fossilesqueFeb 21

Lemmings, please give us your info dump.

https://mander.xyz/post/47816310

Show threadMystikIncarnateFeb 21

Nobody wants my info dump. I know way too much about networking and computers. The topics are massively deep, like iceberg levels of deep. One for each topic.

I would lecture for an entire day on the nuance and considerations of picking a Wi-Fi channel, or you can ignore me and just hit “auto” which may or may not take some, or all, of my considerations into account when selecting a channel.

If anyone is keen to hear some generally good advice about home networking, here’s my elevator speech:

Wire when you can, wireless when you have to. Wi-Fi is shared and half duplex, every wired connection is exclusive to the device and full duplex. If you can’t Ethernet, use MoCA, or powerline (depending on what internal power structures you have, this can be excellent or unusable, keep your receipts). Mesh is best with a dedicated backhaul, better with a wired backhaul. Demand it from any system you consider. The latest and greatest Wi-Fi technology probably won’t fix whatever problem you’re having, it will only temporarily reduce the symptoms and you won’t notice it for a while. Be weary about upgrading and ask yourself why you require the upgrade. Newer wireless won’t fix bad signal, or dropouts.

For everything else, Google. That’s how I find most of the information I know.

Good luck.

I’ll be around in case anyone has questions. No promises on when I’ll be able to reply tho.

Show threadBartyDeCanterFeb 22
I set up my house with cat6 when I moved in. The overall setup looks like 10G fiber to the house -> 2.5G capable router -> 2.5G capable NAS running *arr stack. Also off the router is a single cat6 downstairs -> 8 port 1G unmanaged switch, which is connected to my desktop, work dock, parters dock, TV, and backhaul run to the back of house wifi extender. The desktop, both docks and wifi extender are 2.5G capable. This has been extremely reliable. I plan on upgrading the switch to a 10g capable one at some point, and then the router. Since the switch is unmanaged, is there a good way to know when it is the limiting factor and I should update it?
Show threadZagorathFeb 23
What’s the pros & cons of a managed vs unmanaged switch? Or of just running multiple cables out of the router? (Assuming your router has sufficient ports.)
Show threadBartyDeCanter

My router only has four downstream ports, and due to the layout of my house I only want to run one cable from the router to my home office anyway. If it had enough ports and the house was laid out differently I wouldn’t have bothered with the switch.

Unmanaged switches are usually quite a bit cheaper and just work. You plug everything in and that’s it. Managed switches need configuring and cost more. I paid $25 for my 8 port 10/100/1000 switch, while the managed version is about $120. With a managed switch you can do things like turn individual ports on and off, traffic limit and monitor per port, and other fancy networking things that I’ve never bothered with.

Feb 23 at 2:43pmWeb
Show threadZagorathFeb 23

Ah that’s interesting. Thanks!

What does 10/100/1000 mean?

Show threadBartyDeCanterFeb 23

That’s that speed the ports are capable of. 10/100/1000 megabits per second. Most things with an Ethernet port nowadays are 10/100/1000 capable, and 2.5Gb is becoming reasonably common.

Weirdly, Roku and other smart TVs are often only 100Mb capable since 4k streaming only requires about 60Mb and if you are squeezing pennies a 1Gb port is a bit more expensive.

10Gb is just starting to get available for high end consumer devices.

Show threadZagorathFeb 24
So is it some ports support 10, some support 100, and some support the full 1000? Or how does it work with the three different speeds?
Show threadBartyDeCanterFeb 24
All of the ports support all three speeds. When you first plug in, there is a quick round of negotiations where both sides basically say “Here are the speeds I can work, what about you?” Then they go with the highest that both support.
Show threadZagorathMar 2
Wait so what would happen if it was only 1000? Like, can’t any connection automatically support up to its limit? What’s the advantage of explicitly supporting lower numbers?
Show threadBartyDeCanterMar 2
Support for older/slower connections does get dropped sometimes. I’ve seen devices that are 100/1000 only, and I had a fiber->ethernet box that only supported 1G/10G one one port, and 10/100/1000 on the other.
Show threadZagorathMar 2
So what happens when that occurs? Does it just stop working, or does it work at the lower speed despite the lack of official “support” for it?
Show threadBartyDeCanterMar 2
If the two sides don’t have a common speed, then it just doesn’t work.
Show threadZagorathMar 3
Oh damn, really? So do normal home routers have to support basically every possible speed? Because I don’t think I’ve ever encountered or heard of someone encountering a failure due to a speed mismatch.
Show threadBartyDeCanterMar 3
Basically, yes, but there are only three speeds in common use. 10/100/1000M will be enough to support for basically every consumer device out there. 2.5G is starting to become common in routers and some desktop or high end docks, and 10G is starting to show up in high end prosumer devices, but they can usually also support at least 100/1000M. There isn’t much 10M gear still out there except in very specific industrial applications. Really, if your router supports 100/1000 it will cover 99% of the devices in the wild.
Show threadZagorathMar 3
Oh very interesting. Thanks for being so patient! I had no idea about this. I always just assumed that if a device said it supported 100M, that necessarily meant that if you connect a 10M device up to it, it’ll automatically take the lower speed. Like a car with a max speed of 10 can go on a road with a speed limit of 100…it’ll just be limited to 10. I didn’t realise it had to sync up like that.