streaming media? I would think it's not my use of Plex since that's a local thing running off of my NVidia Shield with a hard drive instead of Netflix's servers for example, but I could be wrong. Would opting into a higher bandwidth ISP package help solve our issue? Thanks for your time.

If your upload is saturated it will affect download speeds. TCP needs to send acknowledgement packets back upstream. Is the hallway device actually a wireless repeater or just an AP?

It could be so many things -- channel interference, upload saturation, lots of others. If you can pull bandwidth usage off your router that's a good (cheap) starting point. Your plex usage won't affect it unless it's a local wifi saturation issue. Are most devices on 5 ghz? 10/75 does seem like a stretch for multiple users.

KS fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Apr 3, 2021

# ? Apr 3, 2021 02:11

Bank: Feb 20, 2004

rufius posted:

I use NextDNS.io and it has these options.

NextDNS is basically a PiHole except you don’t have to manage any software or devices yourself. You just use their DNS servers - they’ve got some clever stuff to allow identifying your account that’s easy to use.

Edit: youll also want to make sure you either have captive DNS or that your son can’t change the DNS servers on the device. Even if you set it up at the router, if he can change the chromebook’s DNS to 1.1.1.1 then it won’t matter.

At that point you have to use a Captive DNS solution which is a intermediate to advanced setup on a router like an EdgeRouter.

Thanks! I'll give that a try tonight. Hopefully I can get by with their free tier.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 02:17

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

KS posted:

Exactly that, although you would also replace your router with one of the mesh units. Most only function when they can be the router as well, and that gains you most of the advanced features since it can identify clients.

You would use one of the 16 ports on the switch to connect a router, and the other 15 are available for connections through the patch panel to your house drops.

Monoprice is good for patch cables if you need them.

Alright this is starting to make sense to me. One last thing isnt clear though: what is the difference between a patch panel and a switch? You hardwire your drops into the patch panel and then patch cable your patch panel a foot or two to the switch? Why dont you put rj45 ends on your drops and plug those right into the switch? Right now the only wired drop has a rj45 end (done by verizon) and is plugged into that ONT thing.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 02:42

Less Fat Luke: May 23, 2003; Exciting Lemon

If your cables are going into your walls the patch panel will keeps them fixed and non-moving, no matter how you recable things from the panel to actual devices. It'd be really easy to accidentally pull a cable from a loose keystone jack in a receptacle.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 02:50

Huge_Midget: Jun 6, 2002; I don't like the look of it...

Hutzpah posted:

Alright this is starting to make sense to me. One last thing isnt clear though: what is the difference between a patch panel and a switch? You hardwire your drops into the patch panel and then patch cable your patch panel a foot or two to the switch? Why dont you put rj45 ends on your drops and plug those right into the switch? Right now the only wired drop has a rj45 end (done by verizon) and is plugged into that ONT thing.

Patch panels make everything nice and neat and tidy so that you can cable manage easier and it makes upgrading switch stacks easier. You could just terminate your drops with an RJ45 connector and plug it directly into a switch but it looks ghetto af. A lot of us are professional networking nerds in real life so we get spoiled by nice things like proper drop termination and cable management porn and we have to extend that experience into our home labs.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 03:07

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Huge_Midget posted:

Patch panels make everything nice and neat and tidy so that you can cable manage easier and it makes upgrading switch stacks easier. You could just terminate your drops with an RJ45 connector and plug it directly into a switch but it looks ghetto af. A lot of us are professional networking nerds in real life so we get spoiled by nice things like proper drop termination and cable management porn and we have to extend that experience into our home labs.

This makes a lot of sense. All of the blog posts and how tos on the internet seem to be written by professionals who apply their professional stuff to their home set up. Kind of like if every recipe on the internet was written by a professional chef. A lot gets lost in translation for me due to the skills gap.

In summary now it seems like I need the following things:

16 port switch
16 port patch panel
A wifi mesh system with 3+ units (the google one looks good)
16 ethernet jump wires for switch to port

And I can get rid of my current router

Am I missing anything?

# ? Apr 3, 2021 03:20

Huge_Midget: Jun 6, 2002; I don't like the look of it...

Hutzpah posted:

This makes a lot of sense. All of the blog posts and how tos on the internet seem to be written by professionals who apply their professional stuff to their home set up. Kind of like if every recipe on the internet was written by a professional chef. A lot gets lost in translation for me due to the skills gap.

In summary now it seems like I need the following things:

16 port switch
16 port patch panel
A wifi mesh system with 3+ units (the google one looks good)
16 ethernet jump wires for switch to port

And I can get rid of my current router

Am I missing anything?

Always, always, always build out more capacity than you think you need. If you need 16 ports now, do yourself a favor and put in a minimum of 24 port patch panel and switch. You never know what you might need or want to add in the future and doing the legwork now makes your life easier down the road. There are lots of prosumer level devices that are also starting to take advantage of PoE, so you may want to consider a PoE capable switch for things like security cameras, access points, etc. Then you have to weigh the possibility of making sure you have good quality cable for the runs, if you�re trying to future-proof things Cat 6A is what I�d be using because it will support 10 gig over copper. Then you get to figure out if you want a dumb switch or a managed switch if you want to do things like segmented VLANs and whatnot.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 04:03

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Huge_Midget posted:

Always, always, always build out more capacity than you think you need. If you need 16 ports now, do yourself a favor and put in a minimum of 24 port patch panel and switch. You never know what you might need or want to add in the future and doing the legwork now makes your life easier down the road. There are lots of prosumer level devices that are also starting to take advantage of PoE, so you may want to consider a PoE capable switch for things like security cameras, access points, etc. Then you have to weigh the possibility of making sure you have good quality cable for the runs, if you’re trying to future-proof things Cat 6A is what I’d be using because it will support 10 gig over copper. Then you get to figure out if you want a dumb switch or a managed switch if you want to do things like segmented VLANs and whatnot.

Oh god more acronyms I dont understand! There are 7 cat6 cables run from various ethernet jacks through out the house that terminate in the basement where the end are tied into pigtails. That's what I'm working with right now. 16 should be plenty for my needs.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 04:09

astral: Apr 26, 2004

Wait, wait, are you saying they had a patch panel there and ripped it out when they moved?! :psyduck:

(might need a pic of the ends of those cables)

# ? Apr 3, 2021 04:41

fletcher: Jun 27, 2003; ken park is my favorite movie; Cybernetic Crumb

Hutzpah posted:

This makes a lot of sense. All of the blog posts and how tos on the internet seem to be written by professionals who apply their professional stuff to their home set up. Kind of like if every recipe on the internet was written by a professional chef. A lot gets lost in translation for me due to the skills gap.

In summary now it seems like I need the following things:

16 port switch
16 port patch panel
A wifi mesh system with 3+ units (the google one looks good)
16 ethernet jump wires for switch to port

And I can get rid of my current router

Am I missing anything?

I don't think the Google mesh wifi system supports wired backhaul

# ? Apr 3, 2021 05:14

KS: Jun 10, 2003; Outrageous Lumpwad

Google does, Nest doesn't. Edit: Nest wifi routers do. Points don't. Another good option.
Eero does, Eero extenders/beacons don't.
Orbi and Velop both do.
ZenWifi AX Mini does.

Lots of good options now. The google is the only non-wifi 6 choice though.

KS fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Apr 3, 2021

# ? Apr 3, 2021 06:02

Hutzpah: Nov 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

astral posted:

Wait, wait, are you saying they had a patch panel there and ripped it out when they moved?!

(might need a pic of the ends of those cables)

No no no. That would be terrible. It's a new construction.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 12:00

Cyks: Mar 17, 2008; The trenches of IT can scar a muppet for life

Hutzpah posted:

This makes a lot of sense. All of the blog posts and how tos on the internet seem to be written by professionals who apply their professional stuff to their home set up. Kind of like if every recipe on the internet was written by a professional chef. A lot gets lost in translation for me due to the skills gap.

In summary now it seems like I need the following things:

16 port switch
16 port patch panel
A wifi mesh system with 3+ units (the google one looks good)
16 ethernet jump wires for switch to port

And I can get rid of my current router

Am I missing anything?

Unless you want one of your APs in the basement (probably not) I hope one of your ideal spots has two cables ran for the base station. One for the connection to the ONT and the other the router. Otherwise you'll need a managed switch on both sides that can do what's called vlan tagging and trunking (effectively alllowing two different networks, in this case WAN and LAN, over the same cable).

I think most of the information you'll find out there feels like it's written for a higher skill level because , it is. A SOHO setup is way more expensive, time consuming and complicated than what the vast majority of home users need.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 13:00

brand engager: Mar 23, 2011

Anyone know why an edgerouter replies 8 times to a multicast ping if broadcast-ping is enabled. That setting just controls whether it should ignore multicast/broadcast pings.

code:

PING all-systems.mcast.net (224.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.67 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.67 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.67 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.68 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.68 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.68 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.68 ms (DUP!)
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=2.68 ms (DUP!)
^C
--- all-systems.mcast.net ping statistics ---
1 packets transmitted, 1 received, +7 duplicates, 0% packet loss, time 0ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 2.674/2.680/2.686/0.068 ms

It's not multiple devices hogging the same address, wireshark showed the same mac address for all of those. The only difference I saw was different numbers in the ID field (increasing sequentially), and different header checksums due to the different IDs.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 18:20

Bank: Feb 20, 2004

Mister Speaker posted:

How much do dowloading and uploading really affect one another? I know this is a fairly open-ended question, but there are some particular considerations to my apartment's situation and I'm curious how they might be affecting things, if at all.
- Our internet plan is 75Mbps down / 10Mbps up
- Myself and one of my two roommates are both DJs, occasionally running livestreams via OBS->Restream- or directly to Twitch/MixCloud/YouTube/FB/etc.
- The other roommate watches Netflix and uses PSN but AFAIK doesn't do much uploading at all
- The primary router is in my bedroom and every machine in the room (except my phone) is hardwired to it
- I've run an ethernet cable into the hallway to a repeater that the roommates are connecting to wirelessly
- Previously I've run into virtually zero issues streaming via Restream or directly to Twitch (etc.), even while doing things like watching a hockey game simultaneously
- Most recently (just now) the roommate had his uploading cut out after about an hour, and while I was home I was only browsing the forums and watching some TV on my Plex server

What's the most likely bottleneck here? The repeater in the hall, the fact that he's connecting wirelessly to it, another roommate streaming media? I would think it's not my use of Plex since that's a local thing running off of my NVidia Shield with a hard drive instead of Netflix's servers for example, but I could be wrong. Would opting into a higher bandwidth ISP package help solve our issue? Thanks for your time.

One thing I didn't see anyone bring up, is how cruddy things can get during COVID. When people started working from home last year my internet was completely destroyed. During the day my upload was garbage (2mbps up), but in the middle of the night I'd get 10-15mbps. I couldn't join video calls and had to go audio only for months. Only after we all complained to Xfinity multiple times, did they split our node and things finally got better. 10Mbps is pretty bad though, I'd consider upgrading the plan, assuming your speed tests are usually close to that limit.

# ? Apr 3, 2021 18:25

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 07:21

Paul MaudDib: May 3, 2006; TEAM NVIDIA:
FORUM POLICE

what are the recommendations for a wifi 6 router that is openWRT or DD-WRT compatible?

# ? Apr 3, 2021 18:30

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Home Networking Megathread - Yes the OP is out of date

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