Network dilemna
Network dilemna
It's important to remember that your fiber modem may need to be configured for IP Passthrough into your router. Depending on the ISP, you might find a bridge mode available, though it's not guaranteed. For my setup with AT&T fiber, their modems provide only IP Passthrough and not bridge mode.
They recently put in the ONT, which changes the fiber into regular Ethernet. Don't think there'll be a modem needed?
Interesting. They actually deliver fiber all the way into the house and use a modem. It will be intriguing to see if they simply bring an Ethernet cable instead of fiber. If it's Ethernet, then the ONT likely functions as the modem and you won't need to deal with IP Passthrough.
I might think about swapping the router since I can locate one that suits my requirements. It has several 2.5 G ports and VLAN segmentation that functions well. That's why I appreciate the Synology, its professional-level features that fit into a consumer router.
The best approach is to use the UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber as your router, connect a switch to it, and set your WiFi routers as access points. You'll need to redo the VLAN configuration, but it shouldn't be too difficult. At $275, the UniFi Gateway offers great value. I've been considering building my own firewall with pfSense and an SFP+ port, but those options are more expensive than this solution.
You have some constraints on routers that are budget-friendly and offer more than one port above 1gbit. Asus has one, but I’m unsure if it supports vlans with the original firmware and I don’t know if merlin is compatible.
Just a quick note before you invest too much: how much will you actually download online? Would 1gbit be sufficient? Most people don’t spend a lot of time each month downloading content. This is why ISPs can offer large plans to everyone, since the real bandwidth on fiber is shared among many homes. If everyone used it all the time, it would become extremely slow.
You’ll also notice there are artificial limits in place. Many websites impose these limits so that only a few users with fast connections can overload their servers. It’s not unusual to find yourself getting only 1gbit from certain areas. Steam is particularly interesting—it can vary a lot depending on the game. Some sites even reach up to 3gbit, while others barely manage 800mbps.
The main problem is having limited bandwidth from the router to the rest of the network. I have my daughter, her boyfriend, and five children all on my property, which means we require a lot of data usage. We use tablets, several smart TVs, and a few PCs. The 2Gb connection is asynchronous, and I also need a segmented IoT network for my semi-professional photography work, along with large photo files stored in the cloud. While I don’t necessarily need VLANs, I really want a more organized IoT setup.
Take a close look at how you're using the connection. Streaming 4K video uses 40Mbit, which means ten such streams require half the bandwidth of a 1GE. If your devices aren't wired, your local Wi-Fi will restrict you more. Many people greatly exaggerate their needs. Would it help if only one device could overload a 1GE link for short periods? Yes, briefly. Not continuously. Reducing the time from 15 minutes to 7 minutes might actually make a small difference to the rest of the network. It probably won’t be noticeable, and other restrictions will likely adjust it to around 12 minutes.
We own nine 4k TVs, also some fun gaming gear. There are five iPads and four PCs, including two high-end models and several IoT devices. Our goal is to make the most of our 2Gbps connection.
As noted, the focus would be on creating a segmented IoT network with distinct subnets such as "Primary," "IOT," "Kids," etc., ensuring each group or device can only interact with its intended network. This approach helps limit visibility and communication between different parts of the system. Your recent posts suggest the network is quite extensive and complex, which aligns with this strategy. I’m open to further discussion but currently have no concrete recommendations. Feel free to ask any questions.