New Home Network, Might want to go 10G

paulywog · June 20, 2019

Hi everyone,

I'm setting up my new home's network. So far, all I have is the DOCSIS 3.1 modem that my cable company gives me and a 200mbit internet plan. No router, APs, nothing. It's all from scratch. I'm trying to keep the budget somewhat reasonable as, well, I've just bought a house. I think <$500 US invested is pretty reasonable, and probably achievable given my list of wants and hardware laying around. But I'm open to suggestions, what to invest in now vs later, etc.

As far as what I have laying around, I have no shortage of old computers/servers, I've got plenty of cabling (but perhaps would have to buy CAT6a or whatever else for any 10G runs), and I have a gigabit switch or two.

My most powerful computer I have laying around is my old build with an AMD FX-8120 in it. I think this would be good as the main server. The idea would be to have this server running a hypervisor, and from there have pfSense and other application servers up under KVM. This would act as my router, Plex server, home automation, etc. Running anything more "server grade" would be louder and consume more power. That PC would need at least one more NIC if it were to act as the router, as it currently only has the one motherboard onboard gigabit NIC. One thing I'd possibly like to do is have a 10G linkup between this server and my desktop. Both of these would need 10G cards, in that case, but hopefully an expensive 10G switch would not be needed.

I may only have two or three items in the house with wired internet. My laptops, phone, smart devices, etc, will all use WiFi. Having excellent WiFi is a must have, so I want to go Unifi.

So here's what I'm considering buying:

Unifi nanoHD as the AP
10G capable NIC for Server
At least one more gigabit NIC for server (could be a 4-port, could be a 1-port connected to a gigabit switch, might not be necessary at all if I got a 2-port 10G NIC?)
10G capable NIC for Desktop
CAT6a to run directly between server and desktop

What's the most cost effective way to make this 10G connection? I need to run wire no matter what, so I guess SFP cards or something is not out of the question. I'm not at all opposed to used or janky gear.

I've got ~2 acres of land. My house and an outbuilding garage are 100ft away from each other. Ideal would be blanketing the entire property with WiFI, but I think for now this is a pipe dream. It'd be really cool to have the WiFI be usable from the outbuilding though. I don't know that the nanoHD will be able to achieve this sitting in the house. I'd considered the Unifi AC LR for long range, but I'm not certain that any single AP would reach anyway. In that case I could probably leave the second AP until later and just get the nanoHD for great in-house coverage.

How would you set up my network? What would you buy today and what would you leave for later?

--Paul

Donut417 · June 20, 2019

Not an expert or anything but Id probably first draw up your network. Figure out where your going to need drops. Figure out where your going to need 10 Gbps. If I recall ASUS has a 10 Gig Ethernet card, so you can start there. Though if you want to use Direct Attached Copper or Fiber that is up to you. Another thing to make sure is, is that box your ISP gave you just a modem or a gateway, as many give out gateways. Plus they might have not "Given it" to you, they might be "leasing it" to you for a price. I know Xfinity charges any where from $13 to $15 a month for leasing their modems. Just something to check. But any way, Id figure out where you need cabling ran before buying anything. Figure out where you going to have all your servers and such. Also its highly suggested that you do at least 2 cables per drop.

Ubiquti also make outdoor AP's from what I remember. So when you decide to invest in WiFi outside thats where I would look. If you plan on running wired networking to your outbuilding I would advise you to make sure you run it in a conduit and make very well sure that if you use Ethernet cabling its properly grounded. OR you could just use Fiber and not have to worry about that, Or use Point to point wireless if that works for you as well.