How "should" a network be setup?

[Pstark]

I have trying to optimize my network as I feel it might not be the "proper" way to set it up. I'm just looking for some information on where network devices should be placed. I don't understand the levels of a network and that seems to be what I see a lot.

 

For example: should my LAN go directly into my fastest switch then branch off from there to slower devices? Or should it go to slower devices first then the faster devices?

[Frank1940]

11 hours ago, Pstark said:

should my LAN go directly into my fastest switch

 

LAN means Local Area Network.  Your LAN consists of everything inside your MODEM.  A more purist might even say it consists everything the LAN side of your router.  (Your router has a LAN side and WAN side-- Wide Area Network -- which is connected to your MODEM.  Sometimes, the MODEM and router are combined into one package.)    I am assuming that you have never really thought about your LAN before.

 

My first rule about setting up a LAN is to only plug one cable into the LAN side connectors on the router.  Every cable you plug into the router increases the power consumption of the router.  Heat is the first enemy of all electronics and routers are expensive!  

 

Second rule is about WIFI.  If you are expecting to use WIFI as the primary connection for most of your network, don't use the built-in WIFI of the router.  Use dedicated WIFI access points instead.  (I do have an access point in a central location for better coverage but I follow Rule 3...)

 

Third rule, don't use WIFI if you can use cat5 (or better) cable.  Your performance will always be better.  Reserve WIFI for Smartphone and IOT devices whenever possible.  You can also use it for Guests who visit your house.  (On my network, I have these on a VLAN--- Virtual Local Area Network ---so that they isolated from my primary LAN for security.)

 

Now about setting up switches.  I currently have a 16 port Gb switch with a bandwidth of 32Gb/s connected to my router with a cat5 cable .  That connection limits the WAN traffic to 1Gb/s but my Internet is only 300Mb/s so that is not a problem.  Most of my computers are connected to that switch.  That 32Gb/s bandwidth guarantees that everything connected to that switch always has Gb speed available at all times.  (Obviously, if two computers are access my server simultaneously, each computer will be limited to about 500Mb/s because the server connection can only handle 1Gb/s.) 

 

I have two cables that go to Gb switches in other parts of the house.  These service home theater setups.  One switch is in the master bedroom on the main floor of the and it has two devices attached to it.  The other cable goes to the basement to a distribution switch.  At this point, there are one cable coming in and two cables going out to the areas where the other home theater setup are.  Again, there is a Gb switch at each location.  There are several connections to these switches for the various devices to provide content.  Obliviously, nothing in a entertainment environment requires Gb speed to serve content.  (I do have Mini computers as KODI appliances and I do make images of their hard drives but even that activity can be scheduled to prevent conflict of resources as it only takes a few minutes of network time to transfer the files.) 

 

The home theater setup have the potential for slower transfer speeds but I feel that they don't really need access to Gb speeds on a consistent basis.  BluRay content require about 50Mb/s max speed.  I don't what 4K content requires but it can't be much higher-- maybe 100Mb/s.  Accepting these conditions limits the number of every long cables runs to devices that don't really need Gb speed.  Five and Eight port Gb switches are available for $15US to $40US and that is probably cheaper that the cables they replace.

 

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Frank1940

[Pstark]

So right now I'm running a fiber line (10G) from my pfSense box to my switch (Ubiquiti 10G).

[Frank1940]

I can't find any description of that switch (Ubiquiti 10G).  How many 10Gb ports does it have? 

 

What is connected to that pfsense router that can supply a 10Gb stream? 

 

How many of your other devices on your network actually have 10Gb capability?   

 

(Right now I am about as impressed as if you had told me you have a 1965 Volkswagen Bug and 1000HP engine in use in it.)

[Pstark]

1 minute ago, Frank1940 said:

I can't find any description of that switch (Ubiquiti 10G).  How many 10Gb ports does it have?

Switch Aggregation - https://rb.gy/stzpv

 

32 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

What is connected to that pfsense router that can supply a 10Gb stream?

Intel X520-DA1 fiber to Unraid X520-DA2

50 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

How many of your other devices on your network actually have 10Gb capability?

pfSense, switch, Unraid and computer

I want a more capable network.

 

51 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

(Right now I am about as impressed as if you had told me you have a 1965 Volkswagen Bug and 1000HP engine in use in it.)

Not sure what to make of this?

[apandey]

1 hour ago, Pstark said:

pfSense, switch, Unraid and computer

I want a more capable network

What specific capabilities are you after? There is no best network, only one that works or doesn't work against specific goals

[Frank1940]

Think of a network like a water distribution system.  Do  you need a 12" pipe from the street to your house?  Do you need a 12" pipe to your kitchen sink?  Is there any circumstance when you need all the water that a 12" pipe can supply?  Can the water source even provide that much water? 

 

I can not recall another question about setting up a 10Gb network.  (There probably are 10Gb networks but they were set up by already knowledgeable folks who could do so without having to ask.)  There have been a lot of folks who have connected together two computers (one being an Unraid server) with a direct connection between them.  They generally are using a Gb or 2.5Gb network for the balance of their network.  (I understand that 10Gb fiber is used in the corporate world to connected together devices like 48-port Gb switches to a higher level 10Gb switch to minimize lag in data flow in-and-out of those low level switches.  There are real problems in these often very large networks as to where you put server appearances to maximize productivity.)

 

Basically, you would want all of your 10Gb using devices connected to the same switch.  That will give you the fastest transfer speeds.  Now you have to figure out how you are going to be able to supply data at a 10Gb speed...

 

Have you ask these questions on the Ubiquiti user forums?   They would have people who deal with networking on a daily basis.  Most folks here treat their LAN network backbone as an appliance solution with off-the-shelf devices.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Frank1940

[ljm42]

For me at least, network reliability is key and speed is a distant second. My main suggestion for networking is to keep it simple - if you have issues and need support, the more complex your network the fewer people there are who can help. So avoid jumbo frames and bonding. And use minimal VLANs - I put my IOT devices on a separate VLAN but keep all the real computers on the main network (with no VLAN tag)

 

The UI LAG switches are for SPF connections only, so plug whatever SPF devices you have in there and plug your RJ45 switches into something else. But that seems kind of obvious : ) so maybe you could describe a bit more about what kind of advice you are looking for?

 

I described my setup a bit in this thread, in case it helps:
https://forums.unraid.net/topic/137637-unraid-networking-help/#comment-1252169 

 

[Pstark]

Ultimately I'm wanted to know if I have my network setup "correctly"? I have read about "layers" of networks and also about "pyramid" network setups. I'm nearly certain that I'm overthinking it but that's the point of the thread; I'm asking to how should a network be setup? There are going to be folks in the same situation that will be able to search and find this post but this thread is getting off-topic. The reason I added a 10Gig switch is because I'm planning to add a backup server to my network and that requires a fast connection.

[apandey]

On 4/19/2023 at 7:22 AM, Pstark said:

There are going to be folks in the same situation that will be able to search and find this post

It's not clear to me what that situation is. I asked about your objectives for that reason 

 

If there was a single way to "correctly" set up a network, other ways won't exist. If you are looking for best practices, you need to clearly put out what you want. How many devices, how you want them to communicate, what you want out of it (speed / security / reliability / budget / infrastructure) 

 

And then, if you get multiple ways to do it, you have to accept there are multiple correct ways and start to learn the pros and cons of why those choices are being made

 

Right now I don't even know whether you are talking about OSI layers or your device connection topology when you mention layers. That's not where I would start, I would rather ask what makes layers relevant to this discussion at this point? 

Edited April 20, 2023 by apandey

[Pstark]

21 hours ago, apandey said:

It's not clear to me what that situation is. I asked about your objectives for that reason 

I want to have a 10Gig connection between all 10Gig capable devices on my network without creating any other issues. Currently, pfSense and Unraid are the 10Gig devices persistently connected but I'm anticipating adding another server as a backup. I'm asking what the proper structure of a network should looking like. 

[apandey]

2 hours ago, Pstark said:

I want to have a 10Gig connection between all 10Gig capable devices on my network without creating any other issues. Currently, pfSense and Unraid are the 10Gig devices persistently connected but I'm anticipating adding another server as a backup

If they are all SFP+ interfaces, you can connect your pfsense + 7 other 10Gig devices to your aggregation switch. All connections are negotiated point to point. So that meets your objective already

[Pstark]

22 hours ago, apandey said:

If they are all SFP+ interfaces, you can connect your pfsense + 7 other 10Gig devices to your aggregation switch. All connections are negotiated point to point. So that meets your objective already

Thank you