DIY networking - heads up on Ubiquity

[Tim Watts]

Just redone my core network and WiFi plus experimenting with IP cameras:

I've got their 16 port PoE+, controller "dongle" and WiFi AC-Pro access point (3xMIMO radios) and I have to say, I am *massively* impressed. The system is very friendly and has the feel of enterprise grade kit with prosumer pricing.

The switch was relatively expensive - and you don't need it to run just an access point - those come with a PoE injector as a backup option. However, it's low noise (has fans, but it's not engaged them yet) and I will be adding enough PoE parts to justify it (8 port edge switches can be PoE powered as are the cameras and WiFi points).

The controller can be done as software on linux (I preferred a "dongle" for my core network, but ran up the video recorder stuff as software on one of my linux servers).

WiFi signal is solid and impressive - getting excellent dB readings, even on 5GHz and the behaviour of the Roku and casting has been much improved over the old AP I had.

Camera ecosystem looks promising - very easy to configure and the recording is good. Light on features (no masking or area motion detect, just overall motion detection) but image quality is good and access over a web browser or phone app is solid (either the camera or the recorder software - the cams can run managed or standalone).

No connection - just a happy customer.

Next plan is to get a 19" wall cabinet in somewhere with a patch panel, drop some permanent Cat6a cables (I fancy the look of the Excel keystone toolless jack system) and mount up this switch properly :)

[John Rumm]

The Excel stuff is my kit of choice for any data wiring these days. Well made and nice to use...

[Brian Gaff]

Of course you are aware of the boxing up sods law syndrome? Whenever back in the 70s, I made an electronic device that hung together on bits of wire on a bench, its performance was flawless, but box it up and make it look good and it never works properly... grin. Brian

[Dave Liquorice]

Is that real IEE802.3af or IEE802.3at PoE? Some Ubiquity "PoE" is passive 24 V DC straight onto pairs of the cable with no interlock. This put me off Ubiquity kit a year or so ago, far to easy to give somethinga 24 V surprise and let the magic smoke out.

Cat5e will run Gigabit and is easier to handle than Cat6...

How do you terminate the cables without a tool? Either to fit an RJ45 to plug into the keystone or to strip back the jacket to arrange the wires correctly into some other connection on the keystone?

[Tim Watts]

802.3at+af but the ports *can* be programmed for 24V passive - something I'm keen to avoid for similar reasons (more to do with cable faults blowing the polyfuse in the port which can happen, as reported by someone on a forum).

One of the cams is actually 24V passive, but comes with an inline converter to 802.3af - which at least means consistent settings on the switch and I put the converter near the end device.

In theory, as I understand it, all PoE (including passive) put DC

*between pairs* rather than across wires in a pair, so really, nothing should be going bang as the isolating transformers in any given device will provide decent inter-pair isolation:

and 24V is on the low side for things expecting power.

Or am I missing something?

I did put 24V onto the af side of the inline converter to see if bad things might happen and in that case, they didn't.

The main reason I prefer to avoid it is the risk of the cable (installation) cable being damaged and blowing the port.

But I would certainly suggest it to Ubiquity, to have a master config setting that says "only PoE+ or nothing".

Yes indeed - but for installation cable, I'm going for future proofing :) Mac Pro's already come with 10000baseT ethernet - it's not that far over the horizon that we'll all be saying "pah - gigabit???".

They mean no special crimping or punchdown tool. I think strippers are allowed :)

[Andy Burns]

10Gbase-T won't do the full 100m over cat6 (though I suppose 55m is fine for most houses, if not then use cat6a, shielded for maximum future proofing).

cat5e can be used for MultiGig (2.5 or 5.0 Gbit), but so far I've only seen APs using that rather than PCs, but it seems gaming laptops are starting to support it.

[Tim Watts]

Yes indeed - Cat6 *may* manage 10g, but it's not properly ratified by any standards. I meant 6a (as in my original post, the above was a typo).

On a related note, Cat7a seems to be making an appearance with twice the raw bandwidth... I won't be going that far :)

[Theo]

If you're doing the full future proofing thing, I might consider fibre for higher bandwidths. Terminating it is easier than 10GBASE-T (unless your equipment only has an RJ45 and nothing else).

Gamer desktops are also starting to support it - eg chips from Aquantia. However the current lack (as with 10G) is affordable switches. (in the case of 10G, ex-datacentre kit is a good option at this point).

Theo

[John Rumm]

Another work round is link aggregation - i.e. using multiple 1G links aggregated at layer two on a smart switch.

For example my NAS connects to my LAN via 4 x 1G ports aggregated together giving it 4GB/s total connectivity. Needless to say the bottleneck is the single 1G connection to the desktop - but at at least it can saturate the connection to more than one machine at a time.

[Tim Watts]

Looks easy enough to me:

[Tim Watts]

I did that at work last time around (going 10g this time :)

The main disadvantage (apart from extra cables) is the hashing algorithm (used for link selection for any given packet) tends to be keyed to the client and remote IP - so all the traffic between 2 devices will tend (in all forms of LA I've used) to get stuffed down one link.

[Vir Campestris]

If you're doing the full future proof thing you'll make sure that you've run conduits anywhere you might need them when you are redecorating. (or rewiring, etc). Then when you've guessed wrong you can just stuff something different down it.

Andy

[Tim Watts]

Already done mate :)

20mm oval (2 cables capacity) to each single box, and most sockets have a single (occasionally double) box next to them.

[Dave Liquorice]

interlock.

Ah that's not so bad.

But not in cheapo cable testers. B-)

Well there will be twice the current and twice the voltage drop along the cable for a given power compared to 802.3a*.

Lots of kit has Gigabit ports, lots of kit hasn't a hope of saturating that port. Future proofing? Single mode fibre. B-)

Not "toolless" then is it? Bloody marketing... B-)

[Tim Watts]

You can't trip Cat6a with your teeth? ;->>>

[John Rumm]

I tend to trip with my feet ;-)