Today’s post is particular. It is the first post since we moved into our new home, a journey that started almost a year ago. I used this significant change to rethink several of our previous security/networking/compute/cooling infrastructures. After all, I doubt I’ll have another opportunity to do so, and I dread the infamous but so real “temporary that becomes definitive.” So, in this post, I will walk you through just a few steps of this endeavor and my early learning. Of course, there is material for way more than a single post, and I am learning every day.

I would describe our previous home’s systems as basic and unmanaged. I used that for many years without a problem, enjoying the simplicity of the plug-it and forget-it motto. As you also know, most of my retro-computing collection ended up in two storage spaces, making them hard to enjoy. Luckily, we moved into a bigger place, making it a move-and-unzip operation. I feel blessed!

From an infrastructure point of view, I decided to have a central computer room in our home, hardwiring as many systems as possible – network, of course, but security, CCTV, etc. upfront. After all, nothing beats wire, especially if you plan. First learning, you always forget or miss something during this phase. Also, many pieces of equipment are only wireless, so I opted for a beefy enterprise-class solution.

I decided to go with Ubiquiti‘s integrated pro-summer solution. Yes, yes, I’ve been warned, and I fell into the rabbit hole. What you lose in freedom, you gain in simplicity, full integration and compatibility, and a low cost compared to comparable devices by traditional manufacturers. Indeed, at the system’s core, you have a unique controller, and the controller manages the other devices – switches, wireless access ports, cameras, etc. –. Another critical point: you can host your controller, meaning there is no subscription or hidden costs. It’s a relief when everything moves to the subscription model.

This is not the setup of everybody. On the contrary, most buildings around us are solely betting on wireless networks with small equipment cabinets to host the bare minimum equipment (your ISP’s Wi-Fi router). Surprisingly, it also seems that builders still install Coax for set-top boxes. To add insult to injury, these network cabinets are often in the primary bedroom closet—a very low Wife Acceptance Factor. Luckily, our builder accepted moving some HVAC equipment to the garage, freeing up the equipment room in the basement. A perfect spot! By the way, those nice coax drops, I will use them to play and learn about MOCA (ethernet over Coax). It should be fun. They were flexible enough with other requests, such as in-floor power and data cabling through the cement foundation.

On other aspects, though, they refused to nudge or didn’t master the technology at all. Therefore, we stayed with CAT6 cabling versus fiber. That’s OK; I can do 10G over copper, and the new computer room’s central location makes cables run relatively short. The following was also an exciting friction point. I asked to locate the ISP’s Optical Network Terminal (ONT) in the computer room – meaning pulling the fiber from the home demarcation to the basement via a dedicated fiber-friendly conduit – instead of mounting it on the house exterior wall and pulling a copper network cable instead. Indeed, my router has two SFP+ ports, one for the WAN. I should, therefore, even be able to replace the ONT and tap into the fiber directly. This will require some SFP module hacking, but it is possible. That’s why I needed to place the fiber next to the router. It’s not a simple story to tell.

I had yet another must-have feature: a cooling system for the computer room. In our previous house, most of our equipment was in my office closet, and even during winter, I often had to open the window to avoid overheating. This time, I said no way! I opted for a dedicated mini-split air conditioner.

For the Wi-Fi Access Points (WAP), I picked the Enterprise U6 models, mounted in the ceiling and offering a 2.5G connection to the main switch. This L2/L3 managed switch has four 10G and 48 2.5G POE++ ports. It is undoubtedly the most expensive gear of the setup. However, it is the only model with 48 ports and an almost 1000-watt POE power budget.

Speaking of which, these are the systems I picked for our infrastructure: a Unifi Dream Machine (UDM) Special Edition (SE), the previously cited USW Enterprise 48 PoE, five U6 Enterprise WAP, a USP PDU Pro (the PDU), a USP RPS (redundant power supply), A bunch of USW Flex Mini switches, and a few other devices such as sensors, camera, etc., from the Protect product line. Besides the CyberPower CP1500PFCRM2U PFC (Uninterruptible Power Supply), I already owned the rest of the equipment (NAS/SAN/Servers, etc.)

And, of course, the rack to host all this stack used to be in our garage previously (it needed a severe cleanup session 😊). One more good learning. In my previous setup, several systems had a static IP address. Because I now use VLANs and have changed the addresses, I started to update each device with a new static address. Well, that was useless and error-prone. Instead, I ended up leaving these systems requesting an address via DHCP but asked the router always to provide them the same one – that I can specify. In other words, the best of two worlds!

For reasons I will not detail here, I had one day to build and set up the system. I planned to use our Xmas vacation week, but life decided otherwise. I, therefore, drank from the hose, and the hours I spent watching YouTube videos about the system, my plan, and a bit of my experience helped a lot. Another feature that helped a lot was the touch mini-LCD screen many Unifi devices have. They allowed me to set them up without needing a computer and some serial connection.

In retrospect, it was a very well-invested prep time. I strongly recommend spending the time if you plan a similar upgrade. I selected a few pictures showing the steps of the build that may interest you.

One issue with computer racks is the unreasonable cost of specific accessories. For instance, display/keyboard combos are outrageously expensive. I decided to go with a – flimsy but – cheap keyboard drawer and to reuse a 24″ LCD Dell monitor I already had. Similarly, I decided to have another dedicated LCD monitor to display the security cameras’ footage. Of course, monitor mounts on 19″ racks are also costly. I found an affordable solution (less than $20 each) in two studles drywall TV mounts. I only used the brackets equipped with VESA mount holes, which fit like a glove on several rack bars!

As I mentioned initially, I still have much to do and learn, particularly about network management. And that’s the beauty of having a home lab. One can learn, try, fail, and finally understand how technology works. And nothing is better than hands-on experience to do so. Last, before I conclude this particular post, I apologize for my long silence. While I still have a lot of boxes to empty or organize our new living space, including my cave, I will resume sharing with you about our shared passion: technology, new or old. In the meantime, may you all have a fantastic WE.

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