I’m building a house. Floor plan attached if it helps.
I’ve spent the last 3-4 days knee deep reading archived posts, watching youtube, and digesting as much information as possible. Over that time I’ve convinced myself I need a different set up roughly 12 times. Need some direction.
Budget: Not really a consideration. But less is obviously cool.
Background: I’m an enterprise software salesman buy trade, but not a network engineer. And even though I’m willing to roll my sleeves up and do a bit of learning, I really don’t want a massive – and especially not a continuous – project on my hands. I never plan to move again. The house won’t get great cell reception and I’ll be reliant on wifi calling in many cases.
Anticipated Gear List:
- 8-10 POE security cameras/NVR (hardwired)- whole home Sonos kit (16 speakers, 5 amps) (hardwired)- Multiple TVs (hardwired)- a host of IoT devices - hubs, doorbell, thermostat, other automation stuff (hub(s) hardwired)- 2 offices (computers and 1 printer hardwired)- Mesh/access points (hardwired) – this is the million dollar question
My (probably obvious) plan:
- pull all ethernet drops to a centralized location- ISP coax --> modem --> router --> POE switch- terminate all the ethernet cables to logical ports (save the POE ports for the cameras and anything else that needs power)
My Conflict(s):
I’m confident I could get it all installed properly. I’m not confident whatsoever that I could figure out how to deploy it once it was all powered up.
And, as a result, I don’t know what the hell to buy.
It seems Unifi is the default suggestion for most, and while I’m not sure is ISN’T what I’ll end up with, I do think it’s overkill for my specific needs. In our current home I have been running a google mesh and its…fine. It works, it’s not perfect, but it’s simple and essentially never has issues. Maybe I’m lucky or maybe I have very low expectations. I’m convinced I’ll have trouble troubleshooting or fixing things when they inevitably break with unifi - but I could just be psyching myself out.
I’d love to be able to set everything up once – and if I have to mess with it once or twice a year so be it – similar to my current set up.
Could I get away with this?
ISP coax --> ISP’s modem --> (need a router recommendation) --> random POE switch with enough ports to support all my gear? I might also add a UPS and surge protector.
Practically speaking, how would I initially configure/set up everything if I piece meal it together with various OEM gear? Let’s say ISP modem (should I get my own?), TPlink router, Netgear POE switch? Sorry if that’s a dumb question.
Similarly, how much more difficult/easy would a similar Unifi solution be?
Also, sorry for the rant. Struggling with info overload. I dumped so much time into this and have found myself with more questions than I started with.
Processing img 8gh9iutqie3c1…
I have a much smaller home than you (about 2000 sqft over two stories) and recently upgraded, went with ubiquiti. The thing that pushed me that way is that it’s pretty turn key. I can configure the hell out of it and do all the fancy stuff I want, but I can also set specific rules for different kinds of traffic, including blocking certain sites and countries. Some other routers you can do the same and that’s fine, but I wanted some customization, but also something simple that the wife can muck with if necessary. The other reason was that adding cameras in the future is as simple as adding a wire, it all runs through the same console. And, of course, that I own the footage and that it’s not on some other company’s servers, they won’t give it to cops without my permission… all that good stuff.
If you do decide to go that route, everyone pushes for the ceiling mounted APs, but don’t sleep on the U6 In-Wall units. They look nice, are built well, and have the bonus of a built in four port switch with the first port being PoE if you need it.
If you get bored, you can create a free account on their site and upload your floor plan to place APs and see what will work. It’s not too hard to just try out and see what sort of cost you’d be looking at.