Hi everyone,
I’m not sure if this is the right community, but the home networking magazines seem to be pretty dead. I’m a bit green with regard to networking, and am looking for help to see if the plan I’ve come up with will work.
The main image in the post is my current network setup. Basically the ISP modem/router is just a pass through and the 10 Gb port is connected to my Asus router, which has the DHCP server activated. All of my devices, home lab and smart home devices are connected to the Asus router via either Wifi or Ethernet. This works well, but I have many neighbours close by, and with my 30+ wifi devices, I think things aren’t working as well as they could be. I guess you could say one of my main motivations to start messing with this is to clean it up and move all possible devices to Ethernet.
The planned new setup is as follows, but I’m not sure if it’s even possible to function this way.
https://i.postimg.cc/7YftSFt6/IMG-9281.jpg
ISP modem/router > 2.5 Gb unmanaged switch > 2.5 Gb capable devices (NAS, hypervisor, PCs) will connect directly here, along with a 1 Gb managed switch to handle the DHCP > Asus router would connect to the managed switch to provide wifi, and remaining wired devices will all connect to the managed switch as well.
Any assistance would be appreciated! Thanks!
Edit: fixed second image url
from a diagramming pov, remember to document the link speed at each end as well as the ethernet cable type. if your cable modem supports 10GB I would really really look at 10GB network devices pretty closely, budget allowing. I would steer cleared of managed, it's just a PIA for your setup.
You might want to experiment with modem <-> switch <-> wifi vs (modem <-> wifi <-> switch). remember wifi is just ethernet. so the order may or may not matter as much (vendor gets a vote). there does not appear to be a reason to march ethernet cable traffic thru the wifi router, but maybe there is???
def agree an 8 port switch might be better for you, use a 5 to split a single cable at a single location (say, tv + game console + speaker combo)
Remember if you need a WiFi mesh (multi access-point) to connect your devices, if possible, link the mesh backplane together via ethernet cable so that you don't chew half the speed with wi-fi backplane chatter.
Oh that’s a good point about the diagram. I just threw these together real quick to help show what I mean. Yes the ISP hardware gives me a 10Gb RJ45. I’ve been researching 10Gb networking today and I think that’s the play. How come you think a managed switch would be a pain? Just from a setup perspective?
Modem <-> switch <-> wifi router is what I was thinking to do as in my second diagram, with the wifi router handling the DHCP, but now you have me thinking if that makes sense at all.
So the 5 port switch I have does exactly what you say, but the area is also in a spot where I have easy access and can add a couple more LAN drops in a matter of minutes.
Good tip, if I add an AP I will definitely wire them together. Thanks!