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Creating a Frankenstein Network. Any advice?

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Aty

Occasional Visitor
Hi,

So after a decided the rt-ax56u won’t be my all in one solution I’m looking at options.

I was thinking of the following At the moment I have a BT router.

So my thought process was as follows.

Leave the BT router in place and turn off the wireless.

Feed the cable into the Asus router because of the custom firmware and turn off the wireless (signal strength isn’t cutting it and because of problems with the Sonos).

Get a Zyxel Multi for running the 5ghz network (2.4 is flakey on it from experience) connect it to the Asus via Ethernet.

Get a ubiquit instant to run the 2.4ghz , but then again it could also run the 5ghz. Also connect it to the Asus via Ethernet.

What kind of issues do you think I’ll have do deal with?

I’ll need to set the dhcp server only on the Asus, possible Nat issues (the Zyxel and the Amplifi instant can run bridge mode so maybe not)

i can get a Huawei 612 3b and unlock it and replace the BT router if needed.

Any advice would be welcomed.
 
o_O

Why don't you try an RT-AX88U instead? :)
 
I'm happy with Omada WiFi setup. TL-SG108PE switch with 4 PoE ports, 2 EAP245V3 APs with PoE power and OC200 controller with PoE power. You can use your Asus as wired router only. Run your ISP router as modem only, if possible. Doesn't have to be Frankenstein setup. Build your WiFi around same vendor components. Preferably small business class. Upgrade the router later as per your needs. My choice is x86 pfSense router.
 
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I'm happy with Omada WiFi setup. TL-SG108PE switch with 4 PoE ports, 2 EAP245V3 APs with PoE power and OC200 controller with PoE power. You can use your Asus as wired router only. Run your ISP router as modem only, if possible. Doesn't have to be Frankenstein setup. Build your WiFi around same vendor components. Preferably small business class. Upgrade the router later as per your needs. My choice is x86 pfSense router.

Thanks for the info.

A quick tally of your equipment puts it at about £300 without the pfSense?

A few quick questions

How is the throughput at range, like 80ft line of sight and also generally through brick walls?

how good is the firewall and intrusion detection?

can you run ad blockers etc (I guess that would be on the pfSense)

can you run a Bon but put individual clients onto it easily ! (Again I guess that’s the pfSense).

and finally what are you running the pFsense on?
 
Came to about $1000 with Netgate SG-5100 router. This network works best with more overlapping APs. Same if you go with UniFi wireless. They are not designed for long range from a single AP. Your clients may have issues communicating with the AP at 80ft and through brick walls. It's not about what APs are capable of only. pfSense is an enterprise class firewall; better than home AIO routers. IDS and IPS is Snort or Suricata packages. IP and DNS blocker is pfBlockerNG package. All much more advanced compared to scripts for Merlin. pfSense is not plug and play. It's a router OS and you need to know networking to set it up. There are good guides and videos available. Do some research and decide if it's your thing.
 
Came to about $1000 with Netgate SG-5100 router. This network works best with more overlapping APs. Same if you go with UniFi wireless. They are not designed for long range from a single AP. Your clients may have issues communicating with the AP at 80ft and through brick walls. It's not about what APs are capable of only. pfSense is an enterprise class firewall; better than home AIO routers. IDS and IPS is Snort or Suricata packages. IP and DNS blocker is pfBlockerNG package. All much more advanced compared to scripts for Merlin. pfSense is not plug and play. It's a router OS and you need to know networking to set it up. There are good guides and videos available. Do some research and decide if it's your thing.

Thanks for replying.

Im thinking of possibly having some security cameras fitted and they probably will require POE so I guess I might as well start looking how best to set this all up.

Also with a possible extension in the next year or so I guess that will tie in nicely with running cables as well.

I guess I’ll struggle by with what I have for now and plan it out.

Thanks again to all. If anyone wants to chime in please do so.
 
Buy a good PoE switch with the ports you need. If you plan VLANs, look for a smart switch with PoE. They are more expensive, but this will be the center hub for your network. You can add PoE APs and PoE cameras as needed. Try one AP of the type you like, see how it works and what area it covers in your place. Add more overlapping at about -60dBm to cover the entire place. OC200 controller in Omada controls the roaming, provides useful network information and central WiFi management, for example. I would use the ISP router temporary. Once the entire network is up and running, then I'll look for better router options.
 
Buy a good PoE switch with the ports you need. If you plan VLANs, look for a smart switch with PoE. They are more expensive, but this will be the center hub for your network. You can add PoE APs and PoE cameras as needed. Try one AP of the type you like, see how it works and what area it covers in your place. Add more overlapping at about -60dBm to cover the entire place. OC200 controller in Omada controls the roaming, provides useful network information and central WiFi management, for example. I would use the ISP router temporary. Once the entire network is up and running, then I'll look for better router options.
Hi,
Im going to look at a 16 port switch with 8 Poe ports that give me 4 cameras and 4 access points which should be enough.

As you suggested I’m looking at access points with Poe.
Just debating if I really need ac or dual band ones. My internet is only 76Meg and the cheap tplink N ones do 300mbps on 2.4ghz (so more than enough for the internet). I’m not moving larger files around the network so is there any point ?
 
I’m not moving larger files around the network so is there any point ?

It's up to you to decide based on what you need and what your WiFi environment is. If you live in the middle of the forest and there is no other WiFi networks around - sure, do 2.4GHz with 40MHz channel. If you live in the city and you see 20+ 2.4GHz networks around - move to 5GHz entirely. I own 3 properties and they all have different setups. I use 2.4GHz only APs in my cottage, for example.
 
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