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OpenHab2: Setting Up The Home Network Demo

 

Setting Up The Home Network: 

 

Demo: 

Hey guys Matt here from mksmarthouse.com and in this video I am going to give you a demo of the Network we are going to be creating.
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So the point of this demo is to show you the system in action as well as how it all works. Also, when each one of these 4 videos in the network series hits 100 likes I will release the video of setting up the home automation server with OpenHAB 2 sooner than it is planned. Anyway, let’s start off with the device in action part. Let me just take out my phone and as you can see we have a couple different wifi networks. With the network we have two sets of wireless we have the guest wifi and the normal personal wifi. Then within those two sets we have the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz. The 5GHz is the faster one and whenever possible always use it but some devices are not 5GHz capable so they would use the 2.4GHz. Another thing is that with this network and the wireless I have full wifi coverage throughout the property from outside to the second floor. Which for this Smart Home system is very necessary. We can also access anyone of these wifi networks from anywhere around the house. With this network we can also connect many wired device that we have. To end off what it can do I am just going to show you the speed test of the wired network and the wireless network. It can handle quite a bit. So, now let's go over how it all works. Down here in the basement we have the main network which consists of the Modem, Router and ethernet switch. We start off by getting internet from the ISP through this coaxial cable which then goes into the modem and gets outputted through this red ethernet cable and goes into the router. The router is the brain of the network as it assigns IP addresses and talks with the modem. This router also is one part of the wireless setup. Then we have this yellow ethernet cable which goes to the ethernet switch and it distributes the ethernet signal between all the wired devices in the house including the two wifi access points that I have. One of the access points is in the garage so I have an ethernet cable running to there and then I have another access point in my room where I have ethernet jack that goes to the ethernet switch. The access points are what are responsible for increasing the wifi range which is why I have two of them in addition to the main router's wifi. I am not saying they are necessary to everyone but what is necessary is complete wifi coverage throughout the entire home so all the future sensors and devices can connect to it. That’s it that is the network we will be creating in the next couple of videos, first is the hardware video where we connect everything, next is the software video where we configure everything and then lastly, we have the final installation video where we mount and install everything in their final positions. If, you have a network already which you probably already do, then you should still watch these videos as there might be something I do differently than you. Also, even if you have a network you could get some ideas from mine on some upgrades you could possibly do such as a new router or increasing the wifi range using access points. Some of you might be saying, just show us the smart home stuff and I am, I am showing the complete process from start to finish of a smart home and the network by far is the most important because if you don't have a strong network the communication between devices will be terrible and your smart home will fail. The point is make sure you have a very stable and fast network, which you can watch these next videos to make sure. Alright thank you for watching and If you have any questions leave them in the comments section below or head over to mksmarthouse.com/forum where you have a better chance of it getting answered. Good Bye!
Hardware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j41JveqPUQM&feature=emb_title
Hey guys Matt here from mksmarthouse.com and in this video we are going to be talking about the hardware in the network.
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To start off let’s talk about the hardware we are going to be using in the network. But before we do that make sure you like this video because when each one of these 4 videos in the network series hits 100 likes I will release the video of setting up the home automation server with OpenHAB 2 sooner than it is planned. Anyway, the modem we are going to be using is the arris surfboard sb1641. Please note I will not be showing in detail how to setup the modem with the ISP because it is different with each ISP. This is an amazing modem and has many positive reviews all over the internet. Speaking of positive reviews the main router I chose also does, I chose the the TP-Link Archer C7. So these two devices take care of the basic network and for most people that's it for the network. But, since in my house there are a little bit more wired devices I'm going to need an ethernet switch and that is where the D-Link 16-Port gigabit ethernet switch comes into play. Lastly, since I want more wifi coverage, let me rephrase that since I need complete wifi coverage I am going to use these two Netgear AC1750’s. Now you might be asking why I need two more routers. Well these two devices have an access point feature in their software that allows them to act as wifi access points instead of routers and extend the range of the wifi network. The links to where to get all the hardware I will be using is in the description below.
 
First we are going to reset all the devices to factory settings. So we are going to connect our power strip to power, and then turn it on. The modem and switch don't get reset so we will skip those and move on to the routers starting with the main one the archer c7. Plug the power adapter into the power strip and into the router. Next press the power button in the back to turn it on, then wait a minute or two until the device powers on and the asterisk looking thing flashes slowly. After, press and hold the WPS/RESET button for more than 10 seconds until the SYS LED or Asterisk looking thing becomes a quick flash from a slow flash. Then release the button and wait for the Router to reboot to its factory default settings. Next we are going to reset the Netgear AC1750 so, first we are going to plug the power adapter into the powerstrip then into the device and press the power button into the on position. Then let the device boot for a minute or two. Once it is booted take a paperclip and press and hold the red button down for 10 seconds. Finally the device will reboot. Repeat this reset process for anymore AC1750’s or access points you may have.
 
To finish off the power distribution let's connect the D-Link ethernet switch to power and the Arris Modem to power, which is just connecting their power bricks to the power strip and then the other ends into the devices. Speaking of power this powerstrip is one that has a surge protector built in which is very important to protect all of the network hardware.
 
Now that everything is reset and set to as if it is brand new let's get to work. To test everything before we install it we are going to connect everything on a separate table. To start off let's talk about internet connection. Personally I have cable internet meaning that I get my internet from my ISP over a coaxial cable. Therefore I have a cable modem which is the first thing we are going to connect. So, I am going to take the coaxial cable from my ISP and plug it into the modem. Next up is the main router which again is the TP-Link Archer C7. To connect the devices together we are going to be using Cat6 ethernet cables and I got some in different colors to color code the network a little. To connect the modem and the router together I am going to use a red ethernet cable, so one end is going to go into the ethernet port of the modem and then the other end is going to go into the wan port of the archer c7. For most people this could conclude the network setup due to the fact that this could provide you enough wifi coverage and enough ethernet ports for all your wired devices. But, for me I require more of both of these devices so to solve the problem of more ethernet ports next we are going to connect the 16 port ethernet switch and to do so we are going to take a yellow ethernet cable and put one end into the first lan port of the router and the first ethernet port of the ethernet switch. After that let's tackle the problem of the wifi. The easiest way to determine how many access points you need is to just to assume where most of your devices are going to be as well as where you think the wifi needs to be stronger. So let's connect our two routers that we are going to use as wifi access points. The thing about these access points is that they are wired access points which means they require an ethernet connection to the network. So the places where I want these to increase the wifi need to have an ethernet connection of some sort. And I am lucky because they do, as I want to put one of these access points in my garage where I have an ethernet cable ran to and then I am going to put the other access point in my room where I have an ethernet jack that goes to the main network as well. But anyway for now we are going to use another cat6 cable for each of the access points and one end goes into the next available ethernet port of the switch and the other end goes into the wan port of the access point. Do this for as many access points you have. And that’s it for the hardware of the network. You do not necessarily have to use this exact setup as I have, but I have found it to work perfectly for the smart house and transmit data very fast and reliably. In the next video we are going to talk about the software and configuring all the devices! Alright thank you for watching and If you have any questions leave them in the comments section below or head over to mksmarthouse.com/forum where you have a better chance of it getting answered. Good Bye! 
Software: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKgzbk0aJZQ&feature=emb_title

 

Hey guys matt here from mksmarthouse.com and in this video we are going to be setting up the software for the home network.
 
The only thing we are going to need to setup the software in the network is a computer with an ethernet port. I won’t be doing two separate videos for Mac and PC because this is mostly in a web browser which in my case is google chrome. Also, when each one of these 4 videos in the Network series hits 100 likes I will release the video of setting up the home automation server with OpenHAB 2 sooner than it is planned.
 
First thing we have to do is setup the main router, the Archer C7 from TP-Link. So we are going to take an ethernet cable and plug it into a LAN port of the router and then take the other end and plug it into the ethernet port of the computer. Since I have a 2016 MacBook Pro I needed to use a couple dongles… Anyway, then we have to find the IP address of the router, it is typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 but, on the Archer C7 it is always 192.168.0.1. If you are on Mac you can go to System Preferences then network and look at the router field. On pc you can open command prompt and type in ipconfig and then look at the router field. Next we are going to take that IP address and put it into the address or URL bar in the web browser and press enter. The router’s web page will pop up and will ask for a username and password, for the archer C7 the default username is admin and the password is admin then press login. If you didn’t know this is the router’s user interface and how you can configure and change it as well as show you its status and certain information. Before we do anything we should Upgrade the Firmware of the device. I am not going to show how to do that for this particular router because I have already done it, and because if you do it wrong it could brick your device. If you really want to update the firmware which I recommend, you can google it and find dedicated guides. The first thing we are going to do is head over to DHCP and change the Start IP address to start at 192.168.0.50 instead of 192.168.0.100. Then press save, and a box should pop up, just press OK. The reason I am doing this is because I don’t need 100 reserved IP adresses I only need about 50. Next, I am going to head over to network and then WAN. Then I am going to click the check box next to “Use these DNS Servers” and in the primary DNS type in 8.8.8.8 then in secondary type in 8.8.4.4 then click save. The reason I changed the DNS servers is because I like using google dns servers instead of the default ones. Once we click save it will obtain network parameters again with the new dns server settings. When it finished obtaining head over to Wireless 2.4GHz. Here we are going to change the name of the 2.4GHz wifi network, I recommend doing something meaningful and you can remember because we are going to be using this quite a bit in addition to the password which we will set next. I named my 2.4GHz network K-WiFi then clicked save. Now we are going to change the password so in the left column click Wireless Security and then in the PSK Password field type in a password you would like to use and scroll down and hit save. The 5GHz network is next so click on Wireless 5GHz in the left column. Here we are going to change the name of the 5GHz wifi network and click save. I named mine K-WiFi5GHz. This name should be different than your 2.4GHz wifi network. Then head over to Wireless Security and Change the password in PSK password field and scroll down and hit save. This password could be the same or different than your 2.4GHz network but you should remember it anyway. Next is the Guest Network so click that in the left column. First click the check box to the left of Guest Network (2.4G) and change the name of network, I chose K-Guest then later on I chose K-GuestWiFi. Also, click the dropdown that says disable security and choose WPA/WPA2-Personal and choose a password in the PSK Password field. Then scroll down and hit save. But we are not done yet because now we have to set up the guest 5GHz network. So, click the checkbox next to Guest Network (5G) and change the name of the network, I chose K-GuestWiFi5GHz. Also, click the dropdown that says disable security and choose WPA/WPA2-Personal and choose a password in the PSK Password field, this can be the same or different as the 2.4GHz network. Then scroll down and hit save. Next to apply all these changes we are going to head over to System tools, reboot and press the reboot button, when the box pops up click ok. The device should reboot and the page should become blank, keep hitting refresh until the login box comes up once it does login with the default credentials we talked about before. Speaking of we should change those so go to system tools and password. I kept the username the same of admin and changed the password. Please remember these credentials as we will be using them to access this router many more times in the future. Once done click save. It will automatically log you out, so log back in with your new credentials. And that's it we are done with the main router, next is the wireless access points So, exit out of this tab. Now unplug the ethernet cable from the LAN port of the main router and plug it into a LAN port on the Netgear AC1750. Now, like the main router we have to access the router’s web page. If you are on Mac you can go to System Preferences then network and look at the router field. On pc you can open command prompt and type in ipconfig and then look at the router field. On the Netgear AC1750 it is usually 192.168.1.1 to start of. Next we are going to take that IP address and put it into the address or URL bar in the web browser and press enter. Upon first connection of the router it will automatically run through setup by first checking the internet connection then asking you to set a couple things. First is a password I recommend using the same login password as the main router to keep it consistent when logging into each router to access settings. Next pick and answer two security questions. Then click next. Then it will show you the current wifi settings just ignore them and press take me to the internet. But, we won't be using it as we will type in that router's ip address again to change some settings. There should be a pop up box asking for the username and password, so enter them and press login. First we are going to click the advanced tab, then in the left column click advanced setup then wireless AP. Here click the box next to Enable AP Mode and press apply. When the box comes up press ok. The device will now reboot! Now we are going to open up a new tab and go to the main router’s IP address to find the other router’s new IP address. So type in the main router's ip in the address bar and hit enter. Then log in and go to DHCP in the left column and then DHCP Clients List. Here we can see all the devices connected to the network. But we are looking for our netgear router and here it is at the bottom, it is listed using its model number R6300v2 so we are going to look at its assigned IP which is 192.168.0.53. We are going to take that IP and open a new tab and put that IP in the address bar and press enter. Then we are going to log in. Now we are going to be configuring it to match the main router. So first head over to wireless. Then in the wireless network (2.4GHz) Change the SSID to match the main router's 2.4GHz wifi ssid, in my case that is K-WiFi. Also, change the mode to 450Mbps instead of 217 Mbps in the drop down. We also have to change the 2.4GHz wifi password to match the main router's 2.4GHz wifi password. Next is the 5GHz WiFi Network, and we are going to type in the same 5GHz SSID and password as the main router mine is K-WiFi5GHz. Then we are going to press apply and it will update all the settings. After that click Guest Network in the left column. In the 2.4GHz network match the same SSID as the main router, mine is K-GuestWiFI, Then in the 5GHz also match the same SSID as the main router mine is K-GuestWiFi5GHz. Also, for both the 2.4GHz section and 5GHz section click WPA2-PSK[AES] and match the same password as the main router for each network. Then click the box next to enable Guest Network in both the 2.4GHz section and the 5GHz section. Then hit apply. Lastly, go to the advanced tab then in the left column click administration and router update. Then on that page, in the section that says Check for new version from the internet click the check button. Now it is checking for a new firmware in my case there was none so i clicked back. And that is it we are done configuring the access point so now just click logout in the upper right hand corner. Now unplug the ethernet cable from the access point and plug it into more access points if you have any and repeat the same process. Once you are done configuring the access points we now have to give them static IP addresses so we can always access them from the same address. So, to do this we are going to plug the computer into the LAN port of the main router. Then we are going to open up the web browser and access the main router's web page by typing in its IP address in the address bar and then logging in. Then in the left column go to DHCP and Address Reservation. Ignore what I currently have there and don’t worry that you do not have it. Anyway click the add new button. Now there are two fields one is asking for the MAC Address of the device and the IP Address we want to assign it to. To find the MAC address we simply have to go to the device and look for the tag that says MAC address. But when we type it in everything should be uppercase and separated by a dash every two characters. Once that is entered we have to decide on a IP address for it. Personally I am just going to go in order, so I am going to give this access point 192.168.0.2. The reason I am giving 2 and not 1 is because 1 is reserved for the router so we cannot use that. Anyway now we hit save. Then when the box pops up click OK. Now again since I have two I am going to repeat the same process for the other one except for this one I am going to give it an IP of 192.168.0.3. Then save and OK. Once we are back on the Address Reservation Page there should be a little red warning on the bottom saying to reboot, so press the “click here” to reboot. Then click the reboot button and OK in the pop up box. Then give it a minute to reboot. Once the router is fully booted, reboot each access point by pressing the power button to turn it off for 10 seconds and then pressing it again to turn it back on. Once the access points are fully booted head back over to the computer open a new tab and test out the new IP address. And that is it, the software is fully setup. So, you can go ahead and unplug the computer from the ethernet port of the router as well as from the computer. The network is now ready for final installation which is what we are going to do in the next video. Alright thank you for watching and If you have any questions leave them in the comments section below or head over to mksmarthouse.com/forum where you have a better chance of it getting answered. Good Bye!
Final Install: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j41JveqPUQM&feature=emb_title
Hey guys Matt here from mksmarthouse.com and in this video we are going to be finishing up the network by installing it the home.
 
So what do I mean by final installation, well I mean put all the components where they need to go such as putting the access points in their final locations and mounting the rest of the equipment on the wall. Also, when each one of these 4 videos in the network series hits 100 likes I will release the video of setting up the home automation server with OpenHAB 2 sooner than it is planned. The materials we are going to me using are an impact driver, a tape measure, some random screws, an Open Slot Wiring Cable Raceway, CAT 6 ethernet cables, a label maker and label tape. The links to where to get all the materials and products I use will be in the description. So, let's start off by discussing where I am going to mount it, well I am going to mount it here right next to the power panels. Now I know what some of you may be thinking, electrical interference that's not good. Well, I have had my previous network down here and I have not seen any quality issues or anything so I am going to continue to have it down here, I mean it is my network so I can do it how ever I want and you too can do your network however you want and put it where ever you want. Anyway, as you can see there are currently wires all over the place and the old equipment on the wall. So I am going to start by taking it all off to have a clean and cleared workspace. And there, I tucked some of the wires and removed all the old equipment. I am going to start off by mounting the power strip, so my power strip has 4 holes so I put 4 screws in the wall and just slid it on. Once the power was mounted, I took the router and the modem and played around with its placement to see how I like it. Once I found where I like it, I took a screw and put it in the wall using the impact driver, then I took a tape measure and measured the distance between the two holes on the router. Then I took that measurement and used it to put the other screw in the wall. Then once both screws were in I put the router on the wall. For the modem I applied the same process of putting in a screw, measuring distance, put in the other screw and finally mounting. Then I took the Ethernet switch and played around with its placement. Once I found where I like it I applied the same mounting technique as before. Now that everything is mounted it is time to manage all the cables. I have this cool cable management raceway thing with many holes and slits to run all the cables, it works really well and when I am done I just put the cover on and all the cables are gone. I am going to start off with the power cables. I just put them in the race way and ran them to there destinations. Next is the ISP Coax cable and the yellow ethernet cable in between the router and the switch, I just put them in the raceway and tucked them. Now that we are adding cables it is time to start labeling so we can keep track of all of them and tell where they are going. So, I am going to use this simple DYMO label maker to do so. To make a cable label, I just type in where the cable is going and then I press the print button wait for it to print, and then I press the print button again wait for it to print and then I press the cut button. The label now has the text twice and is very long with a big white space in the middle which is good. Then I just take the backing off of the label and fold it over the cable to create a little double sided flag. I do this for all my cables before I plug it in. Speaking of now I ran all my ethernet cables to the switch using the raceway. As you look at these clips you can clearly tell everything is labeled and can tell where it is going. Now that all the cables are ran we can now put the cover the raceway to hide all the cables. There we go all the cables are managed and labeled! So now it is time to label the hardware starting with the power bricks. If you were to label anything I high recommend labeling the power bricks so that way if you need to unplug it you know exactly what is what. Next I labeled all the hardware and the IP addresses of the devices. I even labeled the access points so I know which is which as well as where as where they go. Speaking of it is now time to install them. The first one we are going to install is on the second floor in my room. To install the access point all we have to do is plug in the power adapter into the wall, then plug an ethernet cable into the ethernet jack in the wall that goes to the ethernet switch in the main network, I used a black CAT6 ethernet cable. Then we take the ethernet cable and plug it into the yellow wan port of the Netgear AC1750 router / Access point. After that we take the other end of the power adapter and plug it into the access point and press the power button to turn it on if it is off. Now this access point is installed and is time to install the Garage Access point. So in my garage I have an ethernet cable running to it from the main house going into the ethernet switch in the main network. I also have an extension cord running from an outlet on the wall to the upper level of the garage so that we have both ethernet and power up there. So, the first thing I did is connect the power adapter into the extension cord so now I have two leads the ethernet cable and the other end of the power adapter. All that's left is to connect the ethernet to the WAN port of the Access Point and connect the power to the DC jack and turn it on. To finish it up i just tucked it away and we are done! The network is now complete, we now have full fast wifi coverage on the whole entire property, as well as a fast ethernet going through the fast ethernet switch. We are now ready to start the home automation and smart home journey. Alright thank you for watching and If you have any questions leave them in the comments section below or head over to mksmarthouse.com/forum where you have a better chance of it getting answered. Good Bye!
Product Links:  Product Links:
Arris Surfboard Sb1641:http://amzn.to/2m4UKxL
TP-Link Archer C7:http://amzn.to/2mazw28
D-Link 16 Port Ethernet Switch: http://amzn.to/2maOwgj
Netgear AC1750 R6300v2:http://amzn.to/2lw28PL
Color Cat 6 Ethernet Cables:http://amzn.to/2lwbv1z
Cable Organizer Raceway:http://amzn.to/2l98M2g
Dymo Label Maker:http://amzn.to/2m53mVc
Dymo Label Tape:http://amzn.to/2llOmhK