I’m building a house. Floor plan attached if it helps.
I’ve spent the last 3-4 days knee deep reading archived posts, watching youtube, and digesting as much information as possible. Over that time I’ve convinced myself I need a different set up roughly 12 times. Need some direction.
Budget: Not really a consideration. But less is obviously cool.
Background: I’m an enterprise software salesman buy trade, but not a network engineer. And even though I’m willing to roll my sleeves up and do a bit of learning, I really don’t want a massive – and especially not a continuous – project on my hands. I never plan to move again. The house won’t get great cell reception and I’ll be reliant on wifi calling in many cases.
Anticipated Gear List:
- 8-10 POE security cameras/NVR (hardwired)- whole home Sonos kit (16 speakers, 5 amps) (hardwired)- Multiple TVs (hardwired)- a host of IoT devices - hubs, doorbell, thermostat, other automation stuff (hub(s) hardwired)- 2 offices (computers and 1 printer hardwired)- Mesh/access points (hardwired) – this is the million dollar question
My (probably obvious) plan:
- pull all ethernet drops to a centralized location- ISP coax --> modem --> router --> POE switch- terminate all the ethernet cables to logical ports (save the POE ports for the cameras and anything else that needs power)
My Conflict(s):
I’m confident I could get it all installed properly. I’m not confident whatsoever that I could figure out how to deploy it once it was all powered up.
And, as a result, I don’t know what the hell to buy.
It seems Unifi is the default suggestion for most, and while I’m not sure is ISN’T what I’ll end up with, I do think it’s overkill for my specific needs. In our current home I have been running a google mesh and its…fine. It works, it’s not perfect, but it’s simple and essentially never has issues. Maybe I’m lucky or maybe I have very low expectations. I’m convinced I’ll have trouble troubleshooting or fixing things when they inevitably break with unifi - but I could just be psyching myself out.
I’d love to be able to set everything up once – and if I have to mess with it once or twice a year so be it – similar to my current set up.
Could I get away with this?
ISP coax --> ISP’s modem --> (need a router recommendation) --> random POE switch with enough ports to support all my gear? I might also add a UPS and surge protector.
Practically speaking, how would I initially configure/set up everything if I piece meal it together with various OEM gear? Let’s say ISP modem (should I get my own?), TPlink router, Netgear POE switch? Sorry if that’s a dumb question.
Similarly, how much more difficult/easy would a similar Unifi solution be?
Also, sorry for the rant. Struggling with info overload. I dumped so much time into this and have found myself with more questions than I started with.
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Hire someone/a company who is skilled at low voltage wiring.
I could theoretically have done all of it myself, terminating the cables really isn’t that difficult. I got the equipment and set the equipment up. But I did not run the actual wires, and watching them do it. I know my strengths, they saved me days worth of work. And I wouldn’t have done as good or clean of a job. They should be able to help you with AP placement as well.
A good rule of thumb is, everything that can be hardwired is hard wired. If you think you will need more ports, add them now. If you need. 2 ports at a location, make it 4 or 5. Now is the time to do it. Run fiber to the locations that will require the opening of walls should you need to run more lines. If you are setting up an out door AP or location, run fiber to the exterior wall, connect it to a switch, then use the switch to connect it the device to the network.
I would go with a full unifi stack for the hardware, I think it’s the best bang for the buck hardware for this purpose. If you hire an A/V company, they may want to use Araknis, because of your home automation and Sonos, but I have no experience with it.
Make sure the network closet has adequate ventilation.
All your runs come to a patch panel. You want cat 6 or Cat6A depending on home size. pure Bare copper. If anyone recommends CCA, ignore them and find another contractor. A good UPS is a must.
So, first things first. I’ve never had a house built but I can tell you I’ve already planned my house build (when I’m ready) and already have decided how I’m running my low-voltage when that time comes.
As many have said, run Cat6 EVERYWHERE and have it all terminate at ONE location. If you need a data connection to the TV, run 2 instead of 1. Always pull +1 for every run. This way you’re covered if you need to add something, or if a run fails down the road. I find this to be especially true for IP cameras and access points.
Switching away from consumer-grade (mesh) gear was the best decision I have ever made years ago. I’m running a Ubiquiti UDM-Pro, an 8-port PoE switch, and 2 Wi-Fi 6 Lite APs. The only change I would have made is changing the 2 Lite’s for a U6-Enterprise, but it wasn’t available when I bought the Lites. My Ubiquiti gear simply runs itself after my initial setup and I’ve never had things just stop working. Anyone with any idea of how networking gear works will be just fine with Ubiquiti gear.
In terms of your cameras- I don’t have personal experience with the Ubiquiti line, but I know you can’t use a NVR(-PRO) with non-Ubiquiti cameras. So, decide what you want to do there. I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Reolink seems to have a decent line and they’re way cheaper. I think having a dedicated system with the same brand is going to be better than trying to piece that together randomly, unless you want to go down the rabbit hole of Blue Iris (essentially a powerful NVR you can run on Windows) or something similar.
One thing to mention, I run Home Assistant for automation and one of the main reasons I do that is to consolidate all of the different brands, manufacturers, etc into one. The same goes for networking gear and cameras/security. With that said, I think it would be easier on you to stick with Ubiquiti for both networking and cameras.
Some side notes…
You can always add a switch to the end of a Cat6 drop if you need to. Meaning, run 2 drops to the living room (one to use, one for backup) and then have an 8-port switch to plug the rest of the stuff into (TV, soundbar (Sonos?), Apple TV/streaming device, game console, media PC, etc).
Have you given any thought to having “smart” blinds, or door/window sensors? PIR sensors for occupancy or lighting? If so, you’ll want to run some Cat6 for these things too. Even if they don’t directly take an Ethernet connection, you can use the pairs inside the wire as multi-purpose in a lot of low-voltage situations.
Remember- hardwired is better.
Oh, and lastly, I work for a major US wireless telecommunications company. People complain about Wi-Fi calling 24/7 and the simple fact of the matter is that most people just have a crappy home network which can’t offer them a good Wi-Fi calling experience. So keep that in mind too, you want strong Wi-Fi signals. That said, if you haven’t already, Ubiquiti has a network design tool where you can upload your floorplan(s) and place access points to find which AP would be better and determine the best coverage based on where you place them.
I know that was a lot. Best of luck. If you have more questions, or want real-world answers, hit me. I love talking tech.