Help Setting Up Network

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chris21010

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Jun 6, 2011
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Hello, currently i have Charter ISP and am using their provided modem/router/wi-fi and it is no longer able to keep up with the demands we need. we are trying to hard wire all critical computers and other devices, like NAS, time clock, security cameras, and credit card processing. total number of wired ports i need is currently 12 and with the provided combo unit only having 4 i need to know what devices i need to purchase in order to get those wired ports as well as provide wi-fi throughout the whole shop.

currently, i know that i will need a modem and i was looking at grabbing the ARRIS SurfBoard SB6141. this will provide the internet to my network but that is about as far as can get with my current understanding of networks. what i need help figuring out is what hardware i need to purchase in order to achieve the minimum 12 wired ports and get wi-fi. do i need to be looking into getting a 16 port switch and a wi-fi router or stack multiple routers? and then how do i wire said devices so i do not get networking errors, internet to all devices, and access to the NAS.
 
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kanewolf
Start with a 16 or 24 port gigabit switch. If your NAS can aggregate network ports (the NAS has multiple ethernet ports) then a smart or managed switch would be beneficial. You will still need a router of some type. Your router could be a wired only unit or a wireless unit. If you need more WIFI coverage, then using a system like the UniFi hardware from Ubiquiti -- https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ is designed to work with multiple access points. The edge router lite -- https://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-lite/ could be your router.
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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Start with a 16 or 24 port gigabit switch. If your NAS can aggregate network ports (the NAS has multiple ethernet ports) then a smart or managed switch would be beneficial. You will still need a router of some type. Your router could be a wired only unit or a wireless unit. If you need more WIFI coverage, then using a system like the UniFi hardware from Ubiquiti -- https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ is designed to work with multiple access points. The edge router lite -- https://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-lite/ could be your router.
 
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chris21010

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ok, so if i understand you correctly i can purchase a switch, 16 or 24 port, and then plug my modem into it along with all my other devices. then for the wi-fi side of things 2-3 unifi AP's plug into the router linked and then that router plugs into the switch.

now my NAS is an old Netgear STORA with only 1 ethernet port, so would i still need the smart/managed switch or will any switch do? also will people connected to the wifi be able to access the NAS since it would be on the switch and not the wifi router?
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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The preferred order is -- modem -> router -> switch -> devices . Even with high bandwidth internet (200Mbit+) a single gigabit 24port switch can handle everything. You need the router to map all the local IP addresses (192.168.x.y) to your public IP address. Your router also acts as a firewall for your entire network.

Since your NAS has only a single ethernet port you don't HAVE to have a managed switch. There can still be advantages to having a managed switch, such as traffic monitoring and port mirroring (copying all traffic from a port to another port for analysis).

Anybody connected to WIFI will be able to connect to any device on the LAN. The WIFI router will keep a table of hardware addresses and know that traffic going to the NAS has to go out one of the LAN ports just like today. The fact that there is an extra switch in the path is transparent to the WIFI router.
 
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