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Introduction to a Self Managed Life: a 13 hour & 28 minute presentation by FUTO software
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=== Switch === A switch expands the number of devices you can connect to your local network using Ethernet cables. '''What a Switch Does:''' * '''Expands Connectivity:''' If your router only has a few Ethernet ports, a switch allows you to connect more wired devices (e.g., computers, gaming consoles, network-attached storage). * '''Forwards Data:''' A switch is smarter than a basic splitter. It knows which devices are connected to each port and forwards data to the correct device, improving network efficiency. * The type of basic switch I am using for this example is the smaller type below, that has no advanced routing features, settings, or web interface to mess with. It’s just a dumb switch. Switches come in different sizes, from small 4-port models to large 24-port (or even larger) models used in business environments. The small Netgear switches that cost $15 are more than adequate for most people’s home networks & will not cause random disconnects or issues with our router setup. <gallery mode="packed-hover" heights=250 widths=400 perrow=2> File:cheap_netgear_switch.jpg </gallery> <span id="cheap-switch"></span> ==== Cheap switch ==== This is a [https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-5-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Unmanaged/dp/B07S98YLHM basic Netgear switch that you get for $15]. It allows you to connect four devices to your pfSense router. You would attach the LAN port on the pfsense router to a port on this switch ''(any port is fine)'' & then connect your wired devices ''(wireless access point for wifi, computers, etc)'' to other ports on the switch. Some points to note: <ul> <li><p>This switch is gigabit - meaning, 1 gbps.</p> <ul> <li>1 gbps = stuck transferring around 100 megabytes per second real world performance (aka the speed of ten year old hard drives).</li> <li>This means even if you have a fast solid state drive in the server & your personal computer, transfer speed will be around 100-120 megabytes per second.</li> <li>If you have a gigabit internet connection & are downloading a file at 1 gbps, you can also grab a file from your server without slowing your download.</li></ul> </li> <li><p>This has no Power over Ethernet (PoE)</p> <ul> <li>If you want to power wireless access points, office voice over IP (VoIP) phones, or cameras, you have to plug them into something or get a PoE injector later.</li> <li>A Power over Ethernet switch can power devices you plug the ethernet cord into which is very cool for setting up security cameras, because you only have to run 1 wire to each camera.</li> </ul> <p>These cheapies will usually not have Power over Ethernet to power cameras & wireless access points & office desk phones, nor will they usually support configuring ports for VLANs ''(we will get into that in the wifi section at the end)''. This is a good ''starter'' switch since it is reported to pass VLAN tags, so if you bought wifi access points or switches that supported creating isolated networks this switch would pass those tags ''(we’ll get into that at the end of the guide); no need to worry about that right now.''</p> <p>These cheap switches work great, and also come in 8 port versions for a few bucks more.</p></li></ul> <gallery mode="packed-hover" heights=250 widths=400 perrow=2> File:expensive_netgear_switch.jpg </gallery> <span id="expensive-switch"></span> ==== Expensive switch ==== The [https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1383572-REG/netgear_xs724em_100nas_24_port_10_gigabit_multi_gigabit_ethernet_smart.html?ap=y&smp=Y Netgear XS724EM switch] is an expensive, fancier switch. * Speed ** Supports 2.5 gigabit or 10 gigabit per second Ethernet on its ports. ** If you have a network interface card (NIC) that supports 2.5 gbE on each end ''(these are becoming more common)'', you can get over 270 megabytes per second transfer rate ''(more than 2x a normal gigabit switch)'' ** If you have a network interface card (NIC) that supports 10 gbE on each end ''(your computer does not have this unless you bought it separately & installed it)'', you can get over 800 megabytes per second even with a poorly tuned setup. This is likely faster than any of the drives inside your computer unless you bought fancy NVMe drives. * Power ** Can power a bunch of cameras, phones, wireless access points over Ethernet. * Ports ** Has 24 ports instead of 5, can connect a lot more stuff. ** '''COMPATIBILITY''' of the ports - does 10 GbE over standard ethernet plugs/jacks. If you wire your house with [https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13072 good cat6a] and put [https://www.ebay.com/itm/235729074315 good 10 gbE network interface cards] in the machines you’re working with you can get 800 megabyte per second networking all around your house without digiorno connectors. * Virtual LAN support ** Allows you to create separate networks on the same switch. ** Can keep your untrusted internet of things (IoT) devices like cheap light bulbs & cameras & thermostats on isolated separate networks from your trusted devices. The VLAN support is a big one because later on when we connect wifi access points that are advanced we are going to do far more than just make a “guest network”; we are going to make a network that your IoT devices (bulbs, thermostats, cameras, etc) can connect to and isolate them in a way where your computer running your security cameras & home automation can connect to them, but they are isolated from connecting to anything else. This isn’t necessary though and a bunch of you will probably skip the VLAN part at the end, since that gets a little too complicated for a home setup. This is an expensive switch. There are many in between, but I thought it’d be useful to show an example of the cheap side & expensive side to show what is available & what you can get for the money. If you are ok with gigabit ethernet you can easily get by with way cheaper; right now you can either buy gigabit switches cheaply, or 2.5 gbe & 10 gbe switches at crazy high prices. There isn’t much in between. <span id="wireless-access-point-wap"></span>
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