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Network equipment upgrades

Prickly007

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Shaw installed a Bluecurve gateway; I was so tired--we moved in the day before--I never asked any questions, nor noticed that it only had two Ethernet ports until the following day. WTF? It's 2019! So I am going to need some new equipment, but what?

I've been researching the issue for the last few days, but, as anyone who read my thread on Cat5e wiring thingies already knows, I know very little about networking. And, in keeping with The Twelve Networking Truths, it is [still] more complicated than I think. :D That said, I've come up with a couple of cunning plans... I mean, upgrade paths:

1) Unmanaged switch(s) with basic QoS, call it a day.
2) Web-managed switch(s), Unifi?
3) Full on Router, Switch & AP, Shaw Bluecurve is placed in bridge mode.

Option 2, of course, leaves the door open for option three, at a later date/if needed.


Answers to questions asked in old threads:

Budget is flexible. Overarching concern is to buy once, cry once (for something appropriate to our needs).

Shaw Internet 300, anything faster, in our case, is just epeen.

Two person household, main floor is ~1550 and upstairs is ~550 sqft. Five rooms are hard-wired for internet. Wifi is primarily needed on the main floor, at the rear of the house. Upper floor, which is primarily over the garage, will be all wired save for a tablet that I use when I get stuck in a video game and don't want to alt-tab out. Doubtful a second AP would be needed, worth the money.

New houses are still being built, so wifi congestion will likely get much, much worse.

List of devices

Wireless:
5 Ghz: tablet. Cell phone will recieve updates via wifi, otherwise likely won't be used much.
2.4 Ghz: seldom used tablet (see above)

Hard-wired:
TV w. Roku
TV w. Xbox & Steam Link
Gaming desktop

Future hardware:
Pi-hole???
Some sort of streaming music player, perhaps The Three by Klipsch/Sonos Connect/????.
A dedicated Plex/torrent server- Shaw's prices finally allowed me to win the argument, at least for now, in favour of cutting the cord. Hurrah! Telus isn't available as of yet.

No plans for any surveillance cameras.

I still need to do more planing/research regarding specific equipment, but wanted to see if others agree with the solution I have in mind. :sneaky:
 

JD

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If you want something that more or less "just works", maybe consider the Ubiquiti AmpliFi Instant line? You can get just the router or the router + mesh AP if you want to have some extra coverage on your 2nd floor.

Then maybe grab a US-8 switch if you want to leave the door open to manage it down the road, but a "dumb" switch would suffice for your current use cases, plus they are only like $20-30 so it can be tossed if you do eventually go the path of a managed network.

If you're happy with the Shaw modem though, other than the lack of ports, I'd say just get a cheap switch.
 

3.0charlie

3.0 "I kill SR2's" Charlie
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Prickly007

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If you're happy with the Shaw modem though,

Not really, I've received more complaints over wifi issues (slowness, drop outs, etc) ) since we moved; it also doesn't allow evidently allow for custom DNS settings. I installed Wifiman tonight, and there were way more signals than at our old place; not a surprise given how small lots are now. 5 GHz was less crowded.

I tweaked the Shaw modem as much as I could tonight....



I've come across said option many times... :unsure:
 

3.0charlie

3.0 "I kill SR2's" Charlie
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Router/switch/wifi/controler, all in one. Add a UAP nano on the second floor.
 

JD

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The only thing I'd say to be cautious of is the UDM is still a brand new product so don't expect it to be entirely straight forward or rock solid quite yet. Ubiquiti is starting to have a reputation of releasing things a bit too early.

It generally pans out for the best though.
 

SugarJ

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I just pulled a 8-port TP-Link SG1008D unmanaged switch from my basement, replaced with a 16 port. You're welcome to it if you're near Langley.
 

Prickly007

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You're welcome to it if you're near Langley.

I appreciate the offer, but wouldn't really save anything when you factor in time and gas. Plus, option 1 is, effectively, no longer under consideration. Shaw's modem/router is simply too gimped even for me. :eek: Currently researching Ubiquiti, Pfsense, Pi-Hole, etc.

I turned off the 2.4 Ghz wifi last night, haven't heard any complaints today about drop outs, etc. But that isn't a long term solution (as my tablet becomes a paperweight).
 

Prickly007

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After researching things most of the day, Ubiquiti hardware, being closer to plug and play, seems the more senisble solution (for me) than Pfsense. Besides I don't have enough old hardware laying around to build a torrent/Plex server and a Pfsense box. I now know that the two shouldn't be combined. :oops:

The Dream Machine would seem to be priced very aggressively, but I thought all-in-one machines were bad mkay. The latter part of that sentence is half serious, half joking. More importantly, can anyone translate "High‐Performance Dual Band 802.11ac 4x4 Wave 2 AP" into English? Put another way, would putting a UDM in a closet under the stairs, which is the location of internet panel, seriously degrade wifi performance?
 

JD

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Any AP in a closet under stairs doesn't really sound ideal. Generally I'd suggest putting it at the highest possible point in your house to get the best coverage with the antennas facing down. For the UDM (and any all-in-one type), probably on your main floor in the middle of the house would be the best spot for it, perhaps on a table/bookshelf/etc.

I think a lot of people's WiFi issues are caused simply by placement alone.
 

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