Comment on Network upgrades checkin
istdaslol@feddit.de 8 months ago
The main issue is your 30+ Wi-Fi devices. One AP can only handle this much total bandwidth. But first, it looks like you waste 2gb of your fibre speed? Get a compatible router.
For your setup it almost looks like you’re better off with a total 10gb internal speed. And get 2 more AP, one dedicated for your smart home, one for „less important devices“ and use the ASUS for the rest. - remember to use different channels on each AP.
So in short hook your ISP, HV,NAS,PC,[new router w/ AP?],[AP2],[AP3],[AP1?] on a new 10GB switch. Split your devices over the 3 AP, on different channels
proper access points support 30+ clients without any problem (I doubt that the advertised number of 300 clients holds up for unifi aps, but 30 is definitely not a problem), especially for low traffic clients like iot devices.
why op gives up 2gbps from his 3gbps line is a mystery to me though…
Technically they can handle 300 clients, if none of them are talking. With any wireless communication, only one device can talk at a time, maybe two if sending and receiving works on different frequency, which WIFI is not. So no matter what manufacturer says, on 2.4GHz, fewer clients can talk because bandwidth is lower and sending/receiving packets takes time. Whenever possible, stay away from WIFI. The more you use it, the worse it will get.
This is my understanding as well, and why I prefer to get away from wifi for any device that can be wired. My neighbourhood has houses so close I could shake hands with my neighbours through a window, and they all have lots of wifi devices, so interference is inevitable.
Purely technically speaking you can fit all of wireless bands into a single fiber optic and have room to spare. Then you can run fiber in parallel. Wireless will always be a convenience thing for small portable devices which can’t have connectors. Technology is advancing on this front, but it’s reducing range all the time to keep the whole thing usable.
The 3Gbps line is new to me, just upgraded from 1.5 as it was only $5 more per month, so I’m looking at how to actually utilize this now, not actively “giving up” 2Gbps 🙂. I also didn’t have any devices that could take advantage of it until some upgrades, so here we are.
Since none of my devices support 10Gb, that would get real expensive, real fast to add 5 10Gb NICs and a 10Gb switch/router. I was actually looking at the QNAP 2.5Gb switches. There are also some no-name brand unmanaged switches like Mokerlink and Nicgiga, that are well reviewed. Some have 8 x 2.5Gb and 1 or 2 x 10Gb SFP ports. I could have one of those plus a 16 port TP-Link managed switch for about $220 CAD all in, and the HV, NAS and PCs all support 2.5Gb already so no additional expense there.
Just a question of whether the way I laid it out will work or not.
You wouldn’t need that many 10Gb devices. Just one(s) that split up the traffic to other devices. Either the ISP router needs to split it up or the device that does the splitting should be 10Gb. If you go with 2.5Gb youll be losing 0.5Gb, assuming you actually get 3Gb from your ISP.
The intent isn’t to get 10Gb to every device, but to actually be able to use the full 3Gb you’re paying for. Right now it looks like you’re wasting 2Gb of your bandwidth because everything goes through your personal router which is limited to 1Gb.
Hmm that’s true. I’ve been researching used enterprise 10Gb SFP switches after one of the comments and I think that’s the way to go. And yes, in the tests I’ve ran on the ISP router, I get the full advertised speed. Can’t test above 1Gb on the other devices, but even through a VPN it averages 0.9Gb down/up.
I get it. I’ve actually only recently upgraded to the 3Gb plan because it was only another $5 per month over the 1.5Gb plan I had, so just trying to sort out next steps. Probably should have mentioned that in my post ☺️. I will definitely leave the PCs that are used for browsing/basic gaming/yt on 2.5, no need to change anything there as I doubt they will ever saturate 1Gb. After some of the posts here and more research, I definitely want the NAS and my main PC on 10Gb, and it should only cost a little more than planned. The HV uses a USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter, but I see there are some 5Gb ones available that will double the bandwidth.
Also 10G is really cheap if you go with used SFP+ gear. Like I’ve got a managed 48x 1G + 4x 10G Dell switch I got for AU$78 running my network. The NICs are about US$40 used, ConnectX3s seem the cheapest, I usually use Intel X520s which are a little more (watch out for clones though).
For the accessories: DACs are AU$20 new from fs.com, and because you’ll probably need ethernet for that router, a 10GBaseT transceiver is AU$90 new off eBay. Those you could probably buy cheaper used too.
Additionally you wouldn’t be adding 10G to all your devices, I’d just definitely do between your router so you can have 3 1G devices maxing out your 3Gb internet, and maybe add it to a server or two.
And if you do your own runs, in my experience, fibre is slightly cheaper for the longer runs than CAT6 itself too.
Thanks for throwing me down a rabbit hole lol, I learned so much today. I spent a good chunk of the day researching this stuff, and found a couple of options. Came across these HP NC522SFP 10Gb NICs, someone selling 2 for under $100. My understanding is I can pair these with the generic DACs at FS.com (thanks for sharing this btw) and any 10Gb SFP switch, and I will be able to get the 10Gb link? And right, a transceiver to get the link from the ISP to the router.
I still have to do the runs for the second floor and other half of the main, but the basement is done. The whole NAS, HV, router and all that live in the basement, and the main PC will be moving there so would be easy enough to do some fiber runs there, and it’s all short. I think the longest would be 15 feet. Thanks!
Came across these HP NC522SFP 10Gb NICs
Yeah I have one and they’re pretty good, and I haven’t had an issue using it with generic stuff.
a transceiver to get the link from the ISP to the router
Correct! Make sure to get an ethernet/10GBase-T one, because there are other transceivers.
would be easy enough to do some fiber runs there, and it’s all short.
I did forget to mention that you would need more transceivers to convert between the fibre and SFP+, and they are rated for up to different lengths but they should reduce their power for shorter distances. They also come in different speeds too, but unless you’re really strapped for cash, it’s not worth it to go below 10G.
I currently have a 300m ones doing a run of 30m, and I’m about to do a 10m run too. Also these are about AU$10-$20, I find FTLX8571D3BCLs the cheapest, but there are others. (I actually got mine for free off a guy on Reddit)
mhz@lemm.ee 8 months ago
OP needs a proper router that make use of their 3g fiber which will be mostly newer and powerfull and has better wifi. That should be their qst priority
rehydrate5503@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I could definitely use the ISP router as well, and just add a 2.5/10G switch, but it is very limiting and when I first tried it, it would reset my settings every time the IP changed (anywhere from 1 week to 1 day). I definitely want the NAS, HV and my main PC on a faster connection.
aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
You can always use your current router as an AP and use an x86 pc with 10gbe or 2.5gb network card(s) as your main router (or even a switch)