Home Network Overhaul

Right, long day, but upgrade done.
Overall, very happy with results so far.

Some (/lots of) pics:
Adopting the switch and APs last night in preparation:

Mounting the In-Wall AP in my office (will double as a switch for my 2 computers there)
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Starting installing the switch (it’s on top of a bookshelf in our guest room, no rack/cupboards/etc available unfortunately

Dream Machine installed in the lounge (also wall-mounted the TV while I was at it :see_no_evil:)

APs in:
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(this one needs some conduit, couldn’t get to the back of it, despite 3 hours of trying…)


Switch cables (mostly) neatened up, conduit covers a multitude of sins…

Pretty dashboards:

Network layout view:

And, of course, the pretty switch touch-screen :slight_smile:
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Install went fairly well, apart from the 3 fruitless hours spent fighting with fish-tape to try get a cable to the back of one AP.
Crimped a lot of cables, sore fingers now.

Oh, also, pleasantly surprised by the low power draw.
That 1st switch screen display is total PoE usage, with 6 Reolink RLC410s, 4 U6-Lite APs, and 1 In-wall AP (47.5W). Going by the datasheet of each of those (which obviously give generous maximums), they should have been drawing about about 115W, which wouldn’t have worked with my 95W switch. Will see how it goes, but I think I’ll easily be able to add a few more cameras without issue.

Unifi interface is nice, though given that they’re currently transitioning between 2 styles, it can feel a bit disjointed at times (some screens are “new” and some are “classic”).
Setting up the necessary port forwards and static IPs was super quick, so there was minimal disruption to the network.

In terms of wifi setup, I went with a single SSID, shared by 2.4 & 5GHz, with all APs set to prefer 5GHz for applicable clients. I also enabled fast roaming, to ensure devices transition quickly as you move through the house (eg walking inside from the office when on a call).

Family are pleased too, so all in all I’m going to call this a win. Time for a drink :slight_smile:

Post script, the dogshow of equipment this install replaced:

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