Reddit reviews NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Plus PoE Switch (GS108PEv3) - with 4 x PoE @ 53W, and ProSAFE Limited Lifetime Protection

Seconded. What they are doing is totally egregious.

You could run fiber never mind Ethernet for what they are quoting you.

Here's a kit list of what I would buy if I was treating myself to a fancy home setup directly related to their list.

ABR4500 / Netgear AC1750 @ $110

OR

Replace the ABR4500 & XWS2510 with

Netgear Orbi AC Mesh system, currently $344.99 on Amazon.

At this point you may as well stick with the same brand so to replace the AGS1016 go for;

Netgear 16 port Gigabit POE managed switch, currently $159.99 on Amazon.

Replace AGS1008M with;

Netgear 8 port Gigabit POE Managed switch, currently $79.99.

Total cost = $584.97 vs $2229.92

You could upgrade all of that hardware to Ubiquiti for Small business grade hardware. Based on what you've said I'd find a local small business networking supplier and have them quote you a cost for the above inc installation and support. Their time should be the most expensive item on the list NOT the hardware.

Good luck!

Unmanaged switches just connect devices.

Managed switches can do more; like monitor performance (via SNMP), create VLANs, aggregate multiple ports into a bonded interface, provide electricity to run other devices (power over Ethernet, or PoE) prioritise traffic via QoS, etc.

The managed version of your switch would be something like the GS108E, GS108T [can trunk/aggregate ports] or GS108PE [can provide PoE].

If you don't need any of the managed functions, an unmanaged switch is fine.

• Definitely setup a separate VLAN and SSID for guests.
  
• If you're getting PoE cameras, make sure the cameras and Ubuiqiti switch you get are 802.3af complaint. I believe some Ubiquiti products are 24v passive PoE, which is basically "always on" and will fry devices that are not compatible. I opted for the Netgear switch, but only because it was on sale.
  
• Also, I would highly recommend putting all your IP cameras in a DENY/DENY zone. I have Amcrest cameras and they're constantly trying to dial out to some AWS IPs, so they're in a DENY/DENY zone and drops all outgoing traffic.
  
  name WAN_OUT {
  default-action accept
  description "Out to WAN"
  enable-default-log
  rule 10 {
  action drop
  description "Block Amcrest Camera"
  log enable
  protocol all
  source {
  address 10.10.2.50-10.10.2.59
  }
  }
  }
  
• To access the cameras behind the firewall, I have the ERL running DDNS and an OpenVPN server. As long as I'm VPNed in, I'm good.
  
• No experience with it, but Ubiquiti sells a NVR.

If you buy a simple home router, it's really not secure enough. HIPAA violations results in fines in the $50k range, so spending a few hundred more on day 1 is a much better investment than having to pay fines later on.

What I would suggest, as a very basic network design that won't break the bank is to buy a proper firewall, a good access point that allows for two separate wifi networks and a managed switch. You can do this without breaking the bank.

Here's an example setup :

Firewall : Juniper SRX300 - $317
Or : Fortinet Fortigate 30E - $291

Switch (if needed) : Cisco SG200 - $225
Or : Netgear Prosafe 8 port - $80

Wifi access point : Ubiquiti UAP-AC Lite - $82

For about $600, you can have a very secure and up to date network that will be good for long time.

Okay, I've read through the other comments and feel I still have something to contribute as I've just set this up for my parents and plan to run it at my place some time in the future.

• PoE Switch - If you want to use a PoE switch, you have to get the PRO APs, the LITE and LR only support passive PoE. I was lucky enough to have inherited a Cisco SG300-10 802.3at PoE+ Switch from my former employer when they shut down. It's very convenient to use, but not a necessity. The PoE Injectors that come with APs have a nice mounting plate so that you can attach them to the wall/shelf/what-have-you. If you're dead-set on using PoE, Netgear has some decent, inexpensive offerings. 8-port PoE without VLANs $80, 8-port PoE with VLANs $100. If you're running out of outlets, and are on a budget, I would suggest buying a bigger power strip (Belkin makes a nice one I've used in a lot of applications) (or, if you're moving to rack mount, a PDU plugged into a UPS)
  
  
  
  
• Patch Panel - For flexibility, what you'll want to look for is a keystone panel and then populate it with your own jacks as needed. (If you want to throw in Coax you can, and if you want/need a phone jack in there, just use another CAT5E)
  
  
• Rack - Based on what you said, I think you are looking for something like this? You could also look at making a lack rack, if you're into DIY.
  
  
• Additional thoughts - If you are sharing the internet connection with your tenants in the basement, you may want to look at using a "proper" firewall that can VLAN them onto their own subnet, and keep them out of your internal network (for security reasons). When I set up my parent's network, I put all of the "Internet of Things" devices (thermostat, sprinkler controller, solar monitor, etc) on their own subnet and VLAN because they are something that I have very little control of, and I see as being a big network risk. Just my $0.02
  
  Let me know if any of this didn't make sense to you.
  
  Cheers!
  
  Edit: additions in bold above

NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Plus PoE Switch (GS108PEv3) - with 4 x PoE @ 53W, Desktop/Rackmount, and ProSAFE Limited Lifetime Protection https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1C03U2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SHL2DbWKH84A7

I got one of these although I haven't used managed part yet. Just got it a few days ago.

• It does not have built in WiFi (you can get it as an option but I don't recommend it)
  
  Is there a particular reason why not?
  
  >The SG-2220 only has two Ethernet ports- one for LAN, one for WAN
  
  Could both of these to connect some device (game console, smartTV, etc) to the internet (via wired connection), or only one?
  
  Kind of a dumb question, but can you just get an "Ethernet splitter" dongle like you can with coax, or will they degrade the signal strength on the line. (i.e. What exactly is the "Ethernet Switch" - the actual box doing besides just Ethernet having ports. PoE aside).
  
  I guess I'm a little confused. I though that the modem regulates (modulates) the actually signal to the web at large, while the router simply created your local/home network, allowed WiFi, and made it so that many devices could use the same ISP connection at once. With those things separates out - access point (for WiFI) and ethernet switch (for wired). What is the rest of the router actually doing?
  
  
  I'm sure these are pretty dumb questions for most people on this sub. But I though I knew something about networking - I obviously dont :(

There is no way to add poe to the Verizon router. Simplest solution Is to buy a switch which supports 4-6 poe Ethernet connections plus one extra port to connect it to your router.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Gigabit-Lifetime-Protection-GS108PEv3/dp/B00M1C03U2

Edit: There are poe injectors that work per individual Ethernet connection so technically you could use the fios router and get poe. That would be extremely inefficient though compared to a poe switch.

No prob- I really don't like crazy annoying neighbors too so I sympathize with you on the battle :)

I use this one in my attic: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M1C03U2
Anything that is to POE standard will work. Do be sure you get a camera that supports PoE. They are a bit more but make for a much easier install. Injectors work too, just will need more wiring.

The problem with DVR boxes like the Amcrest mentioned is they aren't really upgradeable and I don't think they'll have near the feature set that a PC running BI will. With that said however, they are MUCH simpler which is a plus.

Excellent choice on the Camera. I have one of that model and it's great. Great bang for the buck and super small.

I agree that a DVR would be the fastest setup. I've never used any of the cloud services primarily because of companies like Foscam's track record of being hacked.


As far as I understand the numbers, a single 4 megapixel camera like that Amcrest will require roughly 12 megabits of bandwidth for full resolution. You connection being 12mbps down is most likely 2-4mbps up.(Gotta love comcast...) This will make real-time remote viewing difficult. There are two tools for this issue.

1. You can transcode the live feed into a more efficient, lower resolution, higher compression feed. BlueIris does a good job of this.
   
2. You can record and store the clips in full resolution and gradually upload them to cloud storage if required.
   
   You'll find that 99% of the time the cameras will be recording nothing so keeping footage of nothing is often pointless.
   
   My setup is this at home: I have a camera overlooking my driveway and another over my front door. The front door camera will detect when someone is at the door and "trigger". This will record the last 10 seconds of both the front door and driveway cameras while also sending an email to me with still photos from each camera. The number of times i've caught UPS/USPS/Fedex dropping my packages has been disturbing... Anyway, this setup requires very little disk because it's only recording when it detects motion. At any time I can go back and see all the motion events and play them in full resolution for either camera.
   
   If I'm not mistaken, the distance limit for Cat6 is 328ft. Given that you're going to be needing performance for multiple cameras, I would err on the side of safety and use one or two switches. Over distance, your performance may degrade but still should be within acceptable limits. There is also a distance limit for PoE, might need to keep that in mind too.
   
   My other tip would be that you'll need to be mindful of security here too. Make sure to use a firewall and do not open the cameras themselves up to the internet as the firmware is often insecure. Only open the feed from your DVR/BI box and not the actual cameras themselves.
   
   Good luck!

> I'd just add that if you wanted to go (mostly) all-in on UniFi, but not go crazy and spend too much $, you could forgo the switch and just use any cheap unmanaged switch.

In fact, I recommended these two for my folks, one of which is unmanaged and the other lightly managed, but both with PoE: the D-Link DGS1008P or the Netgear GS108E. Problem is that some of the APs are not exactly 802.3-compliant, so you might end up needing a little in-line convertor.

Wifi adapters for the printers is the easiest solution here if the printers must also be online. The phone and pc have the hardwired connection which is stable and fast, but printing is fine on a slower connection. You can get these little dongles that connect to your wifi but present an ethernet port to your printer. Some printer models can have a wifi module installed, but the 3rd party dongle is universal.

Also you can, arguably drop a switch at every desk. At the minimum it should be Poe to power that phone and be managed. I could see using something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-Gigabit-Managed-GS108PE-300NAS/dp/B00M1C03U2


I imagine this will be a configuration and support headache as these things can be buggy and probably will need to be replaced every x amount of years on top of having failures now and again that require lots of spares. But they sure beat unmanaged switches.

Or toss in a USB ethernet adapter, plug the printer, and bridge the internet connection. No idea if removing the laptop from the dock breaks this setup or the bridge autmatically reconnects when they dock. I would consider this solution pretty buggy and support heavy.

Is there any cabling already aside from your ethernet cable? Sub-cat5 phone cabling? Old digital phone twisted pair? Coax? If so you can buy adapters that make those lines work like ethernet, its a bit like running your own DSL network (vdsl per cube is expensive but oddly enough coax ethernet is cheap). The results and speeds vary but would provide enough mbps to run that printer. If its cat3 then you can run 10mbps over it with no adapters, sure that's slow, but a large-ish 50megabyte print job will take 40 seconds. You may need train staff to learn to wait for 'larger' print jobs, not sure if that's a deal breaker Might want to make sure the printer actually supports 10mbps first. It might only be 100/1000. Also, I believe if you have all 4 pairs of CAT3 available you can get a stable 100mbps at reasonable distances which solves the slowness issue, but dont quote me on that.

Personally, if I had to do this today I'd get wifi>ethernet dongles if I couldn't get 100mbps working on the existing phone cables that I'm assuming your voip solution is replacing.

Ah, in that case I'd say just go with a regular Netgear switch or something - aside from the controller integration on the Unifi line, their switches don't really bring much to the table.

I know these aren't as fancy as some of the switches that get talked about here often, but these look really decent for someone looking to start their own homelab. I don't really have experience with NETGEAR equipment, but a lot of these are managed, PoE and 10Gb.

THIS 8-port managed switch seems pretty cheap, there's a $10 rebate form.

SAME SWITCH but with 4 PoE ports.

You're welcome.

Oh, Power over Ethernet (PoE)? Well, I'm just learning about it myself actually. What you need to know is to accomplish PoE, for say, a security camera, you'll need a PoE Switch like this one. The power this switch gets is able to send power through the ethernet cables (cat6 in your case) to the device. So, it basically works like this:
Ac Adaptor plug > A powered PoE switch > Cat6 (now powered) > Poe Device (like a security camera).

You can have the NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE 8-Port Gigabit PoE Web Managed (Plus) Switch with 4 PoE Ports 53W (GS108PE-300NAS) with a price of 99$ on Amazon. Configure VLAN, QoS, IGMP Snooping, rate limiting and traffic monitoring on the switch, which might be suitable for you!

Here is the link for your reference: https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-GS108PE-Gigabit-GS108PE-300NAS/dp/B00M1C03U2/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473834803&sr=1-10&keywords=8+port+managed+switch

Ubiquity APs get power through ethernet, which is usually trivial for companies that use enterprise/SOHO-grade switches. For consumers, you can have what's called a PoE injector provide power to an Ubiquity AP. The Injector would reside in the same room as the AirPort and be "in-line" for the connection between the AirPort and AP.

You can also have a network switch that also has PoE injectors that the ethernet cable that runs to the AP connects to. Then, the network switch connects to your home router (which I assume is the AirPort). The network switch option would be better if you have multiple APs in your home and/or multiple network drops, since I doubt the AirPort has that many ethernet ports on the back.

Disclaimer: the items I linked are examples. They're what I'd personally use, but you're free to use another brand if you'd prefer.

I am curious what replies you will get.

I, personally, do not like PoE injectors. I prefer PoE switches and am looking at https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-GS108PE-Gigabit-GS108PE-300NAS/dp/B00M1C03U2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1481041712&sr=8-7&keywords=8+port+poe+switch as an option for my setup.