The Home Networking Megathread - Yes the OP is out of date

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Photex: Apr 6, 2009

So my wife and I are in the process of buying our first house :woop:

during the inspection I asked the home inspector to take a peak at all the coax in the house to see if it was stapled to the studs and unfortunately all of it is so I got to thinking of trying to eliminate all my rental fees (minus a cablecard rental) from Verizon and this is what I came up with.

The house is a two story 1300 Squarefoot Townhouse with the living room and kitchen on the 1st floor. The office where the NAS, Router and everything else will live is on the 2nd floor, is there anything glaringly wrong besides "Just run Cat6"? I decided against doing Ethernet over MoCA, the adapters are really expensive points of failure and it would only solve half the problem of WiFi coverage.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2017 19:54

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 11:45

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Dogen posted:

Wifi repeaters are terrible and annoying. I would definitely consider using moca (or powerline) instead and placing access points as needed.

even the high end amplifi's and eero systems?

# ¿ Mar 19, 2017 21:26

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Dogen posted:

Eero works but it's more expensive and still potentially prone to interference. Don't know what amplifi is.

AmpliFi is Ubiquiti's home mesh system https://amplifi.com/

# ¿ Mar 19, 2017 23:43

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Antillie posted:

Wifi mesh systems basically use wifi connections between the APs to replace traditional cat5e cables. With the 5ghz band there is generally enough non overlapping channel space to do this without causing too much interference. However you are still subject to the relatively short range of the 5ghz band and possible interference from other wifi networks and whatever else happens to be using the spectrum. This usually isn't a huge deal as there are plenty of 5ghz channels and other people's 5ghz wifi will generally have a hard time reaching your area. But at the end of the day its still wifi and still subject to random interference, walls, and other odd crap.

So mesh systems are nice but they still aren't going to beat a wired connection for speed and reliability. The only real issue with a mesh is price. (A base AmpliFi system with the router is $500. Additional mesh points are $130 each. Eero starts at $400 for a three AP mesh.) For less than the price of a mesh (3 or more APs really, it isn't really a mesh without at least two paths through) you can probably get an equally good or better setup by running some wires or getting some MoCA/powerline adapters and a couple of APs.

A mesh with Eero or AmpliFi may be less work though, and there is something to be said for that as long as you don't mind the price.

So the AmpliFi system is $350 for 3 AP Mesh, running wires really isn't an easy option as mentioned in the previous post there is no easy way to get up to the 2nd floor as I can't use the existing Coax as pulls (it's stapled). I also looked into MoCA Adapters and they are still $175 a pair and become useless if I do decide to pay a low voltage electrician to do a couple of drop from the ONT to the office and living room.

Deep down I would love to do a EdgeRouter and a couple of AC Pros maybe I should just do a pause and get some quotes from Low Voltage people.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2017 19:48

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

ExcessBLarg! posted:

1300 sq ft isn't very big. A centrally located access point will cover everything. It might play less well with the HDHR multicast streams though.

Finished basement? If not, you can easily run Ethernet throughout the first floor. Ethernet to the second floor may be a bit more challening, but there's various ways to do it. Might be worth hiring an electrician to do the fishing for you if you're going to stay long-term.

WiFi mesh is for sprawling ranch-on-slab construction where you really have no other options.

I'm going to look around to see how much 2 runs from the ONT to the 2nd floor office would be and a single run from 2nd floor to say the center of the house for a UniFi AP, my gauge for cost is a little bit skewed because I work in higher education and we do hundreds of drops at a time. I am hoping it's not like $150 a run :|

# ¿ Mar 20, 2017 20:05

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Rakthar posted:

Powerline is $50-80 for a decent pair and will get you 100-200 mb throughput real world with newer adapters, I think you'd be best off trying a pair of those from a retailer that accepts returns and if they don't work that seems like a good excuse to blow the $400.

I'm curious do you know if I would I benefit from say, switching my ONT over from MoCA to Ethernet and plugging a powerline into the courtesy outlet near the distro panel?

# ¿ Mar 20, 2017 20:35

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Rakthar posted:

Powerline is like pseudo wiring Cat5 through your house, using the same concept as wifi, but it's going through copper wires instead of air and thus far less prone to interference / generally gives you stable latency and minimal drops. Works great for things that need like <200 mb of a 1gb link, works poorly if you are trying to do 500-700mb/s transfers to a file server, you want ethernet for that.

That bottom one is the big question, I ordered an HDHomeRun and i'll have to check to see how much throughput it requires for HD streaming, I know the AmpliFi was probably overkill for 1300 sqft but I wanted to be able to use the HDHomeRun in all 3 rooms without having to do moca adapters or powerlines in each room (Possibly 4, we actually have a mount in the kitchen with Coax? I didn't put it there but that's how much coax is in this house all stapled to studs :argh:

)

# ¿ Mar 20, 2017 20:59

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Thanks for all the suggestions, i'm weighing everything out including from Powerline adapters to the original plan but I also started reaching out to some low voltage electricians to see how much it would cost to do four total runs and just bite the bullet and chalk it up as home improvement:

2 Drops from Verizon ONT in basement to 2nd Floor Office (Previous Coax Runs there, so there is a path)
1 Drop from Basement to 1st Floor Living Room
1 Drop from Basement to 1st Floor Ceiling for Wireless Access point.

from there i'll do a Ubiquiti ERPOE-5 in the basement to feed everything, an AC-Lite for a WAP and a switch upstairs in the office just to expand, the 2nd run is really just a spare if the cost is lower than i'm expecting i'll run spares to the other two spots as well.

I'll let you all know what I end up :woop:

# ¿ Mar 21, 2017 03:10

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Photex posted:

So my wife and I are in the process of buying our first house during the inspection I asked the home inspector to take a peak at all the coax in the house to see if it was stapled to the studs and unfortunately all of it is so I got to thinking of trying to eliminate all my rental fees (minus a cablecard rental) from Verizon and this is what I came up with.

The house is a two story 1300 Squarefoot Townhouse with the living room and kitchen on the 1st floor. The office where the NAS, Router and everything else will live is on the 2nd floor, is there anything glaringly wrong besides "Just run Cat6"? I decided against doing Ethernet over MoCA, the adapters are really expensive points of failure and it would only solve half the problem of WiFi coverage.

Just to kind of cap this off, I stopped being a cheap mother fucker and decided to pay someone to run Cat6 next week before we move in. I also purchased a Edgerouter X, 8-port Unifi Switch, and a Uni-AP AC Lite.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2017 17:07

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

So i'll be moving into my new place tomorrow and was planning on using my NAS with the UniFi controller. Unfortunately I won't be able to get that setup until Sunday.

I am transferring my service from my current place (FIOs) to my new place and plan on using all brand new UniFi gear. I can setup the router locally for just basic function but I was curious if anyone has ever provisioned the WAPs with just the android app?

# ¿ Apr 13, 2017 23:02

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

I hit 700/700 on my edgerouter, check the cable by any chance?

# ¿ May 1, 2017 23:55

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

so it looks like power is a little poopy in my new place (or just bad luck with storms :shrug:

) I have an EdgeRouter SFP in the basement and both times the power dropped it nuked my configuration which was one of the wizard templates, pretty annoying to need to go down into the basement with a laptop and setup from scratch both times am I just missing a save configuration button somewhere?

# ¿ May 3, 2017 11:59

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Rexxed posted:

I don't know about a button in the UI but there's a save commend for the command line. I don't have an edgerouter to check with but here's the page on working with configs:
https://help.ubnt.com/hc/en-us/articles/204960084-EdgeRouter-Manage-the-configuration-file

i'll give that a shot, I haven't had a chance to dive into the CLI so maybe that's what I was missing.

# ¿ May 3, 2017 12:14

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Thanks for all the heads up I have my NAS and stuff upstairs on a battery but the router is down in the basement so I guess I should get that on a battery.

# ¿ May 3, 2017 16:28

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

psydude posted:

This thread seems better than most for answering this specific question:

I've had only FiOS quantum internet for the past two years (gently caress paying for cable/TV). Currently, I'm using a PA-VM-100 running on my lab box as my external router/firewall, so I'm using the ethernet handoff from the ONT as opposed to the coax connection they typically use for people running 150mbps and less. I had a two year agreement with them (no contract) which is expiring next month, so I called them up and for reasons that remain a mystery to science, it was cheaper for me to go with the TV, phone, and internet option with my same class of service (symmetric 300 mbps) than it was to continue with just internet, even with a contract.

My house doesn't have a coax network, and I really don't feel like installing one. I do, however, have Cat 6 run throughout the entire house and a patch panel right near the ONT, where there is an unused coax connection for the TV. Can I just drop a coax to ethernet media converter on both ends of one of my ethernet runs to the wall plate near my TV? I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work, but I wanted to hear from someone who actually knows before I go dropping the money.

It sounds like you're a prime candidate for a cablecard + HDHomeRun (assuming you have things like a FireTV, AppleTv etc etc) https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-prime/ i'm using one of these in my rack + on my emby server to provide live television throughout the house and remotely.

# ¿ May 6, 2017 04:29

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

ultrabay2000 posted:

Looking for something like this: https://www.amazon.com/MT-VIKI-Network-Splitter-Selector-MT-RJ45-2M/dp/B00DRG1SLO

Unfortunately, it doesn't support gigabit. Anyone know of some alternatives or what you call this thing? It's obviously not an ethernet "switch" unfortunately.

"With all the news about hackers, I got this to plug in between my router and desktop computer. When I don't need the Internet or am going to leave the computer running but not really use it for awhile, I just push the button to disconnect from the Internet. When I want to be reconnected, I push the other button and I am almost instantly back online. "

:tinfoil:

# ¿ May 7, 2017 19:45

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

BENGHAZI 2 posted:

I guess this sort of goes here, I have Verizon FiOS and I need a router that isn't their piece of poo poo. What should I buy? My network demands aren't too intensive, just my desktop, a Roku, and one or two phones at any one time. Can I just get away with like a Netgear Archer whatever or am I going to run into serious issues doing that

you can use whatever you want, but if you're using FIOS TV be aware it's a little more difficult than just replacing the router.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2017 21:12

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

I think what you really need is a USG-Pro-4 and a US-24 from Ubiquiti, that'll let you QoS and manage VLANs

# ¿ Jun 22, 2017 21:21

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

SamDabbers posted:

The USG and US are similar/same hardware as the ERL and ES. The main difference is the management interface. The USG still won't be able to QoS effectively at over a couple hundred Mbps tops, just like the ERL.

the USG-4 is not the same as an ERL by far.

It handles over double the amount of bandwidth, has double the ram, double the processor speed.

# ¿ Jun 22, 2017 21:45

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

also what about infrastructure?

# ¿ Jun 22, 2017 22:22

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Actuarial Fables posted:

Setting up the Edgerouter is pretty easy. There's a guide to get you going here - it takes you through connecting to the device and running a wizard to get your network set up. You can get it all set up before swapping out your old router, so you can stay connected to the internet if you need help.

The access point is also pretty easy as well, the only hitch is that it's not managed by the router - you have to use the Unifi Controller software on a different device to get it set up. The controller sets the wireless name and network that the access point will use, and allows you to set the IP address of the AP once it's connected to the controller. You don't need to have the controller running for the AP to work once it's all set up.

You can even just do this with the Android or iPhone app now too, works pretty well if you're just doing a quick install.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2017 18:44

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

are you sure it's a wireless issue and not the ATV crumbling at the buffer size?

# ¿ Jul 17, 2017 12:03

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Megasabin posted:

I just moved to a 3F home that has FIOS. I plan to purchase my own router. The OP talks highly about the 3 Ubiquiti models, but honestly I'm sort of turned off by the way the OP describes them as low user friendliness, and the lack of wifi. Are their other suggestions for large house/FIOS that don't have those issues? Price doesn't matter.

You could go AmpliFi which is Ubiquiti's consumer mesh system if you don't want/need hardwire on every floor

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 19:31

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Megasabin posted:

Thanks. Got it up and running. Completed the basic wizard, and we are online. We now have encountered our second issue.

There is a huge speed disparity between the two computers hooked up to the router. The FIOS ethernet cable is in Port 0. The first computer is plugged into Port 2, and is getting 150mbps on speed tests. The second computer is plugged into port 3, and is getting 0.23 mbps on speed tests. Both computers are using CAT6 ethernet cords. On the old linksys router, both computers were getting the same speeds as recent as earlier today.

have you tried swapping ports and seeing if the speed issues follow?

# ¿ Sep 21, 2017 20:19

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

you need to enable hardware offloading if you have a gigabit line

# ¿ Sep 21, 2017 21:37

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

SpaceCadetBob posted:

My small business with 6ish computers and a file server is currently setup with an Edgerouter X. I brought in a real IT guy since up till now I've been hacking it amateur style, and I wanted some advice about getting VPN setup. He told me I should trade out the Edgerouter X for a Unifi Security Gateway. Everything I've learned about small setup networking was from this thread, so I figured I'd ask here if there are any real advantages with the USG over the X or is this guy just trying to spend my money?

It's not a bad step to make, do you have Ubi WAPs and stuff as well? USG + Controller makes managing and expanding pretty effortless.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2017 14:03

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

SpaceCadetBob posted:

I am using a UAP Lite, and the guy mentioned that I might want the Unifi managed switches so I can run a VOIP system over the same cables easier on VLAN. I'm not opposed to upgrades, I just feel like I know just enough about networking to wrongly second guess everything!

I don't think you can VLAN tag across the different model lines (Unifi vs Edge) so yeah i don't think he's leading you down the wrong way, Unifi is just dead simple to manage.

edit: you won't need a new WAP, the PoE switch will send the correct amount of voltage.

Photex fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Sep 28, 2017

# ¿ Sep 28, 2017 14:17

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

VBAN might work, https://www.vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/vban.htm

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 01:56

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

GnarlyCharlie4u posted:

Thank you for all your help, thread!

I got my Comcast gigabit to play nice with my Arris SB8200 on the 2nd LAN port. The first LAN port somehow got buggered and no matter what I do, I can't get comcast to work on it. Oh well, whatever.
I got my Ubiquiti gear all set up and configured too! USG-PRO-4, US-16-150W , US-24-250W, Unifi Cloud Key, and a UAP-AC-Pro.
Everything seems to be chugging along nicely so far. The speedtest feature on the controller is bullshit because it just pings some unknown server in CA, so that doesn't really tell me anything other than "I can ping CA in 50ms"

I'm unreasonably excited about this and I can't wait to start dicking around with Vlans and PoE phones and cameras.
The only drawback I've experienced so far is that the US-16-150W is way louder than I was expecting it to be. It's just as loud as the 24 port switch. I was going to mount it on the wall in my laundry room upstairs to network the top level of the house and connect it to the 24 port in the basement via fiber, but now I'm a bit concerned that it's gonna be loud as gently caress and piss off the wife.

So, do you guys have any suggestions for sound dampening enclosures? Either off the shelf or DIY is fine. It would need to be at least 3u so I can put my patch panel in there.

Not networking specific but this thread might get some lolz out of it anyway:

I snatched up a full height rack off craigslist for $150. Managed to get it in the basement all by myself and it barely clears the ceiling. So far I think I've got 3 u claimed. It'll be 3 times that much once I get my patch panels and combs in. As for the other 43u... well we'll see.

Can always buy rack drawers to keep stuff organized

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 18:24

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

redeyes posted:

Your average Netgear AC router will get 30-50% better bandwidth (file transfers) than those AC Pros because they are made for hotels and that sort. Have at it I guess.

First time I've heard this, source?

# ¿ Nov 1, 2017 16:03

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

i'm still confused at what the problem is

edit: oh I get it, unable to think technically and solve problems. got it.

Photex fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Nov 14, 2017

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 15:41

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Anyone try out Ubiquiti's new software UNMS? Looks like it's a wrapper for their Edge and Unifi lines, probably will be replacing the unifi controller at some point on the roadmap.

https://unms.com/

# ¿ Nov 24, 2017 00:40

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

GnarlyCharlie4u posted:

I plugged my Mikrotik directly into my ONT at 3 different service locations and it worked fine. I'd imagine it should on the Edgerouter too.
You're gonna have to call Verizon and have them switch service over to the Ethernet port though.
And you won't get TV.

Edit: I remember reading this article about it 4 years ago:
https://www.groundedreason.com/use-router-fios-internet/

We used the provided VZ router as a moca adapter for one location.

You'll get TV you just don't get the TV Guide and other data related info, but really you should just buy an HDHomeRun and rent a cablecard instead

# ¿ Jan 12, 2018 02:17

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Thanks Ants posted:

Is it a lump of wood or an engineered beam? Photos would be good but I don’t think drilling something that holds a wall up is a good idea.

Just cut the top off the engineering beams

# ¿ Jan 30, 2018 19:21

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

redeyes posted:

I've got a Edgerouter X and a Unifi and the loving edgerouter has to be reset about every 2 weeks. I get no dhcp response and traffic stops working.

gently caress

RMA it, that makes no sense.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2018 04:31

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

politicorific posted:

I could use a sanity check for my plans.

I'm home for a family event and have been given carte blanche to rebuild the home network so that there is more coverage and things work better. The property is a 2400 square foot, 2 story home+ basement. Everything is made out of wood and dry wall. There are a lot of doors and enclosed spaces. 20 years ago I pulled 3 strands of category 5 cable from the basement to rooms on the second floor. Internet is provided by Frontier (was Verizon), at approximately 30/30 through an Actiontec MI424 Rev. E (6 or 7 year old router) connected via coax/moca. The router uptime is approximately 280 days. I attempted to get a cheap TP-Link E200 wireless extender working (no AP mode), but it just killed all the Wi-Fi. I've also been given the green light to cancel the cable tv and return the set top boxes. There will be approximately 5 mobile phones, 3 tables, 3 computers, 4 gaming systems, various video streaming boxes, and a Linksys VOIP box.

I'm leaning toward getting Ubiquiti equipment, but am concerned how maintainable everything will be once I leave. I use an EdgeRouter Lite, which I set up once and have never had to touch since, but haven't used ubiquiti wireless products.

I'm planning on buying 3-4 UAP-AC-LITE access points, and letting family expand the system if necessary.

I have some questions:

Do I need to run Unifi 24x7? Does 802.11vkr/hotspot transitioning work fine without it?

Will the Cloudkey allow me to remotely manage the network?

Should I get an EdgeRouterX + Cloud Key or a Unifi Security Gateway?

Should I re-run new CAT5e/CAT6 cable?

Should I consider getting a POE switch?

1. You don't have to run it 24x7 but if you're getting a cloud key...
2. Yes so you'll want to run it 24x7
3. If I was planning to remotely manage it then USG + Cloud key (you still need one)
4. Since you already have the runs it would be inexpensive and easy to pull some Cat6
5. If you're doing 4 AC Lites then probably, it'll be messy with 4 POE Injectors.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2018 13:07

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

PitViper posted:

If you tried to use the phone app to set up the AP first, the Unifi controller won't be able to adopt the AP without a factory reset. I made that mistake with mine the first time trying setup. After I reset the AP and used the controller to adopt it, everything went smoothly.

Use the Cloud Key controller, it's worth it!

Can confirm did this by accident as well

# ¿ Feb 24, 2018 01:24

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

200mbps split between 9 tenants seems awful...

# ¿ May 2, 2018 15:51

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

EugeneJ posted:

A relative cut the cord recently but is keeping Charter Spectrum's internet ($70/month for 100Mbps is apparently the cheapest option they have without bundling)

Is switching to FIOS worth it? They're offering 100Mbps for $39.99/month and you can buy the modem outright for $149 to avoid a $10/month rental fee

Just wondering if there's outage problems with FIOS since I've never used it

You don't even need to buy the router from them just ask them to activate the Ethernet port on the ont and then use whatever router you want.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2018 16:22

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 11:45

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

anyone see/hear any word why the Ubiquiti USG-4 Pro's have basically been out of stock since May? I've been overhauling my networking rack and at this point I may have to buy a used one to complete my project.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2018 21:22

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

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