New House Setup Advice

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Senecio

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#215515 30-Jun-2017 15:34

Some advice please.

Just moved into my new house. I'd like to install a reliable network (wired and wireless) but I'm no expert in this area. Here are some particulars that may help:

4-bed house, split level ~150m2
Only have VDSL incoming as fibre is not available. Getting ~65Mb down and 30Mb up so not too bad.
I have the ISP supplied HG659 modem/router and I also have an old 3rd gen Time Capsule that I used in my last set-up (cable ISP, Ireland)
I would like to still use Time Machine for backup if not for main routing duties. We have 3 Mac's in the house
Currently the HG659 is in the living room (one corner of the house) connected via Ethernet to the TV and NVidia Shield for streaming
The other end of the house (3 of the 4 bedrooms) have poor Wi-Fi in this configuration.
I don't need advanced routing capabilities. Basic functionality will do me fine.

What I'm thinking at the moment is:

Stick with the HG659 for modem/routing duties
Add a switch and run Ethernet to all the locations that I want wired connection
Just run the Time Capsule off the switch, basically use it like a NAS for backup.
All of the above I'd like to move to a cabinet in the garage so I could add two wireless AP's off the switch. One quality AP might be enough if I could position it more centrally in the house

Does the above make sense?

timmmay

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#1809680 30-Jun-2017 16:06

Regarding backups, you should assume your house will burn down at the worst possible time. Your backups should plan to survive that. Make sure you have a proper offsite, incremental backup.

Your network plan seems fine. If you can't get ethernet in you can try power over ethernet. It's not difficult to put extra wireless access points onto a wired network.

Senecio

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#1809682 30-Jun-2017 16:24

Cheers,

Shouldn't be an issue to run Ethernet to the locations I want to. It's a weatherboard house on posts so I can access most external and internal walls from underneath.

Edit: Thanks, my most important data is also backed up to cloud storage and occasionally to an ext. HDD that I bring into the office.

ArdRigh

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#1810857 3-Jul-2017 12:51

I would say not to worry about the internet connection you have now. You can keep the existing router and then upgrade as you feel the need when you get UFB.

The internal wiring you should aim to do well once. If you are fortunate enough to be able to install new cables to each room I would recommend going for cat6.

Cat5E works fine, but I would definitely invest in the cat6 if I was doing the wiring in my house over again.

Then consider getting a PoE switch with a couple of these: https://dl.ubnt.com/guides/UniFi/UniFi_UAP-AC-IW_QSG.pdf

That should give enough wireless coverage for the house. They also look fairly tidy on the wall.

You can add extra wall jacks if you want more, though the IW have ports on the bottom.

raytaylor

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#1817212 9-Jul-2017 13:07

Have a look at the TCF guides for structured cabling

http://www.tcf.org.nz/industry/standards-compliance/infrastructure-connections/premises-wiring/

Getting electricians to stop daisy chaining telephone outlets and start reading this guide is a daily struggle.

Ray Taylor

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