IMO dont waste time and money with stuff from this market segment in general. I think it’s much more compelling to pick up a used enterprise switch off of ebay. It’s a learning experience and its just plain better, if this is as much as fun as it is for career development.
As an example, Brocade 6450’s are less than $100 on ebay. You get 10gig for your server(s) and poe for all your ports.
As for an AP, it depends on what you care about. I have Cisco and Aruba hardware controllers and access points in a box and I’m using a Ubiquiti right now. Ask me anything.
If you are asking yourself if you should buy a POE injector for something semi-permanent you are asking the wrong question.
Just my opinion: If homelab for your is practice for work with a bit of arrr mixed in, spend the time and learn how to setup a real managed switch. It’ll pay for itself in the skills you develop and concepts you learn.
I don’t have a homelab, just wanted to dip my toe into a diy home router/firewall on the cheap. Less on career development and more of Intro/improve home networking
Why not get a Mediatek Filogic “router”, fiash it with OpenWrt and use it as AP? That’s usually gives you a lot bang for the buck and even a few ethernet ports for free. No cloud and SSH access (or whatever you prefer)
Never considered it or done it before. I heard openwrt compatability is limited. For reference, my networking experience is beginner level (I’ve only changed my WiFi channel and disabled ssid broadcasting). I need a guide to follow along with.
I think I’ll DIY it after I get 1 AP setup, as I’m a beginner and want to get it up and running in a afternoon. I’m currently using the AIO with my ISP. Getting OPNsense up and configuring the netgear switch was very challenging
If I were to opt for a used version, is there a reputable refurbisher I can buy from? People suggest the r610 and r710
I don’t see myself having over 100 devices. Some features I’m looking for:
POE would nice since my switch has it
I want to have a way to isolate a smart TV (since I can’t really find any modern dumb TVs) and the ISP IP TV box such they can only receive traffic and are blocked from sending any away
You find all kinds of buyers on eBay. Every item has sales terms indicating return policies.
There are a bunch of items that have a no-return policy. Only buy those if you’re willing to accept the risk. Even so, I once had the experience when one of such items did not arrive in the advertised condition I had no trouble returning.
I personally look for sellers that have thousands of sold items on eBay. This indicates professionals that offer and implement mature return policies.
Best accespoint for the wifi part
and because i’m drinking to mutch coffee i’m always wired. Just like most of my computers. So the wifi part is not really that inportant. It needs to be there. But it dosn’t have to be that amazing to do many users at the same time etc.
The cheap options that still work wifi 6 would be nice. and i don’t want somthing cloud connected
I like Ruckus APs from ebay running the Unleashed firmware. Their AC models (R610, R710) perform great and are currently cheap as dirt. The WiFi 6 ones (R550, R650) are more like $200-300 though, if that’s important to you.
