The Unifi access points are awesome and can be powered by PoE. I would pick a few good locations, one centerally in the house and one on each end of your house to mount ceiling access points. I would go Unifi for the router (aka the gateway), switch and access points. You could use Unifi also for the cameras, but just know that their NVR does not work with non-Unifi cameras which was a deal breaker for me. I got Vivotek cameras and NVR instead.
I would get the following:
Unifi USG Lite
Unifi 24 port PoE switch
Unifi access points x3
Unifi cloud key (stores the configuration)
Many NVRs have PoE ports built in so you don’t need to connect the cameras to the main switch
Tips:
Run a CAT6 line to the doorbell for a PoE doorbell camera
Run 2x CAT6 to the outside near utilities. I switched from coax to fiber and was able to install the ONT (optical network transceiver) outside thanks to these two wires. One is for powering the ONT and the other is for data.
Ceiling mount access points look best in my opinion
Run a spare CAT6 line to the attic for future use such as additional cameras or access points
If you have a basement run a length of wide conduit between the basement and attic for future wire pulls
Adding a monitor to your NVR in the server rack is nice to see the cameras
If you are wiring speakers request 12awg stranded copper speaker wire
As for bringing your own modem many ISPs won’t let you anymore. Most likely you will have to use their modem/router and then connect your router to theirs. The Unifi setup is straightforward enough if you watch some videos, no need to get into VLANs or multiple subnets or anything complex.
The Unifi access points are awesome and can be powered by PoE. I would pick a few good locations, one centerally in the house and one on each end of your house to mount ceiling access points. I would go Unifi for the router (aka the gateway), switch and access points. You could use Unifi also for the cameras, but just know that their NVR does not work with non-Unifi cameras which was a deal breaker for me. I got Vivotek cameras and NVR instead.
I would get the following:
Tips:
As for bringing your own modem many ISPs won’t let you anymore. Most likely you will have to use their modem/router and then connect your router to theirs. The Unifi setup is straightforward enough if you watch some videos, no need to get into VLANs or multiple subnets or anything complex.