How many networks should your home WiFi be divided into? I split it into three photos, customers couldn't reach the camera, and the internet disconnection was half the time for screening
last Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives stayed for a few days and connected to my WiFi. On the third night, in the background device list, I saw his Redmi phone quietly lined up next to the NAS and surveillance cameras, sitting on equal footing with his family. That glance made me a bit uncomfortable—if he accidentally clicked to cast the screen, my TV would be on the shortlist; If you install a file manager and scan all around, the shared folders will be blatantly hanging there.
Later, I split my home WiFi into three networks: the main network manager, the guest network managing outsiders, and the dedicated network managing the forty or so smart hardware units. After the split, not only did I feel more at ease, but I was also almost halfway through the internet scan. This article will clearly explain what the goal of network segmentation, where the backend is moving, and the pitfalls after partitioning.
first think about what to divide into the network: if three things are mixed into one network, no one can say for sure if something goes wrong
the days without internet connections didn't feel like anything special until something happened. My family has suffered losses twice.
one time was changing routers, and the main WiFi name changed, causing about forty smart devices to lose contact at once—the vacuum cleaner, camera, and speaker were all gray. By changing the names back, it took ten minutes to save thirty-seven devices, and the remaining three were reconfigured one by one. I've written about this in one sentence: smart devices and family phones' are tied to the same name—move anywhere and your whole body trembles. Another time, I did a security self-check for the yard cameras. After checking the backend, I realized that the equipment in your yard every day is on equal footing with the customer's phone and the worker's phone, standing on equal footing.
network mapping actually consists of three things. First, security: guests and devices of unknown origin should not live in the same neighborhood as your NAS or camera; Second, investigate: if the devices on which network is disconnected in bulk, the root cause is on that network, without having to guess the whole family one by one; Third, it's quiet. About forty smart devices that only recognize 2.4G are competing with phones in the same slow lane. When phones inexplicably lag, it's usually just them joining in the fun.
first network administrator: phone, computer, TV, NAS, with a rather ordinary name
the main network leaves reliable devices: family members' phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, NAS, printers, surveillance cameras. This network is the main artery of the home. The password is a 16-bit hybrid, and the management password and WiFi password are set separately . These two are the usual rules, don't be lazy.
add one more word to the name. Don't name WiFi like "Zhang Sanjia WiFi" or "1502's Home"—you can tell whose network it is at a glance across the street, and if you get a targeted one, there's no room to complain. There's a problem with Chinese names: old devices and some laptops may turn into garbled text. Using letters plus numbers for naming is the most reliable method. I previously wrote a dedicated on the rules. My main username is just a string of letters and numbers with no information—no one can guess whose name it is.
my home mainnet currently has about twenty devices running, AX3000T the main router, network segment 31.x, with a static address each on the NAS and printer. I rarely touch this network; WiFi hasn't changed its name for three years.
second screenshot of network admin customers: The visitor network isn't about giving the guest face, it's locking the main network
the second network, you don't need to buy any extra equipment. The router's built-in guest network feature can be activated the router's backend. The entry points are all in the wireless settings section, usually called guest network. It is sent from the same router as the mainnet, but the devices on both sides cannot see each other—guests connect to the guest network and can access the internet, but cannot scan your NAS, your TV is not in the casting list, and you can't access your router's backend.
many people think Visitor Network is just a slow internet for guests, but in fact, quarantine is its core. Think about what a customer's phone can do when connected to the mainnet: a scan in the file manager shows shared folders; With a single screen casting in a video app, your TV is included; If the router password is set weakly, even the background app will be suspended. The visitor network is isolated as a barrier, cutting off all of these.
Now, whenever anyone from my family comes to my home, they all go through the Visitor website. When relatives come to stay for a few days, they change the password on the day they leave; The air conditioner installer and the on-site broadband tuning technician also took this photo; once the work was done and they left, the internet had nothing to do with them. Conveniently attach the speed limit next to the switch, so customers can't grab mainnet bandwidth while watching videos. Isolation, speed limit, and a one-wave change—the three-piece set is all in one go.
the third network management device: about forty smart hardware units are pulled separately 2.4G
what really messes up the home network is smart devices. My family has counted all sixty connected devices in the house, of which about forty are speakers, sockets, lights, sensors, doorbells, and floor vacuums. Almost all recognize only 2.4G, and they're online year-round. These devices are packed into the mainnet, not only occupying slots but also empty slots—dozens of small packet devices are competing with your phone in the same lane. That's why the more devices you have at home, the more easily your phone lags.
There are two approaches to
approach. The easiest way is my family: change retired AX3600 to AP mode , issue a separate 2.4G network with IoT suffix, and nail-to-40 smart devices all nailed to this network, leaving the main router completely ignored. the old route to AP connection was only a few steps; the original operational idea was ready-made. Another free option is to split the router's dual-band : 5G for people and phones, 2.4G for devices, but the device and user are still on the same subsidiary, so it's just passable, with zero cost.
the chain reaction after the split has both sweet and disappointing moments
There are also three
pits. First, cross-network casting can't be found: if a customer wants to use their phone to cast to your TV, they can't even reach the guest network; they have to temporarily connect to the main network or use the TV's own cloud membership. Second, the wrong network and apps are completely gray: My child's tablet accidentally connected to the IoT network, all the devices in the App showed offline. My mom thought the router was broken—now everyone at home has a sense of the device, and the smart app is completely gray. First, let's see which network it's connected to. Third, the printer is connected to the mainnet, and when the phone is connected to the private or guest network, it can't be typed, so you have to switch back to the mainnet to type.
these pitfalls aren't huge, but you have to expect something: network separation means switching convenience for controllability, and your family needs to know which network you're on.
Taking the Lead: How many shares will your home actually share
| your family's situation | it's recommended to rent a one-bedroom |
| fewer than ten connected devices | and a mainnet unit is enough, so you can temporarily visit guests for a visitor |
| ordinary three-bedroom unit, 20 to 30 smart devices | two main network plus two guest cards, devices directly packed into the main network |
| forty or more devices, smart devices at scale | main network, guests, and private equipment networks |
| those who want to mess around, you need to | managed switches by room and VLAN by room; household ones generally don't need |
recommended sequence: first change the main network password to 16 bits, and separate the management and WiFi passwords; Reopening visitor networks, with isolation, speed limits, and a complete set of three essentials: one wave exchange and one exchange; After counting over thirty devices, I took out the old lines from home to install a dedicated network. You don't have to do everything at once; my three nets were added one by one over two years.
