Server Rack Tour (2023) (Part 2)

[@buf0rd]

I like the attention to redundancy. Well done!

[@homenetworkguy]

Thanks! In some ways I may have less redundancy than my previous rack configuration since I made more use of LAGGs but since I’ve added higher speed links and multi-homed some of my devices, I don’t find myself needing to use LAGGs. I would like to get a second TrueNAS box to replicate my main box in case it gets jacked up since it has my most important data.

[@JasonsLabVideos]

Good video man !! Love it, happy to see you converted to Grandstream switches too !!

[@homenetworkguy]

Thanks! I’m liking it so far especially as I become more familiar with their products.

[@Carl-kg7rm9zz8y]

Another great video, keep them coming like a string of pearls!

[@homenetworkguy]

Haha! Thanks. I know I did a rack tour not long ago but I tried to add some more details in this video to make it more interesting for viewers.

[@wis-gq5tx]

i hope you do video on wire routes through the house,thanks

[@homenetworkguy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was fortunate to have been able to plan where the drops should be located since I had my house built. The options for the house were a bit limited but I was able to say how many Ethernet/coax drops there should be in the various rooms. For my basement, it wasn’t fully finished so I was able to run drops wherever I wanted easily before I covered up the walls and ceiling. I could try to show some pictures of how I ran them in my basement and maybe show different locations throughout my house but those were ran prior to the walls being closed up.

[@MPHxthexLegend]

06:55 you are using a Gowin r86s-G4 as long what I heard and you said, you will switch it out with something different in the future. In my country I cant get the r86 10Gbit version, which hardware will you get in the future for 10G routing?

[@homenetworkguy]

I’m using the R86S-U4 which is a newer version of the G4. I’m planning to review a new box in the next month or 2 whenever it’s released. I can’t say yet what it is since I don’t believe it has been announced yet. Stay tuned! Also how come you can’t get the R86S 10G in your country? They don’t ship it there?

[@MPHxthexLegend]

@homenetworkguy Can you recommend the R86S-U4, especially for 10G with opnsense? They aren't shipping it to austria, also alliexpress doesn't. The next thing is the reliability of the resellers because I can't check which one is a real gowin device. Nice, I will stay tuned.

[@homenetworkguy]

@@MPHxthexLegend It does work pretty well once you understand the limits of mini-PCs, but if you want to use something like Zenarmor on 10G, you will be limited to 3-4Gbps. I'm using the 10G interface internally to go beyond 1G across my VLANs but I doubt I'll hit 3-4Gbps since I have all my 10G devices connected to their own isolated VLAN so they can get the full 10G throughput and it reduces the load on the firewall. If you have Internet faster than 3-4Gbps and want to run something like Zenarmor, you will need something much faster than the R86S. If you want the R86S, you may want to get one of the newest versions which uses the N305 CPU to get the best performance. You could try contacting David at Gowin directly so you know it's genuine hardware and he may be able to ship it anywhere in the world.

[@ragtop50]

How do you like the Grandstream switch and their ecosystem vs UniFi?

[@homenetworkguy]

I’m just now getting into some it so I don’t have a lot of experience yet but I plan to do some follow up videos going into more detail. They have some interesting aspects that I like- you have the option to manage each device separately via built in web interface or you can use a local or cloud controller like UniFi. Also another interesting thing is that for their APs, you can have a single AP act as the controller for other APs without needing to use the local or cloud controller. So if you only have Grandstream APs, you could just set one AP as the primary controller for all the others. But if you have more of their products, a local or cloud controller would be better to use. I found a few options on the built in web interface that you cannot set directly from their controller software which is interesting. I had a few minor 10G issues using DAC cables so it’s probably a DAC thing and not an issue if you use fiber but I haven’t tested that yet. The DAC issues were resolved by manually setting the speed to 10G and setting the DAC cable length.