Question Help with a new home network

[Tiplady!]

I need help completely overhauling my network system here, its outdated but also not set up or configured properly.
Im in the UK so my ISP (EE) has provided me a router, I've found with them that if its not the mater hub then you loose speeds and an operator for BT told me this is because using their own router they can monitor and optimise the speeds you get and without it they reduce your speeds, I can't say for sure that this is the case but its always been for me anyway.
Everything after that I want to change, I currently have the internet placed in the garage with an old mesh system spanning from it dragging the wifi through the house, however i have ethernet wired back to the garage from every room in the house, this currently isn't used as i don't have a network switch, something of which i could use guidance on which one to buy.
I also need advice as to if i should buy a new router and also which one, im going to guess that i will have to run this as a slave to the EE router provided by my ISP as to not be limited to speed. And finally is the mesh system i will use in the house, i want all the hubs used to be wired in to the network switch using the ethernet already intergrated in the house.
I should probably mention the speeds we currently get too which is 1gbps from a fibre line to the house.
Any suggestions or recomendations for user frinedly setups would be greatly appriciated.
Many Thanks

 

[Ralston18]

Use wired connectivity as much as possible.

If you purchase your own router be sure to verify with your ISP that they will and do support that make and model router. Even though renting the ISP's modem and/or router may cost more they cannot blame your equipment if there are problems. That is a trade-off that may need to be decided.

= = = =

The network connections should be very similar to the following line diagram:

Connection path being the following line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable:

ISP === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> Modem ---->[WAN Port] Router [LAN Port] ----> [LAN Ports] Wired Network devices (one device possibly being the switch).

And Router ~~~~~ >Wireless devices.

Depending on the make and model router there may be enough LAN ports (normally 4) to serve the Ethernet cable runs already in place. If there are not enough router ports then you would use a simple unmanaged switch. Very inexpensive and readily available.

Router [LAN port] --->[LAN Port] Switch [Other switch LAN Ports] -----> cable runs to other network devices.

Feel free copy, paste, and edit the above line diagrams to match your network. Post according showing all network devices and connections. Ensure that there are not network loops involved or created.

Loop being Device A connected to Device B connected to Device C connected to Device D connected to Device A again. Any sort of loops, for that matter, should not be present. Power, video, audio....

Verify that all network cables are Cat 5e or Cat 6a, pure copper, round (UTP), 22-24 AWG. No aluminum, not flat, not thin conductor.

You will find that having a network sketch or diagram of any sort will prove helpful in keeping the "big picture" in view.

 

[bill001g]

How many lan ports does the ISP router have.

How many rooms do you need the ethernet ports to be active.

If you do not need all of them active you can just plug those remote rooms directly into the router. If you need more then any small switch will work. Nothing special pretty much any of the small unmanged switches you see work fine. Most cost under $20 for a 8 port switch, there are some lesser known brands for under $10.

If the router has 4 ports and you would buy a 8 port switch this would give you 10 total ports. 3 directly on the router and 7 on the switch. 1 port on the router and 1 port on the switch is wasted connecting them together.

Now if you need wifi in the remote rooms buy a inexpensive router and use it as a AP. I would not buy anything fancy, older wifi5 (802.11ac) routers in the $50 range will be fine and give you 300mbps or better speeds. Almost no portable device needs more than that and any other device you can use ethernet in the remote room. This is the other advantage of using a router as a AP rather than a true AP. You can use the extra ethernet ports in the remote room as a small switch to connect multiple ethernet device.

Running it all wired to the remote rooms as you plan is the optimum design.

 

[Tiplady!]

Okay so I think Im getting there. Ive checked with my ISP and i have a list of fully supported routers. I'm going to go with the TP-Link Archer BE550. Its one of the cheaper ones on the list of compatible devices and I've used TP-Link in the past and touch wood not had any issues.
I'm going to use the pre existing ethernet cable and run a supply from the router back to the garage and into a network switch specifically the TP-Link LS108GP again its cost effective but also has POE which the access points Im going to use need to power them.
On that note the access points i want to use are the TP-Link EAP615 wall mountable AP, mainly because the other half didn't want anything massive or in your face so they're discrete and cost effective while still being wifi 6.
Ive jotted up a little diagram if someone could have a little look and just check that Im heading in the right direction here that would be greatly appreciated. Draft Diagram Here
Many Thanks

Use wired connectivity as much as possible.

If you purchase your own router be sure to verify with your ISP that they will and do support that make and model router. Even though renting the ISP's modem and/or router may cost more they cannot blame your equipment if there are problems. That is a trade-off that may need to be decided.

= = = =

The network connections should be very similar to the following line diagram:

Connection path being the following line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable:

ISP === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> Modem ---->[WAN Port] Router [LAN Port] ----> [LAN Ports] Wired Network devices (one device possibly being the switch).

And Router ~~~~~ >Wireless devices.

Depending on the make and model router there may be enough LAN ports (normally 4) to serve the Ethernet cable runs already in place. If there are not enough router ports then you would use a simple unmanaged switch. Very inexpensive and readily available.

Router [LAN port] --->[LAN Port] Switch [Other switch LAN Ports] -----> cable runs to other network devices.

Feel free copy, paste, and edit the above line diagrams to match your network. Post according showing all network devices and connections. Ensure that there are not network loops involved or created.

Loop being Device A connected to Device B connected to Device C connected to Device D connected to Device A again. Any sort of loops, for that matter, should not be present. Power, video, audio....

Verify that all network cables are Cat 5e or Cat 6a, pure copper, round (UTP), 22-24 AWG. No aluminum, not flat, not thin conductor.

You will find that having a network sketch or diagram of any sort will prove helpful in keeping the "big picture" in view.

 

[Ralston18]

Nice diagram.

What is driving the requirement for 6 AP's in the Garage?

You may not need that many APs at all.

I will also suggest that you download the applicable User Guides/Manuals for all network devices.

Read the documents carefully paying attention to all fine print, caveats, etc.. Also go to the manufacturer's website to read FAQ's, customer service posts, and so forth. Get a sense of what problems and questions other users are having. May save you some time and effort later on.

Then update your diagram (network plan) with more information such as device names, makes, model, macs, static IP Addresses etc..

Likely the network plan will get revised - the diagram will help to keep track of everthing.

 

[bill001g]

I have not looked at pricing for AP lately but do not get conned by marketing guys.

There is so much stuff being sold that is outright deceptive. You have wifi7 router for example that are "dual" band so they do not support the key feature of running on 6ghz that makes them faster.

The AP you are looking at also are just pretending they are wifi6. They only support 80mhz radio bands ....just like wifi5. The key thing that makes wifi6 faster is the 160mhz radio bands. Problem is there are massive issues avoiding other transmissions...like weather radar. Many/most end device also only support 80mhz for this same reason. So even if you get a wifi6 160mhz router most end devices will still use 80.

I do not know the pricing on this stuff. Unlike video cards wifi technology still is dropping in price when the newer tech comes out. Maybe wifi6 is as cheap or cheaper than wifi5 and it doesn't really matter then.

Wifi6e that also runs on the 6ghz band has dropped in price a lot since wifi7 has come out. Wifi6e if you have end clients that can use it is significantly faster because it can really use the 160mhz wide channels and there are multiple so neighbors do not stomp on each other....at least until everyone starts using wifi7 which uses 320mhz radio blocks.

 

[Tiplady!]

Hey,
Think my diagram has caused a little confusion, as physically there wont be 6 AP's in the garage, thats simply where the cat 6 cables run to at the minute so I was going to utilise them as much as possible and use that placement for the switch.
So the 6 AP's will actually be spread around the house, I'm not too sure if this is completely necessary however I live in an old old house thats been renovated over here, the walls are very thick and made thicker by the insulation and plasterboard that was added when it was renovated. signal is a real struggle in the house which causes issues for some of the smart home devices we have installed.
My end goal is to achieve full bars of signal in every room of the house while also equally distributing the speed that we get. Currently we pay for 1gb download and about 200mb upload and we actually get slightly more than that when wired in. I really want to achieve the highest possible wireless speeds in each room and that again is another reason for the number of APs.
Im going to sit down this weekend and do my research like you suggested into the APs and routers to ensure the compatibility. EE who is our ISP also provides our TV which runs over the internet, I've seen people raise issues on the forums about some issues faced with the media streaming when not using the supplied router, so again this is something i will need to check to make sure I can overcome.
Once again thank you for your help

 

[Tiplady!]

I have not looked at pricing for AP lately but do not get conned by marketing guys.

There is so much stuff being sold that is outright deceptive. You have wifi7 router for example that are "dual" band so they do not support the key feature of running on 6ghz that makes them faster.

The AP you are looking at also are just pretending they are wifi6. They only support 80mhz radio bands ....just like wifi5. The key thing that makes wifi6 faster is the 160mhz radio bands. Problem is there are massive issues avoiding other transmissions...like weather radar. Many/most end device also only support 80mhz for this same reason. So even if you get a wifi6 160mhz router most end devices will still use 80.

I do not know the pricing on this stuff. Unlike video cards wifi technology still is dropping in price when the newer tech comes out. Maybe wifi6 is as cheap or cheaper than wifi5 and it doesn't really matter then.

Wifi6e that also runs on the 6ghz band has dropped in price a lot since wifi7 has come out. Wifi6e if you have end clients that can use it is significantly faster because it can really use the 160mhz wide channels and there are multiple so neighbors do not stomp on each other....at least until everyone starts using wifi7 which uses 320mhz radio blocks.

Will have another look over the spec of this tonight, the router for example was only picked because I can confirm its compatibility with my ISP.
And the Access Points got other half approval as they're small so hopefully inconspicuous, Im thinking about possible looking on ebay to see if i can pick up some new secondhand ones depending on the availability.
I would like to keep the cost down to no more than £700, again i have the added benefit that all my cables are pre run therefore don't have to factor this is as a cost.

 

[cruisetung]

How many people/devices will use the internet at the same time?

Why do you think your stuff is outdated or slow/not sufficient for your needs?

A 4K video stream only require 30Mbps bandwidth per person/device and in theory your 1Gbps internet can accommodate more than 30 video streams at the same time.

 

[Ralston18]

Diagram:

Not a problem: simply update the AP's to indicate individual locations within the house.

"Living Room AP", Master Bedroom AP", etc.. No harm in designating Switch port numbers and ensuring that each of the cable runs from the garage switch does indeed have a room wall jack at the other end to serve the AP.

Plan out the IP addresses in advance. All too easy to make some error of omission or commission when doing things on the fly.

If you have printed floor plans make a copy so you can plan or document cable runs from garage to the destination rooms. Mark up and revise as necessary on the copy. Label everything. You will likely need multiple copies.....

Inspect as much of that cabling as you safely can. Check the network wall jacks as well. Do not overlook the need for an electrical wall outlet.

Within each room you can experiment with temporary AP placements before making any "permanent" installs with respect to the entire network.

Have a methodical plan (and that plan can and will change) in place will prove well worth the extra bit of time and effort needed.