Home network layout with NAS - please advise

[solesurvivor81]

I recently had my house wired for CAT6. All the cables go back to a wall mounted rack in the hallway. There are 24 drops in total. 4 of those drops lead to a garden office/games room. My plan is 1000mbit down and 100mbit up. I also have a Synology NAS I really want to get up and running and VoIP that needs DMZ.

My plans so far are as follows

UPS in the network rack. This willl be used as a backup for all network equipment, including NAS and VoIP. I also have an automatic backup generator wired in to my fuse board, so the UPS will allow for a seamless transition.

PoE injector powered from network rack, connecting to a corresponding PoE splitter at the ONT. This would mean the ONT is protected from a power output, and thus does not knock out the NAS or VoIP.

Existing Asus RT-AX86U. Will be connected to ONT using gigabit WAN port and placed underneath network rack. Router itself will be 6ft off the ground. DMZ will be set up on this for the VoIP hub.

New Asus RT-AX55. Will be used with AiMesh wired backhaul for WiFi in the garden office/games room and the garden itself. May use a PoE injector and splitter setup to back this up as well.

Swann 8 channel NVR system. NVR will be stored in network rack. Will use HDMI and USB over ethernet adapters to connect to remote display and mouse in another room. Cameras that can all be viewed on a monitor at the same time and also work with Alexa are a requirement.

8 port 2.5gb switch. Will be connected directly to 2.5gb port on RT-AX86U and used for PC's and consoles.

TP Link 8 port 1gb switch with another identical switch OR a new 16 port 1gb switch. Will be used for sub gigabit devices, or those that can't utilise the NAS. Wondering if I should connect the 1gb switch(es) to the RT-AX86U or the 2.5gb switch.

Synology DS920+. Got this as a Christmas present, still waiting in its box for the home network it deserves. Thinking of going with WD Gold or one of the WD Red lines for the HDDs. I noticed that Seagate drives are a popular choice for Synology's, but myself and a few of my friends had bad experiences with Seagate in the past. Will use both gigabit ports for link aggregation, but wondering if I should connect them to the RT-AX86U or the 2.5gb switch. Planning to use this bad boy for regular backups of phones and PCs, and our music, photo and video library.

Philips Hue bridge. Will be placed outside of network rack, on top of it.

VoIP hub. Will be connected directly to the router for DMZ and placed outside and on top of network rack.

I would like to eliminate any bottlenecks that could happen from the 1gbit internet connection and NAS aggregation being fully utilised at the same time.

 

[Clark Griswald]

IMHO, that swann system seems low rent compared to your other hardware. The 920+ is able to use Surveillance Station and that will free-up space inside your rack, and allow significantly better cameras.
I use WD REDs in our 918+ without issues. Max your memory on your 920, I have my ram at the synology max (8), plus 2-512 ssds.
You can save space and upgrade your network with a 2.5Gbe PoE switch.

 

[bbunge]

I agree with not using Seagate. But, use WD Red Pro which are CMR drives. I had one WD drive fail in my DS218J after three years of operation. Was not a problem to replace with a like drive.

As for where to connect the NAS, the switch would be better than the router. And put the router above all the other hardware.

 

[solesurvivor81]

IMHO, that swann system seems low rent compared to your other hardware. The 920+ is able to use Surveillance Station and that will free-up space inside your rack, and allow significantly better cameras.
I use WD REDs in our 918+ without issues. Max your memory on your 920, I have my ram at the synology max (8), plus 2-512 ssds.
You can save space and upgrade your network with a 2.5Gbe PoE switch.

I understand Swann's NVR kits aren't the best, but there aren't many wired solutions that work with Alexa and allow for all cameras to be viewed simultaneously a monitor. As great as it seems to be, I dont think Surveillance Station supports either of those features. Any alternatives to a Swann system with both of the aforementioned features?

 

[solesurvivor81]

I agree with not using Seagate. But, use WD Red Pro which are CMR drives. I had one WD drive fail in my DS218J after three years of operation. Was not a problem to replace with a like drive.

As for where to connect the NAS, the switch would be better than the router. And put the router above all the other hardware.

Are the Red Pro's noisy like some people make them out to be?

Will the DMZ needed for the VoIP hub work as safely when the VoIP hub is connected to the switch as opposed to the router?

 

[Tech9]

So much work for Ethernet cables and... two home routers with Alexa on top? Interesting.

 

[Clark Griswald]

@solesurvivor81
Surveillance Station v9 My previous link was the technical end of SS, and this new link should "show" more clearly the abilities of SS on your 920+. Your Alexa requirement is easily overcome.

 

[sfx2000]

IMHO, that swann system seems low rent compared to your other hardware. The 920+ is able to use Surveillance Station and that will free-up space inside your rack, and allow significantly better cameras.

Yeah, but the upside there with Swann - everything is integrated, and if something doesn't work, there's an email and phone number for tech support. Swann has been doing this stuff for years, and it's tightly integrated and highly optimized - has to be for their price point... and they're priced right at that point that it's a of a jump to get in to the platform, and too much to walk away from it doesn't work, and they'll make it work...

NAS boxes do not make for good security camera servers, all they do is store the data, integration with other things is up to the end user from cameras to viewing apps - it's a checkbox feature but I've not seen one that does it well enough.

IIRC - I think syno's free license is only for 3 cameras, QTS over in QnapLand is similar...

 

[sfx2000]

WD Red Pro which are CMR drives

RedPlus are also CMR, FWIW...

Seagate Ironwolf - never SMR, just saying - I don't by WD's spinning rust any more because of the shenanigans they pulled...

 

[sfx2000]

Existing Asus RT-AX86U. Will be connected to ONT using gigabit WAN port and placed underneath network rack. Router itself will be 6ft off the ground. DMZ will be set up on this for the VoIP hub.

New Asus RT-AX55. Will be used with AiMesh wired backhaul for WiFi in the garden office/games room and the garden itself. May use a PoE injector and splitter setup to back this up as well.

Go buy a real router and a set of AP's - if you've invested this much, it's not a big step to move away from Asus, and into some prosumer level gear...

UniFi is one, TP-Link Omada, that's another...

 

[sfx2000]

I agree with not using Seagate. But, use WD Red Pro which are CMR drives. I had one WD drive fail in my DS218J after three years of operation. Was not a problem to replace with a like drive.

Remember - SMR drives are just fine - given their purpose - they don't fail because they are SMR.

SMR is not good for NAS applications - esp in ZFS roles, but I would suggest they're not fit for purpose in any kind of NAS except perhaps as a single bay drive, or an external USB drive to back up that NAS - which is an important thing...

WD RedPlus (and Pro) along with WD Gold are all CMR - so they're fine (for the moment).

Seagate got caught up in the SMR mess as well, with Barracuda Compute drives, so it's not just WD.

10 years or go (maybe longer now) - Seagate had an issue with the plant over in Thailand, and a lot of 3TB drives made it out into the market that would fail very early - wasn't a product line specific issue, but 3TB's had issues...

There was another issue, and if I recall, it was OEM specific (HD vendors do OEM specific firmware from time to time) where certain SMART counters would roll over and brick the drives, but that was more data center centric.

And if your of a certain age - there was the IBM Deathstar issue where they would have the seek of death...

The 75GXP was a beast of a performer, building on it's predecessors - but it had a flaw...

And IBM had issues facing up to it, blaming users rather than accepting it as a design flaw...

Why Lying About Storage Products Is Bad: An IBM DeskStar Story

We never thought we'd be publishing an article on any variation of "Why Lying is Bad," but given recent events in the storage industry, a refresher seems to be in order. Bait-and-switching customers has consequences.

www.extremetech.com

Which is why folks are sensitive to some degree now when Vendors are caught outright bullshitting people on spec sheets...

(this issue goes well beyond just HDD's - SSD's have been caught in the BS web as well with review samples not matching production)

 

[ddaenen1]

VoIP hub. Will be connected directly to the router for DMZ and placed outside and on top of network rack.

Didn't know that VOIP was still a thing with all the voice calling options via Teams, whatsapp or similar apps. I dumped my VOIP years ago.

 

[Tech9]

I do have VoIP home phone and it's used regularly. It doesn't need any apps and it offers €0.02/minute rates from N. America to Europe. The service is €6.80/month. When we call our old age parents they don't need to have a phone with apps nor need to know what Teams or WhatsApp is.

 

[Pocah]

The NAS entirely depends on what you are going to do with it. I have one at home. Ultimately the speed limit is not the network, it's the drives. The configuration of the drives will greatly affect speed. Certainly, in my case, aggregation made no difference.
Gold drives are just very noisy so that depends on where it will be located. I use WD Reds.

Are you sure the VOIP needs DMZ? I have a Grandstream ATA and a Cisco ATA just sat on the Asus router. Well, on a switch connected to the router. They are not on DMZ.

I suppose something like a Fritzbox could be connected to a DMZ port? Is that what you are doing?

 

[Tech9]

Are you sure the VOIP needs DMZ?

My Grandstream ATA is not in DMZ and is working properly. Not sure about any Asuswrt related specifics, but no issues on pfSense at least.

 

[solesurvivor81]

The VoIP hub in question is actually an ISP router. It's a Sky SR203. I was looking to place it behind my good router, but that mightn't be possible now that I think of it.

I've been thinking about scrapping most of my original plan and going with the below Ubiquiti gear.

UDM Pro

USW Enterprise 24 PoE - The gigabit only switches would struggle with both the Synology and gigabit broadband connection. A few 2.5gb ports are needed as well, so this fits the bill.

2 Unifi 6 Pro's - Our house is less than 1000sqft, but is also of a masonry construction. I feel that 2 AP's are necessary for consistent coverage in the house and the garden. Unifi 6 Lites would struggle with gigabit broadband and NAS, and look like a downgrade from the AX5700 RT-AX86U.

8 Unifi Protect cameras - When combined with the ViewPort, they tick all the boxes apart from being Alexa compatible. We only really need Alexa compatibility for the front door and we already have a Ring Doorbell Wired for that. Haven't decided on the exact models, suggestions are welcome.

 

[Pocah]

The VoIP hub in question is actually an ISP router. It's a Sky SR203. I was looking to place it behind my good router, but that mightn't be possible now that I think of it.

Ah, I see.
I had a similar problem, I think, with my router. My supplier uses a Fritz router with built in VOIP. It seems that the VOIP must use that particular router. I never thought to try what you are suggesting. The problem was that it needed a subscription to try it, so I wasn't willing to go there. Instead I bought a Grandstream VOIP and went for an independent service.