What's the most worry-free way to set up a home network? I've been running this optical modem, router, and switch topology for two years, and each layer has its own instructions

last month while helping two friends build computers, the question they asked most often was: How exactly do you connect these devices at home to be considered the right connection? I pulled out my own topology to show them—89 square meters, three-bedroom units, gigabit broadband, 62 devices, from optical modems to four-story layouts in each room, running for almost two years without major changes. This article will lay out the entire set: why each layer is connected this way, how much money was spent, what pitfalls have been made, all clearly written. Just follow the corresponding numbers.

first explain my family's situation. Do you think it looks like yours

89 three-bedroom apartment, gigabit broadband for telecom, with a full house wired base plus wireless coverage. During the New Year, I counted the devices once: 62 units: phones, tablets, laptops, and a desktop are major items; Six cameras, a floor vacuum, two speakers, curtain motors, and door locks—these count as IoT; Plus two NAS, a printer, and a TV box. How did you count these 62 units? the article with the number of units has a detailed breakdown in the .

I have three requirements: stable whole-house WiFi, no leaks from IoT devices, and being able to monitor surveillance and connect to a NAS when I'm away. Just these three points have gradually forced topology into its current state. There are detours along the way; the section about the pitfalls will be covered later.

entire structure has four floors, each floor serving only one thing

first layer, the optical modem. ZTE F7015T, sent by China Telecom for installation, only does photovoltaic conversion at my home. Dial-up, WiFi, and DHCP are all turned off, replaced with bridging. Why the fuss? In optical modem routing modem, it presses an extra NAT layer in front of the router, ports are mapped into the super pipe backend, and ITMS might even push the configuration back in the middle of the night. The complete process of converting to bridging the article on optical modem bridging. Don't skip the step of copying the VLAN from the WAN connection table—IPTV relies on it.

the second layer, the main router. Xiaomi AX3000T, running PPPoE dial-up, is the only DHCP server in the whole house, with network segment 192.168.31.x. Whoever dials is the gateway to FamilyMart. This principle is absolute, and all subsequent faults are easy to check. How to set up dialing and choose connection mode? about automatic dialing, I mentioned it in the monthly subscription with the eyes closed.

Third Layer, Switch. The main route runs a single network cable into the weak current box, connecting to eight gigabit switches. The network cables for the TV wall, study, and bedroom are all branched out from this port. The switch doesn't require any configuration—just plug it in and it lights up. Why do all network cables run through switches instead of plugging directly into routers? Not having enough ports is one thing, but more importantly, the weak current box is packed with a switch, not a router. It doesn't heat up at 3W, so you can just set it up anywhere. The pitfalls of buying switches I wrote about the worst part of the link: a 100Mbps old switch sneaks into the link, turning the TV into a slideshow.

the fourth floor, each room returned to its own home. The bedroom route connects to the second AX3000T when the Mesh sub-router is used, with a wired return route; TV wall connected to box; The study was reserved for the desktop computer. Always WAN; always LAN; always LAN. If you plug in the WiFi upside down and the grid is full, there's no network. This article about WAN port and LAN port specifically discussed.

surveillance has a separate branch: the main router connects to a 4-port POE switch via another LAN port, all 6 cameras come from it, and one cable supplies power to the network, saving half the effort during wiring. How this plan was planned, the monitoring network article have a complete account.

How are

network segments divided, and how are IPs allocated

only one subnet across the entire network, 192.168.31.0/24, with the main router's DHCP pool set between 31.100 and 31.199, 62 devices accounting for less than half. The printer, two NAS, and monitoring host were statically bound in the main router, with IPs fixed at the 31.10 to 31.30 banner for numbers outside the pool, so no matter how much you restarted, they wouldn't move. Why binding is necessary: The printer loses contact after changing the IP, and the NAS is invalid if the NAS changes the IP port. Steps the article on static IP binding step-by-step guide.

IoT device has a separate WiFi device. I didn't throw away my retired AC2100 at home, switched to AP mode, and sent a dedicated 2.4G device, with an IoT suffix in the name and a password separate from the mainnet. Camera, vacuum cleaner, speaker, and all connected to this. Why not let them squeeze the main WiFi? 2. 4G and 5G are all called the same name; when there are many devices, they queue up for each other, and whether IoT connects depends entirely on luck. After dismantling, network failures basically disappeared— I went through all the pitfalls in the about network failures before finally deciding to dismantle them.

I didn't swipe much on the network segment. Some people like to separate IoT subnets for isolation. I tried it for a week, and when my phone controlled devices across subsidiaries, the screen casting was intermittent and intermittent, but then it reconnected. For home use, there's only one network segment, so peace of mind is worth more than that sense of isolation. If quarantine is really necessary, just opening a visitor network is enough.

Why is each piece of equipment its own? The money is also calculated for you

add one yuan for less than 600 yuan. I've tested the electricity cost of this system running all day using a metering socket—it's around 140 yuan a year, and the bulk is actually the set-top box standby mode, which is in the electricity bill .

Why choose

main router AX3000T not buy the more expensive one: 62 devices occupy 62% of the memory, leaving enough space; Four ports with full gigabit and blind plug-in; Mesh sets are cheap, sub-routers cost over 100 yuan, and you can get a replacement anytime. I've used this machine for two whole years. The article about its problems and temperament is very detailedAX3000T including how to read SN codes when the new version secretly swaps chips. Is two units enough? Should I get three? Mesh the article about the number of units tested in practice. Two units fit perfectly, but forcing a third in the study actually slows down. No matter which room you place a sub-router, don't rely on feeling. about placement in the article I measured eight locations with my phone before deciding.

three pitfalls this structure has set

The first

is the double DHCP. When the AC2100 first switched to AP, it didn't turn off its own DHCP. Both machines assigned IPs, with half the devices getting 31.x and the other 0.x. The network fluctuated, and I spent the whole night checking. There can only be one issuing machine per network; this is an iron rule, and the principle DHCP explained thoroughly in that article. How to connect multiple routers without conflict? this article three different wiring methods to compare them.

second is the weak current box for cooling. The optical modem and switch were both stuffed into the box. In summer, the temperature inside was 45 degrees, and the modem was so hot it restarted probabilistically, with the surveillance cameras dropping off one after another. Later, following the approach the weak current box compilation: move the optical modem to a lower position, replace the power adapter with a narrow strip, and leave a gap in the cabinet door. Never put a weak current box in the router. Mine is placed on the TV cabinet, so the signal inside the box is cut off first.

The third is the internal network cable. The study desktop was stuck at 93 Mbps for a while. I thought the router was old, but when I used the wire tester, only 4 out of 8 lights lit—two wires in the wall broke, and the gigabit quietly dropped to 100 Mbps. The method for finding breakpoints is in the of the Broken Wire. That's why I tell everyone not to skimp on wiring during renovation—it's the hardest to detect when the wiring inside the walls is wrong.

you don't have to copy my usual tricks in any situation

wrap up with three things, which, whether you copy them or not, are recommended: change the management password to a 16-bit hybrid one; Before dynamic bridging, make sure to take a screenshot of the WAN connection table; Export a configuration file to save to the cloud drive, the configuration backup post a five-minute event, which can save your life before resetting. Even if the internet is really down, don't panic. Follow the order of the check the disconnection from the optical modem, and in five minutes you can determine who's to blame. Don't reset right away.