n3s0 || journal

    Design: Simple Residential Network Design (Fiber To The Home)

    Posted on 7 mins

    Networks

    Table of Contents

    Summary

    I’ve been wanting to start something like this for a while. But, I didn’t know where to begin. The simplest setup seems like a good start.

    There will be explaination from my own personal experience related to how a basic home network is generally setup.

    This setup is common in residential or home network setups. Similar setups can be found in small businesses as well. But, I’ll touch on that another time.

    These setups are good for those who are OK with the bare minimum or default configuration.

    The overall configuration can be summarized as follows. Justifications and explainations will be provided in different sections.

    First I’ll provide the scenario, then the design, a walk through of those design descisions, and finally a walkthrough of how those design decisions will come to life. Not to mention the level of effort is needed for the end user and the vendor.

    Scenario

    In this scenario the client lives in a mid sized house and doesn’t care much for customizing their network. There may be a few bedrooms, bathrooms,living room, basement, etc.

    The customer has a wife and four kids that could be streaming, gaming, doing school work, shopping online, checking bank statements, working from home, listening to music, etc.

    They have a couple of SMART TVs, cell phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles. IoT devices like IoT power strips, a home assistants, a Nest thermostat and IoT light bulbs. The list goes on and on.

    Since there is family in the area. There is a possibility guests will come and need to use the services provided.

    Summary of Design

    Provided is a summary of the design in a manner that’s to the point.

    Customer chosen service provider that provides fiber.

    Choses the package they need for available bandwidth.

    Customer premise equiptment is provided by the service provider.

    Customer goes with the default subnet on the router.

    Wireless networking:

    Same SSID for both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies.

    Wireless standards that could be supported or need to be supported.

    WPA2 Personal might be configured for authentication to the SSID.

    DHCP server is configured to provide IP addresses to devices that connect to the network.

    Gateway uses NAT for the IPv4 connectivity. Gateway has a public IP address assigned to it from the service provider from DHCP.

    Network Design

    This may be a little redundant. But, this is the overall design here. Can be used for future reference.

    Stakeholder Requirements

    Coming soon…

    WAN Options & Internet Access

    Coming soon…

    Physical Topology

    Coming soon…

    Logical Design

    Device Details

    Coming soon…

    Network Topology

    Coming soon…

    Access Details

    In order to access the network. Devices will either need to connect to one of the physical ports on the router or the wireless SSID it broadcasts.

    Wireless SSID(s) will be set with a PSK. Both of which users will need to know before they can connect.

    Security Measures

    Network Address Translation (NAT):

    NAT is configured on the router so connections are going out one IP address. This has a layer of protection just because the outside world will have a difficult time accessing the internal network.

    Wireless Security:

    Wireless security is generally configured using WPA2 Personal with a PSK as long as the client doesn’t just get rid of it. This will prevent unauthorized access to your network from the wireless network.

    Implementation & Justification

    Internet Service Provider

    The service provider chosen depends on the markets available to the consumer. But, in this case we’re willing to pay for fiber to the home. So the customer shops around for options in their area.

    Depending on the provider, bandwidth may vary. They could be the following.

    Bi-directional bandwidth: (Download/Upload is advertised as the same.)

    This can be read by Download/Upload bandwidth as advertised.

    Non Bi-Directional Bandwidth: (Where the Download/Upload is different. Download is usually higher then the upload)

    After consideration of the options. You might go with the 500 / 500 speeds. Can also go with 300 / 300 if you just intend to surf the web and occationally watch streaming services. This option can also be chosen if it’s in your budget.

    The 500/500 is generally a good option because it’s probably more then you need. But, in the even that you’re hosting multiple guests at your house. The bandwidth can probably take the hit.

    So in this case. The 500 / 500 option is chosen. It’s a good starting point and the price option is affordable. Plus there is justification

    Chosen option:

    Customer Premise Equiptment (CPE)

    In this network it could be done in a few ways. The gear could range from any vendor the service provider supports/installs.

    There are different vendors that the ISP will install. One common vendor could be Calix.

    The CPE equiptment may be as follows.

    Connection generally looks like the following with a configuration like this.

    ISP network -> ONT -> wireless router WAN/Internet port

    Subnetting

    The subnet is probably shared between the wired and wireless network. Below are usually the default classful ranges associated with this setup.

    Depending on what is set. I’ll usually see the following for the subnet. I’ll choose Subnet Possibilty 1 as an example.

    IP Addressing

    Some IP addresses that will be set.

    Common DHCP scope and configuration setup on the router.

    Wireless Configuration

    Normally in this case the involvement for the user is setting the SSID name and the wireless password. This can be setup with the assistance of the ISP technician during the install. But,

    As far as channel selection. The customer shouldn’t see that. I’ve seen with newer router models where they will just check the wireless environment around them and select the best channel to use based on what it determines as the best one. It’s called automatic channel selection. This is intended to prevent co-channel interferance. It’s not always the greatest. But, it has its usecase. FortiAPs for example have a hard time with it. I’ve seen APs within the same network on the same channel.

    Device Connectivity

    All devices will be on the same network. Depending on what is supported by the device. It will connect to either the 2.4 G wireless or the 5G wireless.

    Ethernet connectivity to devices will be dependent to how close they are to where the router was installed.

    Internet Installation

    Technician will run the fiber to the home from either the pedistal or the overhead run that’s available. Just depends on where that is. It may even require some boring.

    This fiber will be housed within an enclosure that uses a bulkhead that mates two SC/APC cables together. This will run through the walls of the home to the ONT inside. Which may either be mounted on the wall or the like.

    Generally they will check the light levels for this to confirm everything looks good.

    Ethernet cable will be connected to the port provisioned for the customer to the WAN or Internet interface on the router.

    Sometimes the technician will help you or walk you through setting up your wirelss network and confirm everything is working as expected.