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How To: Synology DS1819+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Migration

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

The DS1819+ replaces the DS1817+’s Intel Atom C2538 with the newer C3538, and its PCIe 3.0 slot supports NVMe SSD caching rather than being limited to SATA speeds. Beyond those hardware differences, the disk migration process and key software features in Synology’s DSM are also addressed, including Synology and third-party applications, the file system, file sharing, synchronization & backup, and security. Continue reading How To: Synology DS1819+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Migration

How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 2)

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Ubiquiti’s UniFi platform offers granular control over wireless settings that consumer routers never expose. This article walks through a tested configuration for a gigabit home network, covering channel planning, VLAN segmentation, IoT isolation, and per-AP radio tuning. We also cover getting Sonos and Belkin Wemo devices to coexist reliably with the rest of the network.
Continue reading How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 2)

How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 1)

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Ubiquiti’s UniFi is a modular, software-defined networking platform designed for prosumer and small-business use, built from separate components for routing, switching, and wireless access. We walk through replacing a piecemeal consumer router setup with a full UniFi deployment across a home wired with Gigabit Ethernet and more than 100 connected devices. The installation required coordinating a Security Gateway, managed switches, multiple access points, and a Cloud Key controller. Continue reading How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 1)

How To: Advanced Sonos Wireless Network Configuration Using Sonos BOOST

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Music

SonosNet 2.0 operates on a dedicated 2.4 GHz mesh network, entirely separate from your home WiFi, and multicasts audio to every speaker simultaneously rather than streaming individual unicast signals to each one. This article explains how Boost mode works, when a dedicated BOOST hardware device makes sense over an Ethernet-connected speaker, and how to configure up to three BOOST devices for a large installation. Continue reading How To: Advanced Sonos Wireless Network Configuration Using Sonos BOOST

Synology DS1817+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Configuration

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

The Synology DS1817+ is an eight-bay NAS running a quad-core Intel Atom processor with SHR2 RAID, capable of surviving the simultaneous loss of two drives without data loss. This review covers hardware configuration, file system selection, file sharing protocols, and security hardening for a demanding home prosumer environment. Btrfs goes beyond what EXT4 offers by adding automatic file self-healing and snapshot replication, but migrating between the two on Synology requires a full volume rebuild. Continue reading Synology DS1817+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Configuration