Wired Router + AP Recommendations

[Bumfezzler]

I've been using WiFi routers for a while; however now that I'm finally moving into my own place I want to get a little deeper in the trenches and build something a little more proper and reliable. I'm a quick study but new to networking in general; so any pointing in the right direction, explanations, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

My current idea is to have the router placed in the garage; then run 6a cable to 5 AP's; 3 in the house, 1 garage, 1 outside; with a possible addition of a server and NAS in the future.

 

I'll be on a 1gb service; which I believe will be increased to 2gb next year.

 

My budget is around $2000.

 

Thanks for any and all help.

[Takumidesh]

I use an edgerouter 4 and the unifi APs

that plus a poe switch for the APs and you are all set.

 

you don't need to spend 2 grand for the setup you are trying to achieve.

I think i have probably 1k invested between APs switches in different spots, rack mounts and adapters, etc. and I have a very overkill setup for my usecase.

I regularly run multiple 4k plex streams to various endpoints on the lan and never even come close to saturating the network.

[Sjaakie]

Did you look at Unifi? Sounds like you would need a Dream Router Pro, some poe switch and 5 ap's of your choice (AP6 LR?). Double check the outside AP for weather resistance.

 

The Dream router pro comes with a 10 gig Wan port so upgrading to 2 gb/s should be not problem.

 

If you don't want to be that locked in to Unifi you may get a different router / switch and run the unifi controller for the ap's on a server / raspberry pi.

[Bumfezzler]

42 minutes ago, Takumidesh said:

I use an edgerouter 4 and the unifi APs

that plus a poe switch for the APs and you are all set.

 

you don't need to spend 2 grand for the setup you are trying to achieve.

I think i have probably 1k invested between APs switches in different spots, rack mounts and adapters, etc. and I have a very overkill setup for my usecase.

I regularly run multiple 4k plex streams to various endpoints on the lan and never even come close to saturating the network.

I assumed 2k would be a little excessive; but after seeing the price of a few commercial solutions I wanted to make sure to allocate enough for something adequate or slightly overkill for personal use.
 

44 minutes ago, Sjaakie said:

Did you look at Unifi? Sounds like you would need a Dream Router Pro, some poe switch and 5 ap's of your choice (AP6 LR?). Double check the outside AP for weather resistance.

 

The Dream router pro comes with a 10 gig Wan port so upgrading to 2 gb/s should be not problem.

 

If you don't want to be that locked in to Unifi you may get a different router / switch and run the unifi controller for the ap's on a server / raspberry pi.

I have not... yet. After glancing over the product pages for the routers posted so far; Unifi looks like the perfect solution. I haven't even considered security cams; which I'd assume even the edgerouter would be capable of handling with a switch. 

I'll have to dive a little deeper on the solutions posted so far when I have time (probably tomorrow) so far this is more than adequate for a jumping off point. Thank you both!

Any general advice; things to look out for, etc as I start this journey? 

[Takumidesh]

fyi the edgerouter is also a ubiquiti product, though it is not in the same ecosystem as the UDM and unifi stuff.

 

the way I get around this with the unifi APs is to just run the unifi software in a docker and start it up whenever I need to change settings, though so far they are mostly fire and forget.

[vmdyap2022]

hi, you might also look into 2.5 gb to 10 gb switches and router since you mentioned that your internet plan might get up to 2gbps by next year, it will be less hassle to have them installed now than later. 

 

$2000 might be overkill but you could spend that budget easily if your planning to get the next gen wifi 6E aps at this time since they are still pricey.

 

 

[LIGISTX]

10 hours ago, Bumfezzler said:

I've been using WiFi routers for a while; however now that I'm finally moving into my own place I want to get a little deeper in the trenches and build something a little more proper and reliable. I'm a quick study but new to networking in general; so any pointing in the right direction, explanations, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

My current idea is to have the router placed in the garage; then run 6a cable to 5 AP's; 3 in the house, 1 garage, 1 outside; with a possible addition of a server and NAS in the future.

 

I'll be on a 1gb service; which I believe will be increased to 2gb next year.

 

My budget is around $2000.

 

Thanks for any and all help.

How large is the house? You likely don’t need 3 AP’s in the house and more outside. I cover a 3000 sqft house + garage and backyard with ease with 3 nest Wifi pucks at my parents house. 
 

If you get potentially 1 or 2 UniFi AP6’s for the house, and depending on backyard area maybe another, that’s likely plenty, and only about ~400 bucks. Then just need to figure out router… personally, I run pfsense, but there are many options. You can buy a pfsense box direct from netgate, or you can build one on the supposed server you’d like to build. I run my pfsense virtualized, but that does have a few annoyances.