Hi All,
I have a basic networking question. I moved into a new house and it has FTTP connection. It also came with 5 ethernet port wall plate right next to my NBN white NTD box in the Garage.
Also within the property, I have wall ethernet ports on:
Media room (A)
Kids room (K)
Master Bedroom (M)
Living room (L)
So I marked and mapped those 4 ports on the plate to each port on A, K, M & L. Not sure where is this 5th port on the wall plate in my garage going to in my property. I only have 4 ports - each in 1 room.
Now where do I put my router and connect it to which port so that I can use all 4 ethernet ports in each of my rooms? And what is the 5th port in the garage wall plate used for?
I would think the best place would be to put the router in your garage net to the wall plate, assuming that you have your incoming internet connection there. However, that may not be optimal for WiFi. If you need to put the router somewhere else for the sake of WiFi, you can always put it near one of the ports in one of the other rooms and then use a switch in the garage.
There's really no way for us to answer where the 5th port goes. Is it the wan/internet connection? Plug in a computer or your OpenWrt router's wan port and see if it gets a link. If not, it must go somewhere else on your property... you can get a "toner" tool to help you trace it if you are so inclined.
But this is really not related to OpenWrt. I suggest you have a friend or family member who is good at networking take a look to help you if you still have questions about the physical cabling in your home.
I would mount a switch next to the wall plate and connect the identified ports in the wall plate with that switch.
I would then, assuming temperatures in the garage are not too warm/cold/humid put a wired only router in the garage (unless you want/need wifi in the garage as well) and connect it to the NBN port/modem and one more switch port. For WiFi I would then place one/more APs in your rooms so you achieve the desired wifi coverage.
About the 5th port, probably worth searching for...
Thanks guys - figured out the 5th port is for Intercom. Also I now need to figure out how to connect 1 more router as an AP to achieve Wi Fi signal. This 2nd router is also openWRT flashed. is there a quick guide on how to use openWRT router as an AP?
Thanks - Sorry - 1 last question. Can I enable Wi Fi in my garage router which is directly connected to NBN and also have wifi enabled on AP connected in one of the other rooms and use Wi Fi on both the devices? Of course I will use the same SSID and password on both the routers? Will there be any conflict?
Yes, that is fine and the way that multiple APs work. Same ssid, encryption method, same password. The changes should be different and non-overlapping.
I admit that that was my intent as well in my home network, but I never got away from AP and band specific SSIDs. Turns out I do not actually roam inside my flat all that much that the clunkier hand-overs with this method become annoying, but it really helps in diagnosing things or manually selecting the desired AP...
I'm using WiFi Analyser to see if both router and AP are connected using the same SSID with diff channels and they seem to work. Because my Wifi in the 1st floor is almost dead without AP. So I know my AP works fine.
Now I'm wondering if this setup is cheaper and easy and works, why do we need Mesh setup in place? Why can't we simply buy some cheap routers and place APs in diff dead zone areas given we have Ethernet cable connectivity all over the property?
Mesh means a wireless connection to the APs which avoids the need to install cables. But if you have cables like your house the performance will be higher.