WiFi access points + Power over Ethernet

Hey everyone,

I need some gear recommendations to get full WiFi coverage throughout my house.

Here’s the breakdown:

One Ethernet Switch sitting next to my AT&T router so I can run Ethernet to every room and all my access points (looking at maybe 10 connections).

One or two WiFi access points that take a single Ethernet input and then provide WiFi plus a few extra Ethernet ports for that floor.

One WiFi access point that only has an Ethernet port—no power outlet in that wall. It needs to run via PoE. Do I need a specific device or power adapter for this, and what should I look out for?
Power and Ethernet would come from that first switch/router downstairs, so it’s not a long haul—maybe 10m. Assuming a standard new Ethernet cable handles that fine.

Also, does anyone know how the DirecTV setup works here? They told us we could pay extra to watch on multiple TVs. Does that mean adding more DirecTV boxes, and where do they plug in?

Another thing: once all the access points and Ethernet jacks are plugged into the main Ethernet switch, can I set it up so everything stays on the same LAN? For example, if a PC is plugged into an access point on one floor, can it be on the exact same LAN as a PC plugged directly into the main switch?

And follow-up—does that same logic apply to devices connected via WiFi?

Thanks!

wiredotter14 said:Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some gear recommendations to get decent WiFi coverage throughout my whole house.

Here's the breakdown:

1x Ethernet Switch sitting next to the AT&T router so all the rooms and access points can get an Ethernet connection (let's say about 10 ports total).

1-2x WiFi access points that take one Ethernet input and provide both WiFi for that floor and a few extra Ethernet ports.

1x WiFi access point that only has an Ethernet port—no power outlet on that wall. It'll need to run via PoE. Do I need a specific device or power adapter for that, and what should I watch out for?
Both power and Ethernet would come from that first switch/router downstairs, so it's not a huge distance—maybe 10m. I assume a standard new Ethernet cable will handle that just fine.

Also, does anyone know how the DirecTV setup works with this? They mentioned we could pay extra to watch on multiple TVs. Would that require an additional DirecTV box, and where does it plug in?

One more thing: once all the access points and Ethernet jacks are hooked up to the main Ethernet switch, can I make sure they're all on the same LAN? For example, I want a PC plugged into an access point on one floor to be on the exact same LAN as a PC plugged directly into the main switch.

And follow-up: does that same logic apply to devices connected via WiFi?

Thanks a lot!

I don't have specific gear recommendations because I haven't bought anything in ages. I have no clue what the "standard" is these days. Someone else will probably chime in. Hopefully.

Regarding PoE: the switch that everything is plugged into provides the juice. That means the switch needs to support PoE. Naturally, the access points need to be PoE-compatible too. Standard Ethernet cable length goes up to 100 meters, so your 10m run isn't going to be an issue at all.

Everything connected to a single switch can live on the same network. Same subnet. That includes devices connected to an access point that feeds back into that switch. They can all be—and usually are in home setups—on the same subnet (the same LAN, as you put it).
You can set it up differently if you wanted to, but I doubt you need that. There are switches that let you configure "virtual LANs," but those are pricier, obviously.

As for DirecTV, I'm not sure. Your best bet is to ask the provider exactly what hardware you need to get it running on multiple screens.

wiredotter14 said:I’ve got this one WiFi access point that only has an Ethernet connection, and there's zero power available at that wall outlet. So, I guess it needs to run via PoE—do I need some specific device or power adapter for that, and what should I be looking out for?

There’s such a thing as a PoE injector. It follows the IEEE 802.3af standard. Basically, it's just a little box where you plug in the Ethernet and the power on one side, and then it spits out PoE Ethernet from the other.

Then you just run the cable from that straight to your PoE WiFi access point (just make sure the unit actually supports IEEE 802.3af).
If you want the "fancy" way to do it, you could just grab a PoE switch. Those usually come with a bunch of built-in ports—like 4+4 PoE and regular ones—but if you're only dealing with one single device, an injector is probably the easier move.

As for the DirecTV setup, every extra TV you want to hook up is going to need its own DirecTV receiver, which then all gets plugged back into the switch.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

I've been looking at PoE switches, and they aren't actually that pricey.

https://www.amazon.com/switches...m_medium=click

Take this one, for example. $214

I should be able to plug this PoE access point into it:
https://www.amazon.com/access-point/...m_medium=click

Now, once you hook up standard access points or routers set to AP mode to that switch:

https://www.bestbuy.com/access-point/...00mbps-3846211

Or

https://www.staples.com/p/netgear-nbg660...m_medium=click

will they all end up on the same LAN, basically the same subnet?

Right now, I've just got a basic Netgear AP in my room connected via Ethernet to the main router from my ISP, and the LAN I'm on has the same name as the WiFi I configured on that AP.

How do I make sure every Ethernet port stays on the exact same LAN across multiple devices?
And if I use the same SSID for all these WiFi networks, will devices—like a phone or laptop—know how to jump between them, or is it better to give each floor its own network name?

wiredotter14 said:So, will they all end up sitting on the same LAN, like, the same subnet?

The AP is basically just a "passive" device here. It’s just bridging the WiFi devices to the router, and then the router handles everything via DHCP to set up that shared subnet (the LAN).
Each AP gets its own IP address so you can actually log in and configure it, obviously. But yeah, it lives on the exact same subnet as every other device. You can manually assign it an IP if you're feeling fancy, or just let it grab one from the router via DHCP—though, honestly, wouldn't it be easier to manage if you actually knew what its fixed IP was?

wiredotter14 said:Thanks for the input, everyone.

I’ve been looking at some PoE switches, and honestly, they aren't breaking the bank.

https://www.amazon.com/switches...m_medium=click

Take this one, for example. $214

I should be able to plug something like this PoE access point into it:
https://www.amazon.com/access-point/...m_medium=click

Now, if I hook up regular access points or routers set to access point mode to that same switch:

https://www.bestbuy.com/access-point/...00mbps-3846211

or

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/p/netgear-nbg660...m_medium=click

will they all end up on the same LAN—basically the same subnet?

Right now, I’ve just got a basic Netgear AP in my room plugged via Ethernet into the main router from my ISP, and the LAN I connect to is named the exact same thing as the WiFi I configured on that AP.

How do I make sure all the Ethernet ports stay on the same LAN across multiple devices?
And if I use the same SSID for all these WiFi networks, will my devices (like a phone or laptop) know how to jump between them seamlessly, or am I better off giving each floor its own network name?

You just configure all the devices to be on the same network. Basically, they need to share the same subnet mask and the same address "network portion."
Honestly, it might be easier to have someone set this up for you. Or, have someone do the initial heavy lifting so you can see how it works, then you can take over once you get the hang of it.

It’s going to be a headache if you don't know the basics, especially since it looks like you're planning to build a total jungle of different hardware. For a solid network, you really want things to be "unified"—meaning you use as many identical devices as possible. You don't want a mess where one device is Brand A, the next is Brand B, and the third is some random router acting as an access point. That's just a recipe for chaos.

Also, avoid daisy-chaining an access point to another access point. Don't bother with those "WiFi extenders." The right way is to wire every access point directly back to a single Ethernet switch. Then, you connect one port on that switch to your ISP's router. You can let that router—or any other device on the network—act as the DHCP server to hand out IP addresses to everything else. Since one device is handling the IPs, masks, and gateways for the whole group, everything stays on the same subnet.

You'll either need to do a bit of reading on this or just pay someone to get it running for you the first time.

John Cook72 said:An AP is a "passive" device; it just bridges WiFi devices to the router, while the router defines the shared subnet (LAN) via DHCP.
Every AP has its own IP so you can access it for configuration, but it stays on the same subnet as everything else (you can set a static IP for an AP, or let it pull one via DHCP from the router—though managing it is easier if you know exactly what the IP is).

I'm looking to get an AP that isn't just for WiFi, but also acts as a LAN switch, so I can plug my TV and PC into it via cable in the room where it's located.

wiredcanyon94 said:You configure all the devices to be on the same network. Meaning, they share the same subnet mask and address "network portion."
Honestly, it might be best to have someone set this up for you. Or at least have them do the initial config so you can see how it works before trying to DIY it later.

It’s going to be a headache if you don't know the basics. And looking at your list, you're planning a total jungle of different devices. For a network, you want it "unified"—keep the hardware as consistent as possible. You don't want one device being this, another being that, and a third being some random router acting as an access point. That's just a mess of everything and anything.

And don't go daisy-chaining access points together. Avoid those "WiFi extenders." All your access points should connect back to a single Ethernet switch via wire. Connect one port on that switch to your ISP's router. One device—either that router or something else on the network—acts as the DHCP server to hand out IPs to everything else. That way, every device is on the same subnet because one central device handles the IPs, masks, and gateways for everyone.

Either study up on this or just pay someone to get it right the first time.

I get what you're saying, and that's basically the plan.
WiFi range extenders and that kind of junk are out of the question. Every AP will be wired to a switch. I'm specifically hunting for an AP with a built-in LAN switch rather than just a router in AP mode, mainly because finding those isn't easy. I've used a Netgear LAN + WiFi AP before and it worked fine.
I haven't decided yet if I need a dedicated switch or if the 4-5 ports on the router will cut it (looks like only 3 rooms + a hallway need Ethernet—one cable each).

I won't be setting this up myself anyway. I don't live at the location, so I'm just picking the gear and having someone else install it (which shouldn't be too complicated).

The current plan is:

- those Netgear Access Points (2x) - connected via Ethernet to the AT&T router
- a wall-mounted Netgear AP and a PoE+ injector, also connecting back to the router

It looks like I don't actually need a PoE switch if all I'm doing is setting up these three APs—especially since only one of them needs PoE, and most rooms only have a single Ethernet jack anyway.
Any devices that need a hardwired connection (like a PC or a smart TV) can just plug directly into the AP's built-in switch.

The big question is: will everything be able to see each other across this setup, or will every device be trapped on its own isolated AP network?

What's the verdict?

By default, once you unbox everything and plug it in, most stuff just sits on the same network. You really only have to start messing around with settings if you’re looking to set up multiple LANs or VLANs—then you’ve got to actually get into the router and configure all that.

Take my setup, for example. I’m running a full Ubiquiti rig (Router, 2x PoE Switch, 2x AP, and a CloudKey Gen2), which means four distinct devices. My ISP's router is sitting in bridge mode, hooked up to my main router where I've configured three separate networks: one standard LAN and two VLANs. I've got them walled off with a firewall so that all the "noisy" gear—the TV, Chromecast, smart home hub, printer, whatever—can get online, but they can't touch my PC since it's tucked away on a different LAN. Meanwhile, anything on the main LAN can still reach the VLAN. Same logic applies to the WiFi.

Edit

But like wiredcanyon94 said, keeping everything unified is usually the move—it makes installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting way less of a headache. For any "serious" network, I'd steer clear of those cheap 4-in-1 or 5-in-1 combo units... I actually tossed a TP-Link switch into my Ubiquiti setup, and sure, it works fine, but I can't manage it nearly as easily as my Ubiquiti switch, and to top it off, the thing doesn't even show up in the topology on my controller.

Got it.

I checked with AT&T—DirecTV doesn't need to be plugged directly into the router. It just needs internet access (assuming it's on the same IP address), so running it through a switch should work fine.

Here’s the current setup:



Netgear seems like a solid brand, but what do you guys think about this combo?

wiredotter14 said:I get it.

I checked in with AT&T, and apparently, DirecTV doesn't actually need to be plugged directly into the router—it just needs internet access (assuming it’s on the same IP address), so it should work fine through a switch.

Maybe check if the AT&T router can handle both DirecTV and standard LAN traffic through the exact same port at once? Some ISP routers use dedicated ports; they detect the DirecTV signal and block regular internet from that specific jack. The port might look universal, but once it picks up the DirecTV signal, it switches into a special streaming mode to prevent latency or drops.
ISP routers are usually under direct control via a CMS (management system), so they can remotely tweak the configuration for every single port.

Just definitely double-check if you can run mixed traffic through the "same" port, or if you can hook up multiple DirecTV devices there. I have a feeling that back in the day, every DirecTV box needed its own dedicated port.

Who knows, maybe the newer gear knows how to mix and split signals better now.

I actually brought that up myself—I even mentioned how those old AT&T routers used to have a dedicated port just for DirecTV.

The support guy told me it’s not even like that; apparently, DirecTV just needs standard internet access (so it functions like any typical IPTV setup?).
The only real bottleneck is bandwidth. He said on this connection—I think it's 50Mbps—two streams should run fine, but he wasn't so sure about running three at once.

wiredotter14 said:...

So, the real question is whether the devices on this network will actually be able to talk to one another, or if they’re just going to be stuck sitting on their own isolated access points.

What's your take?

Here’s my two cents. If you set them up to see each other, they’ll see each other. If you configure them to stay isolated, they’ll stay isolated.
It really just comes down to how you configure the hardware.