Daz reminded me in another post its been a while since my last IT themed post, so here we go now.
A lot of stuff in the rack got retired since most of what was there is these days no longer the best way to secure a network.
Before
After
The edge device was moved to a relatively inexpensive
1RU chassis which I finally found after a long search. The previous host, a
Zotac CI323 has been put in a drawer for now awaiting its next assignment. I have two of these Zotac devices, the other one originally bought to replace the HTPC, its now been repurposed into a desktop PC. These are silent and small, have low power consumption and ideal for normal desktop use with Win10. It instantly turns on as well which is nice.
The edge device is running
Untangle NG which I've been using for some years now. There's a 100M fibre connected supplying internet.
Below that a TP-Link unmanaged switch, a replacement for the previous managed switch which after many years of service carked it. It was all that was available in the middle of the night when the other one expired and required replacement. The house has wired network connections everywhere with an AC wireless network overlay.
Below that a
Synology RS815 NAS which is where all the photos and media live.
And then below that an ATA for the analog wireless phone handsets, TP-Link wireless access point and Philips Hue smart light controller.
The ATA is an analogue to digital phone interface. It effectively provides a phone connection for analog phones. All the other phones are IP connected directly to the network.
The Wireless network has a lot of devices now (phones, TV, music devices, Alexa thingies, smart remote controls, telemetry for the PV etc) and so a reliable multi band access point was required. The Cisco access points used in the past proved not to be up to the job which was disappointing. The new
TP-Link Omada access point is overkill, but is very stable which is exactly what was needed.
The Philips Hue system was trialed in conjunction with the Amazon Echo system to control lights and devices around the house. Alexa tells a mean fart joke as it happens, but now the lights have been changed for a standard LED from a Philips Hue lamp, the use is diminished. In conjunction with a smart controller we can voice control the airconditioner which is neato, but a pita to setup. I'm not sure its worth the effort in my case but as I mentioned a bit of fun if you feel like some Star Trek silliness (Alexa beam me up), fart jokes, set an alarm with a voice command or need to know what the weather might do without looking out the window.
Last is the power conditioning/UPS which keeps the internet up in the event of power outages. This has enough capacity to keep things running for hours without mains power.
You might be wondering what all this stuff is needed for and that folks will be the topic of another post.
