Reddit mentions of Ubiquiti US-16-150W Networks Networks UniFi Switch, 16 Port,White

> Coax->Modem->Switch->14 cables in wall. Is this correct?

It has to go Coax->Modem->Router->Switch. Comcast will run Coax to your desired modem location, which in this case will be the wiring cabinet. If they can't, no big deal, you'll just need to use one of the installed Ethernet lines to connect the modem to the router or the router to the switch, depending on whether you put the router with the modem or in the wiring cabinet (I'd recommend the latter).

Since you're already thinking of getting UniFi access points (absolutely the right choice) you should get this router and this switch. It's only 16 ports, 18 if you count the SFPs, but you only have 14 lines anyway.

You'll terminate the cables at a patch panel. It's not hard to do, you just need something to strip the cable jacket and a 110 impact punch down tool to terminate the wires. You'll get a bunch of short patch cables to connect the switch to the patch panel, get the shortest length that'll reach. You don't want to skip the patch panel and put RJ45 plugs on the installed cables as it's much more difficult to do right than punch-down terminations and subjects the cables to more damage.

Check out Ubiquiti, you can ask what people think over on that subreddit, but the US-16-150W will do PoE on all 16 ports, but limited by the power draw. It provides 802.af/at and 24v on in one package, also supports VLANs and the other usual stuff.

Just slightly over your budget but has some nice features.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/UBIQUITI-US-16-150W-Port-UniFi-Switch/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1504555223&sr=8-14&keywords=ubiquiti

> -Should the computer/plex server be wired to router or the switch?

Doesn't matter.

> -Any recommendations on a POE switch?

Not sure if other manufacturers make a 24v passive PoE switch that'll work with the UAP-AC-Lite (it's not standard 802.1at/af capable like the UAP-AC-Pro). Depending on how many ports you need, The Switch-8-150W or the Switch-16-150w would work.

> -Is cat6 okay to run over POE?

yes.

> -Will 3 Lites cover the house or should I get 3 LRs?

LRs probably won't do you much good -- they may output more power, but your devices won't, so they may see the AP, but might not have the power to transmit back. I'd start with your current plans, and if you have some weak / dead spots to fill in, add in a UAP-AC-IW...

If you have a decent budget I would look at Ubiquiti unifi network stuff.

Here is a router, access point, and the controller that configures and monitors everything.


https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-USG-Security-UC-CK-UAP-AC-PRO/dp/B07C87SQ9W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1F33LBHXUCZ52&keywords=unifi%2Bsecurity%2Bgateway&qid=1550283380&s=gateway&sprefix=unifi%2B&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&th=1


Switch with power over Ethernet to power the access points


https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-US-16-150W-UniFi-Switch/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=unifi+switch&qid=1550283561&s=gateway&sr=8-4


In wall access points that you can place in strategic spots in your house if you want better coverage.


https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-UAP-AC-Iw-Wireless-Access/dp/B06XZLP8Q6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=35O92BTS4KY1I&keywords=unifi+in+wall+hd&qid=1550283677&s=gateway&sprefix=unifi+in+&sr=8-2


You can learn more here

unifi-sdn.ui.com

You are approaching this correctly I think.

If you are running wiring you will want to pick a location to be the network rack. typically where the lines come in the house (but obviously that doesn't matter here)

Get a 19in rack and mount it.



Patch Panel for punching down your terminations there.

Get a shelf.

Probably looking at a 16-port switch? Maybe 24?

I like the Unifi stack for everything. lots of people say the edge routers, which makes some sense for one location I guess. It's a little bit more detailed UI. Literally the same hardware though.

I like the USG. If it were me I would probably put in the Pro, because rackmount, but that's stupid crazy overkill from a tech perspective. It would bother me irrationally, just the form factor.

Then you drop your Access Points in. It depends on how the house is setup, but you want to put them where you actually will use them. At 4000sqft, 2-3 should cover it, depending on layout.



> So looking for suggestions on setup. Was thinking about going all Ubiquiti gear but alot of people say it can be challenging to setup but great once you get it working. With the hassle of moving, young kids, and dealing with getting internet in the first place Im not sure I have time for something that will take a while to get working great.

It won't take much time at all to actually set it up. Physically setting it up will be the time consuming bit. The technical setup will be nothing to someone who runs a VM server. In fact you will do what I do and just spin up a headless ubuntu instance and install the controller. You click adopt a few times on the hardware in a pretty UI and it's done.

Unifi PoE+ switches may suitable : US-16-150W, US‑24‑250W, US‑24‑500W. They are quite cost-effective compared to the other switch. I have one and works great.
https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-switching/unifi-switch-poe/

US-16-150W: only $282.92 at amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=twister_B01L18EHAI?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

If I'm building a router with pfSense sitting on top of the switch, would the switch itself need Layer 3 capabilities? pfSense would be handling most of that functionality I would think, right?

If that's the case, would a lower power, more gui-friendly option like this be doable for the switch?

I have and use these 2 switches. The ubiquiti is in my rack and the 8 port I can throw down if I need more ports at my desk for something. I only have 2 drops at my desk.

UNIFI SWITCH 16PORT 150W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_r4B1CbTBH367K


ZyXEL 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Web... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX9925Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I have these:
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Security-Gateway-USG-PRO-4/dp/B019PBEI5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538949380&sr=8-1&keywords=usg+pro+4


https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-US-16-150W-UniFi-Switch/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1538949426&sr=1-1&keywords=us-16-150w+ubiquiti

Yes as you said below, you really don't want a "mesh" network. That means something totally different.

You just want PoE access points that can do hand-of, which UniFI can do for sure. I use UniFI at my house and it's 100% worth it. Either of these will work:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Compact-802-11ac-Enterprise-UAP-NanoHD-US/dp/B07DWW3P6K/

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-PRO-Access-Included/dp/B079DSW6XX/

but the first one (the NanoHD) is newer and supports 802.11ac wave2.

With unifi you really should go all-in with unifi equipment. That's when the system works best. I'd recommend this PoE switch:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Managed-Gigabit-US-8-150W/dp/B01DKXT4CI/

You get 8 ports of PoE ethernet and two SFP ports. You can turn the SFP ports into two more RJ45 gigabit ethernet ports (without PoE) with these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JUBXDPI/

Alternatively, if you need many more ports or want something rack-moutable, I'd use this switch:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-US-16-150W-UniFi-Switch/dp/B01E46ATQ0/

You'll also need a computer that's always on somewhere in your house to run the UniFI controller software. The controller is how you configure and track everything. It's really light-weight, so it can just run in the background on a desktop or some old Mac or PC.

Alternatively you can just plug a "UniFI Cloud Key" controller into one of your PoE ports:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Secure-Controller-stand-Alone-Hardware/dp/B07BB4RGQD/

One caveat, if you use the cloud key make sure you back up your unifi database (on the controller) often. I've had them fail on me more than I like.

Finally, if you don't like any of those you can use a hosted instance of the cloud controller but it's $199 a year:

https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Wireless/Announcing-UniFi-s-newest-Cloud-management-offering/td-p/1912538

I recently did some.

monoprice cat6a UTP 22awg CMR UL Listed, mono price keystones and patch panel cat6a UTP UL listed. Don't buy STP or foiled. Some area's code requires CMP for plenum run's. It's very expensive only buy to meet code.

If you're running a lot of wires I'd recommend the patch panel. If you secure it to something make sure that it can't move. One of the 4 post 20U+ racks secured down to something.

Layer3 isn't a requirement. It can speed things up by not needing to go to the router to be routed. You can run a lot of services on your router so passing traffic through it is not a bad thing. a switch with spf+ and a pfsense box with spf+ can get you 10G. 10G is overkill in most cases. Many 2+ switches have bonding. So you can do 2 or 4g that way.

unifi has a 16 port switch with POE. It's pricey. You can get 10G switches around that price. POE adds quite a bit of cost. If it's only for unifi access points you can inject power to them, there is no price difference for injectors. Buying an injector with many slots is an option too.

https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Systems-SmartPro-Stackable-DGS-1510-20/dp/B00MCZNW5G?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-US-16-150W-UniFi-Switch/dp/B01E46ATQ0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1540398551&sr=1-3&keywords=unifi+16+port+poe+switch

I would say a couple Ubiquiti Lite's would cover the WiFi needs well.

You can just use all Ubiquiti gear to keep management unified. You can install the controller software in a VM or get the HW controller.

US-16-150W UniFi Switch

Ubiquiti Unifi Security Gateway (USG)

Ubiquiti Unifi Cloud Key - Remote Control Device (UC-CK) - This can be omitted and you can run the same SW in a VM on a always on PC. You can also just spin it up when you want to make changes, but then you will not be able to use some of the advanced features.