Need some help...

Awesome. Thank you very much for all your help. Looking forward to getting this all setup! I will order that piece! lol
 
OH I almost forgot.. do cables truly make any difference? I think I can get Cat6 from work ( I work in a data center )... not on the network side obviously lol.
 
OH I almost forgot.. do cables truly make any difference? I think I can get Cat6 from work ( I work in a data center )... not on the network side obviously lol.

Not really; CAT6a is what you'd want if you were pushing 10Gbase-T, but the switches for that are more than you're paying for your entire current install :).

[they might come down, and adapters are at <$100 for discrete or adding to the board, but we're just not there yet in terms of need or pricing]
 
OK, If Cat5e is good enough I think I have some of that at home already..
 
Alright.. sold some old performance parts i had to cover the rest.. here is my parts list.. I think I am all set other than adding a plug nad getting network into one of my closets... good thing I used to be an electrician and this will be easy.. I am really excited to get this going! Everything is ordered and on its way!



Motorola Modem already installed (Xfinity)

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X, ER-X-SFP
Ubiquiti Networks Edgeswitch 24 port switch (ES-24-LITE)
Ubiquiti Unifi Cloud Key (went ahead and got this anyways to keep manager off PC that I change and reload often)
Ubiquiti UAP-AC-HD Unifi Access Point (quantity 2) One center of house and one under covered Patio area outside near cameras
CableRack 10ft USB to RJ45 Rollover Console Cable for Cisco


 
Found out today after getting in my first HD.. you can run two network ports to it so it can use both to increase bandwidth.... at least that is what the youtube video said!


Is this correct? If so I will run two drops to each AP.. I have the cables and shoudl be easy to do.
 
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Found out today after getting in my first HD.. you can run two network ports to it so it can use both to increase bandwidth.... at least that is what the youtube video said!


Is this correct? If so I will run two drops to each AP.. I have the cables and shoudl be easy to do.


I can't find anything in the docs to indicate that the 2nd ethernet port supports more than letting the AP act as a simple bridge/switch to hang another device off of it. But posts in their forums and elsewhere seem to indicate that a recent firmware update added LACP bond support. So, if your switch supports LACP, hunt around the Unifi settings and see what you can find and try it out.

Though do note that a single client is unlikely to see any gains, even if the WiFi link is > 1 Gb/s. The load balancing provided by bonded ethernet links really only comes into play with multiple clients, but even then they're still sharing/competing for the same radio space and bandwidth. A single session (e.g., a file transfer) between two nodes can't be split over the two ethernet links.

Can't hurt to run two lines regardless (I would). At the least, you have a backup line for almost no additional work and little cost.
 
I can't find anything in the docs to indicate that the 2nd ethernet port supports more than letting the AP act as a simple bridge/switch to hang another device off of it. But posts in their forums and elsewhere seem to indicate that a recent firmware update added LACP bond support. So, if your switch supports LACP, hunt around the Unifi settings and see what you can find and try it out.

Though do note that a single client is unlikely to see any gains, even if the WiFi link is > 1 Gb/s. The load balancing provided by bonded ethernet links really only comes into play with multiple clients, but even then they're still sharing/competing for the same radio space and bandwidth. A single session (e.g., a file transfer) between two nodes can't be split over the two ethernet links.

Can't hurt to run two lines regardless (I would). At the least, you have a backup line for almost no additional work and little cost.

I have the cables to do it.. I got the switch you recommended.. do you know if it supports LACP? Putting the network on an APC Backup 1500 battery backup system also. I can get 2 cameras on the battery backup as well.. will be able to run it all if I lose power for a little while at least.. and surge protection. as well as brown out protection.
 
I also read about the firmware upgrade.. I will go ahead and run the cables just in case I can set it up.. doesn't hurt.. I have more than enough ports.. I was reading other routers are faster than the Edgerouter X.. seems the swtich chip only benefits those.. Would I have benefited more from a different router?

" Some EdgeRouters include a switch-chip, which makes them ideal when multiple router ports need to be present in the same subnet. Other routers are better at raw performance and are more suitable for an environment where switches are also present."

Saw a couple reviews where gigabit for internet was around 550.. multiple reviews saying this? Just want to make sure I got the right stuff.. currently Im only doing about 250 down.
 
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EdgeRouter 4 with Comcast gigabit connection. You need to make sure you enable hardware offloading. By default it is off and it will limit your speed.
 
I have the cables to do it.. I got the switch you recommended.. do you know if it supports LACP? Putting the network on an APC Backup 1500 battery backup system also. I can get 2 cameras on the battery backup as well.. will be able to run it all if I lose power for a little while at least.. and surge protection. as well as brown out protection.


Wasn't my recommendation (I'd not posted in this thread prior). Pretty sure all the EdgeSwitches support LACP, so you should be good on that end.


" Some EdgeRouters include a switch-chip, which makes them ideal when multiple router ports need to be present in the same subnet. Other routers are better at raw performance and are more suitable for an environment where switches are also present."

Saw a couple reviews where gigabit for internet was around 550.. multiple reviews saying this? Just want to make sure I got the right stuff.. currently Im only doing about 250 down.


AFAIK the ER-X is good well past 250 Mb/s provided features that disable hardware offload are not being used (e.g., netflow, port bridging/bonding, the full list varies by model)

Having a switch integrated into the router is mostly irrelevant. It can help with some things if the switch(es) used are dumb (e.g., no management, VLANs, etc.). But otherwise, it's not going to make any real difference.
 
Wasn't my recommendation (I'd not posted in this thread prior). Pretty sure all the EdgeSwitches support LACP, so you should be good on that end.





AFAIK the ER-X is good well past 250 Mb/s provided features that disable hardware offload are not being used (e.g., netflow, port bridging/bonding, the full list varies by model)

Having a switch integrated into the router is mostly irrelevant. It can help with some things if the switch(es) used are dumb (e.g., no management, VLANs, etc.). But otherwise, it's not going to make any real difference.

Sorry, I didnt notice the reply was someone else until later lol. I got so used to my other guy helping me. Yeah I think the Edgerouter X is as good as my Asus U68 wifi setup is. I am hoping when done this whole network is a lot better.. more coverage and better speed copying between PC's etc. Dropped nearly 1K$ building this network which is probably complete overkill but I don't want to touch it for a long time.. if it serves me for more than 5 or 6 years ill be happy.
 
AFAIK the ER-X is good well past 250 Mb/s provided features that disable hardware offload are not being used (e.g., netflow, port bridging/bonding, the full list varies by model)

You really do only want to use an ER-X for basic firewalling, routing, and DHCP. And it is limited WAN to LAN and back to ~500Mbps by the connection between the CPU, which does the routing, and the switch chip, which runs the ethernet interfaces.

If you need more, yeah, the next step up is the Edgerouter 4- and after that, the $1500 Edgerouter Infinity.

" Some EdgeRouters include a switch-chip, which makes them ideal when multiple router ports need to be present in the same subnet. Other routers are better at raw performance and are more suitable for an environment where switches are also present."

I will say that this is both true and a bit misleading; no other router for the price, or close to it, is going to be 'more suitable'. The ER-4 is three times the price (or twice that of the ER-X-SFP), when on sale.

And unless you have 500Mbps+, there's no real difference, except that the ER-4 has no switch chip :). I have the ER-4 only because I do plan on moving on to faster speeds and expanding my homelab habit. Otherwise, I'd happily run an ER-X-SFP (just for the console port!).

The misleading part is about other routers being 'more suitable' for an environment where switches are also present. This seems to imply that having a switch chip makes the ER-X less suitable, which is absolutely not the case- it makes no difference at all regarding whatever environment its placed in (what is hooked up to it). I think what they're saying is that if you have a switch, you're better off using it to switch, and just run WAN/LAN to/from the router, which I agree with. But if you also want to run other stuff to the ER-X, no problem!
 
You really do only want to use an ER-X for basic firewalling, routing, and DHCP. And it is limited WAN to LAN and back to ~500Mbps by the connection between the CPU, which does the routing, and the switch chip, which runs the ethernet interfaces.

If you need more, yeah, the next step up is the Edgerouter 4- and after that, the $1500 Edgerouter Infinity.



I will say that this is both true and a bit misleading; no other router for the price, or close to it, is going to be 'more suitable'. The ER-4 is three times the price (or twice that of the ER-X-SFP), when on sale.

And unless you have 500Mbps+, there's no real difference, except that the ER-4 has no switch chip :). I have the ER-4 only because I do plan on moving on to faster speeds and expanding my homelab habit. Otherwise, I'd happily run an ER-X-SFP (just for the console port!).

The misleading part is about other routers being 'more suitable' for an environment where switches are also present. This seems to imply that having a switch chip makes the ER-X less suitable, which is absolutely not the case- it makes no difference at all regarding whatever environment its placed in (what is hooked up to it). I think what they're saying is that if you have a switch, you're better off using it to switch, and just run WAN/LAN to/from the router, which I agree with. But if you also want to run other stuff to the ER-X, no problem!

Awesome.. that clears that up for me. I wanted to know what you think about running dual lan to the AC HD Access Point? This is an option a firmware update allowed. Although maybe not needed it's easy for me to run the second line now and possibly set them up to carry more bandwidth?
 
Awesome.. that clears that up for me. I wanted to know what you think about running dual lan to the AC HD Access Point? This is an option a firmware update allowed. Although maybe not needed it's easy for me to run the second line now and possibly set them up to carry more bandwidth?

Get the lines run at least- as noted above, basic LACP is a failover/spillover solution, so it may or may not provide more bandwidth.

Typically the dual ports on these things are more for chaining, i.e., running one cable from the switch for multiple access points rather than running a cable to each from a switch individually. It looks like the UAP-AC-HD is the first to support LACP, which is cool, let us know if you get it to work!
 
Get the lines run at least- as noted above, basic LACP is a failover/spillover solution, so it may or may not provide more bandwidth.

Typically the dual ports on these things are more for chaining, i.e., running one cable from the switch for multiple access points rather than running a cable to each from a switch individually. It looks like the UAP-AC-HD is the first to support LACP, which is cool, let us know if you get it to work!

If I can get LACP to work and give me extra bandwidth that would be neat. I will run the cables.. it's hot in Texas.. I am installing as I get time.. my next hurdle is just that.. the heat.. the small closet I had to end up using is getting a bit toasty with just my current gear.. not even including the new switch and Router. I also have a battery backup system in there now to keep things from going down or help wtih brownouts which we get sometimes. I think I have to find a way to vent the heat in teh closet into the attic. There is nearly a 1" gap air can make its way from the bottom of the closet door and vent out through the cieling.. but I want to use a low speed option. Having a hard time finding this other than me getting a couple 140mm fans and building a bracket to hold them.
 
I am configuring the first AP so I can start playing.. I got the router also... question... can I link the router to the Switch via SFP fiber? or is it even worth it? I wasn't sure if the SFP connection was input or output.. or both..
 
On a er4 all of the ports are fully configurable, I’d assume it’s that way on all the edge os routers. I use a cheap 10gbs cooper sfp between my er4 and es16. It works fine. The only advantage is that it frees up a port on the switch. 1gbs is 1gbs, no matter the physical connection.

10Gtek for Cisco SFP-H10GB-CU2M 10GBASE-CU Direct Attach Copper SFP+ Twinax Cable Passive 2-Meter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U8BL09Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ux1DBbFV0KHZV
 
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OK, so I got hte AP working then I get a Heartbeat missed and it disconnects yet hte file I was copying keeps on sending... acts as if offline but i see the connection. I am used to seeing two networks... 5g and 2.4g but this only shows one. I think my main PC keeps going to N instead of AC.. I was getting over 800mbps with my asus and only 405 with this one but a very strong 405mbps. In teh software I could see my iphones connection but it woudl not show the connection of hte PC I am on.. which also happens to be using the unifi software.. maybe thats hte issue?
 
Confirmed its putting my desktop on 2.4ghz... and its an AC setup... why is it going to 2.4?


Just got heartbeat missed again.. maybe it doesnt like working through the asus? I already rebooted it once
 
I change the ssid on the 5g network. If you don’t want to do that you can lower the signal strength on the 2.4 and keep the 5g on high.
 
Ok when I did the name part I said APDOwnstairs5g... but mine shows under overrides for the name.. how did you change the name on yours? I thought these things would be faster than that. I have the AC HD version. I can't get it to SEE the 5ghz on the network although my iphone joined it
 
Well now I got heartbeat missed again... keeps saying that.. won't stay working in the software.. i dunno
 
I think I am causing hte heartbeat missed when I jump networks while ON the manager.. duh.. so I got it on 5g... 5g speed is 405 LMAO.. dangit.. Literally this highend network gear is slower than my Asus setup. I don't get it.. signal is strong too
 
Now you get to play with optimizing it ;)

[don't expect to get better peak speeds- expect more consistent speeds over more clients over a wider distribution]
 
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Between 400-500mbps is all you’ll see (not sure if the hd is higher). The real benefits come when you have a lot of devices connected.
 
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Ok... I GOT IT!! You have to set the VHT 80 option and my speed is 877 and STRONG.. I set 5ghz antenna to high gain.. is that bad? Now it feels like the asus only better. and the AP is inside the closet LMAO.. its not even out in the open where it will be.. this is fun lol
 
I haven’t seen a reason to move the 5g signal off high.

I moved it back to auto.. seems the only setting I needed to change was create a 5ghz SSID and change to VHT-80. The VHT-80 was what doubled my speed!


Also, thank you for hanging in there and helping me.. everyone.. Router X is here.. swtich and other AP show up tomorrow..

File transfer still not what it used to be.. might be the box I am sending to... sending around 20mb/s when I could pull almost 40 a year ago to same box.


I was reading some apple devices were connecting at 1300mbps on the AC HD Access Point (Which my USB Adapter should do)... I use the Netgear A7000 which I know can go faster than the 877.5mbps I am connecting at now.. Its' never been able to go faster yet the older A6210 I had connected at this exact same speed.. I feel like i am missing a setting somewhere.

WOW.. the internet is 10x more snappy.. websites .. videos.. my nest cams.. its very noticeable..
 
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OK! I got the new router working.. I set it up so the extra ports are switch ports that gives me some ports to connect my AP's to until the swithc comes in.. it actually is nearly enough to support all that I have.. I wonder if there is any benefit to using the 24 port lol. its up and running tho!

Looking at this I will fill up all the ports and not have dual runs per AP as an option.. kinda glad I grabbed the 24 port switch.. plus later a quick router swap for 1gb network at the house will be easy.
 
Router settings seem strait forward.. only thing i dont know is how I connect the switch... is it automatic or do I have to configure a router port to work with a switch?. The AP's aren't hard to figure out. Watched a few videos. Right now all is up and running and seems good.. only issue is copying data to my other PC which is wired.. it chokes.. Im starting to wonder if that network drop has gone bad.


EDIT.. I can copy to my desktop 30mb/s I used to get better but I know my AP isnt in ideal location yet. For some reason.. I can't copy data to my wired PC.. it just drags.. less than 1mb/s..
 
is it automatic or do I have to configure a router port to work with a switch?

So, on protocols: layer 2 uses the MAC addresses on each NIC, and binds those to IP addresses through ARP. Essentially, when ethernet things first connect, they exchange everything they know, so it's automatic.

What you wind up doing with the switch is setting up VLANs so that less-trusted and untrusted clients (IoT, guests) are completely separate from your home network and attached resources.

But yeah, the switch will 'just work' ;)

[edit: I don't have an Edgeswitch; I wish I'd gotten one, I have an Aruba S2500 that I got off Ebay, and it's like Cisco where the default state for the switchports is 'shutdown', so in fact, they didn't work until I turned them on, but just like the Edgerouter, follow the quick-start guide and you should be good!]
 
So, on protocols: layer 2 uses the MAC addresses on each NIC, and binds those to IP addresses through ARP. Essentially, when ethernet things first connect, they exchange everything they know, so it's automatic.

What you wind up doing with the switch is setting up VLANs so that less-trusted and untrusted clients (IoT, guests) are completely separate from your home network and attached resources.

But yeah, the switch will 'just work' ;)

[edit: I don't have an Edgeswitch; I wish I'd gotten one, I have an Aruba S2500 that I got off Ebay, and it's like Cisco where the default state for the switchports is 'shutdown', so in fact, they didn't work until I turned them on, but just like the Edgerouter, follow the quick-start guide and you should be good!]

Ahh ok.. so when I had set this router I had forced all ports to be on the same network instead of setting some up for another network. I did this until my switch comes in but I have no need to separate I dont think? The software is awesome.. im still waiting on my cloud key but even like it is I can see traffic for all devices and now I see how fast my cameras and other devices are connecting.

My desktop is connecting at 877mpbs but I know the adapter is good for 1300 and ppl are getting this. I also read where someone connected 1300mbps to the AC HD Acess Point. Trying to figure this all out .. maybe when I get it in its correcdt location it will get there. So far very happy.. already a massive upgrade over my Asus setup.
 
Setting up the 2nd access point now.. I can't find anything in the unifi software that let's the two links work together to increase bandwidth.. I wish I could find some proof this works before I go running two lines.


Upstairs AP for some reason isn't showing up when my devices look for wifi networks.
 
Setting up the 2nd access point now.. I can't find anything in the unifi software that let's the two links work together to increase bandwidth.. I wish I could find some proof this works before I go running two lines.


Upstairs AP for some reason isn't showing up when my devices look for wifi networks.

 
I figured it out.. it named all my AP the same thing.. which was AP downstairs.. I had to go and override them so I can manually force connections where I want them.. Seems this want's to do some automated control which I don't like since its forcing my 5g devices onto 2.4 and killing my performance. I will checkout the video.. haven't had a chance to watch.. im hitting hte sack!
 
While I have you guys in here... who makes the fastest USB or PCIe wifi adapter for a desktop?
 
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