Hi all. TL;DR at the bottom. I was hoping to take advantage of the vast knowledge of this sub for some home network recommendations. If you want to read more details, continue on.

#Desired Hardware

My AirPort Extreme has been working flawlessly for 10 years but I want something with WIFI 6 or 6E and more features.

A single router isn’t going to provide the coverage I need anymore. I want my next setup to consist of a network switch or something that can act as my DHCP server with a switch attached to that, with two wireless access points stemming from it.

I have a couple CAT 6A lines running between the two places where I want to locate the access points. One of these places is my home office. The other place is my media center where the modem and DHCP server will be located.

I envision the following items connected to the main switch:

  1. Modem (through the WAN port)
  2. Apple TV 4K
  3. Synology NAS
  4. Access Point 1
  5. CAT 6A Run 1: Laptop @Home Office
  6. CAT 6A Run 2: Access Point 2 @Home Office
  7. NVR
  8. POE Switch
  9. Sonos Playbar
  10. Xbox One
  11. Pi Hole (future addition)

#Desired Features

Now for the main reason behind this post: I want my next hardware to have the following capabilities, either built-in or via add-in packages:

  1. Monitor traffic on every device (both wired and wireless) connected to my network
  2. Monitor the instantaneous transfer speed of each device
  3. Monitor the online status of each device
  4. Monitor the amount of data has been sent over a certain period of time
  5. Monitor incoming connections for suspicious behavior
  6. Monitor how often my smart devices are phoning home (or making other outbound connections)
  7. Send notifications when certain devices go offline or suspicious activity is detected
  8. Have the ability to view all this via mobile device

A buddy of mine suggested PRTG network monitor. Another guy on this sub recommended Ubiquity products. Are there packages that can run on a Raspberry Pi that will do the same thing, and does that makes sense since I’ll be using a Raspberry Pi 4 as a DNS Server?

I have over 80 WiFi devices including cameras, switches, outlets, robot vacuums, humidifiers, you name it. We have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 2 Macbooks, 2 Windows laptops for work, various gaming consoles, Kindles, etc. I need all this to work seamlessly.

TL;DR: I would like recommendations for a managed switch with the 8 features listed above and access points.

  • snorth_32@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    The first question before I’d give any advice would be what is your budget for this type of build? Prtg is amazing for monitoring devices on a network especially if they go offline. It’s free up to 100 devices. However for actual network equipment if you’re on a tight budget, the ubiquiti line of things would be the way I’d go. However if you have a bigger budget you can get some fancier equipment.