Choosing network equipment: router, switch, and access point

A homelab is only as fast as your network. These are the devices to pay attention to, from router to cable.

Router and firewall

• Your provider’s router works fine for most households. You can set a fixed IP address for your server, forward ports, and often run a VPN.
• Your own router gives you more freedom: set up your own firewall, create VLANs, and separate your network. Popular options are OPNsense or pfSense on a mini PC with two network ports, UniFi or MikroTik devices, and routers with OpenWrt. Then set your provider’s router to bridge mode if possible.
• If your provider uses CGNAT, you can’t open ports from the outside. You can check this with our What is my IP? tool.

Switch

A switch expands the number of network ports.

• Unmanaged: no settings, plug it in and you’re done. Perfect and cheap for home use.
• Managed or “web smart”: you can configure VLANs and monitor traffic. Choose this if you want to separate your network into, for example, devices, guests, and smart devices. Calculate the networks with our subnet splitter.
• Speed: 1 Gbit/s is enough for most things. 2.5 Gbit/s is becoming more common and suits faster NAS transfers. 10 Gbit/s is for those who move a lot of large files. Check what speed your devices support; the chain is only as fast as the slowest link (calculate with our download time tool).
• PoE (Power over Ethernet): powers devices, such as access points and cameras, through the network cable. Handy, but not available on every switch.

WiFi: access point or mesh?

• An access point on a cable is the most reliable way for a large or difficult house. You cover your house with one or more access points that are all connected by cable to your switch.
• Mesh is simple, without extra cables, but works best if the components can see each other without walls in between.
• For new devices, choose WiFi 6 or newer (WiFi 6E or 7 if you have many fast devices). WiFi 5 is sufficient for light tasks.
• Always connect your server and other fixed devices by cable. WiFi is for phones and laptops.

Cables

• Cat 5e reaches 1 Gbit/s and often 2.5 Gbit/s over short distances. Enough for most homes.
• Cat 6 is a better choice if you’re laying cables now; good for 2.5 Gbit/s and 10 Gbit/s over shorter distances.
• Cat 6a reaches 10 Gbit/s over 100 meters.
• Choose cables made of solid copper and avoid cheap CCA cables (a copper layer on aluminum). Test a new cable before you run it in the wall.

Good to know

• Give your fixed devices a fixed IP address or a reservation in your router.
• Want to recognize unknown devices by their MAC address? Use our MAC address lookup.
• Never just open ports to the internet. See the port list and use a VPN instead.