Hey Gang,

 

I finally got the Starlink Internet fired up. Oh my Gawd this is so much better and it will be 5 dollars less for my Internet a month. Comparing Ziply Fiber which I'm provision for 18Mbit down and 1Mbit Up. Now with Starlink, I'm at 150Mbit Down and 20 Mbit Up. way way faster than Ziply Fiber. The only small snag is that Starlink does not have any Ethernet Port for cable connection only WiFi. So I did a search and found an adapter that allows me to patch between the satellite lead and the router and produce an ethernet port. Now I also ordered a Managed Workgroup Switch that is 24 Port PoE+ (Power on Ethernet) so I can plug in cameras, sign boards etc. All are managed by the switch. I can control the flow of the Internet throughout the property now.

 

 

Just to compare to my old Ziply Fiber here is a speed test.



 

Basically Ziply Fiber wants $125 a month and Starlink wants $120 a month. Good signal and 5 dollars cheaper.

 

Well this sucks. Plugged in the workgroup switch fans came on and ran for a short time. I got a patch cord ethernet cable to hook everything up. Something arced inside and all lights and fans went out. Didn't even run a full 5 minutes and fired before even hooking up the first network cable.

What the heck now? Gremlins again?

32 minutes ago, jlwelding said:

What the heck now? Gremlins again?

Already filled out replacement on Amazon the new unit will be here Monday. I'm heading to McCall to drop off the damaged unit with UPS already got it boxed and labeled for return. No cost on shipping. All covered by Amazon.

And we're back....well done.

Did this last outage have anything to do with starlink?

8 hours ago, Max Tune said:

And we're back....well done.

Did this last outage have anything to do with starlink?

Nope. 

13 hours ago, Max Tune said:

And we're back....well done.

Did this last outage have anything to do with starlink?

Do remember my server is in Michigan and I'm in Idaho. My Starlink only gives me the ability to have Internet so I can access the server. Much as you do to access the site. Part of the down time was to do some repairs and updates to the site. Much easier than having public traffic bouncing through. 

Finally...

 

I got my TP-Link Managed Network Switch working. Its a 24-port PoE+ switch. My biggest problem was getting the software all installed on Ubuntu Linux so I could manage the switch. Now its at least working and the network switch can be managed. 

 

This morning we had a hard rain at about 3am and then by 4am it switched over to heavy wet snow. Starlink lost connection from the storm. It doesn't help that my dish is not in an optimal placement being the building is partially in the way. I've got to move to the north side of the house but I need to drill a hole through the wall to push the dish cable back through. Then if I mount the dish on the edge of the roof it would have no obstructions to the sky compared to where the dish is currently at currently on the deck. 

 

The neat part is I'm building my own secured network internal to my house. The switch is completely firewalled to the outside world. This means all traffic has to pass through my firewall on the switch before hitting all the devices, PCs, TV's, and game console. I can even limit the bandwidth of every device so no one can steal all the bandwidth in the network. My setup is rough but working. This is just temporary till I can get everything set up correctly. 

 

 

So now the Linux side of controls now... 

 

I can control every aspect of every device on my network now. I'm in the learning phase of managing all this and have some study work to do. I'm hoping really soon I can call my old internet provider / phone company and tell them to come to get their stuff and pull the leads off the houses. First I have to configure all these devices to the switch and double-check everything is working correctly and then I can dump Ziply Fiber. 

 

Like for example I can limit the bandwidth to the shop... This would provide 2Mbits Down and 1 Mbit Up for speed to the shop. 

 

Yeah I'm sure there is 99.9% of you who have no idea what I'm doing. Sadly my previous business was "Cloud 10 Computers" which I did custom computer building and basic internet setup for Windows. Now I've stepped up to Linux software (which is 90% of all internet servers) and doing Network Administration (local and remote) being I manage the website network remotely. I'm going to add PoE wireless access heads in the house and then PoE cameras for the house and property. This will allow me full management of everything and keep it secure compared to weak systems like Ring Doorbells.

Now Im building my network here at home. Now I know a lot of you have the internet at home and use WiFi for your cellphones and laptops. Did you know that like me I've got like 4 different WiFi radios going now? It's a pain in the tail going from area to area and having to switch from one WiFi radio to another. Starlink, Ziply, Netgear (bedroom), Netgear (shop). Then the yard is weak for a signal so if I'm working outside I may or may not get phone calls or texts. The TP-Link managed switch allows for multiple WiFi Radios to be installed and create a mesh network so you can roam from place to place and seamlessly switch radios without breaking phone calls. What is amazing is the equipment is cheaper. Check this out...

 

Indoor WiFi Access Point (PoE) 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781YXFBT/?th=1

 

Outdoor WiFi Access Point (PoE)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07953S2FD/?th=1

 

Outdoor Camera (PoE)

https://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-5-Megapixel-NightVision-Weatherproof-IP5M-T1179EW-28MM/dp/B083G9KT4C/?th=1

 

Note: PoE stands for Power On Ethernet. In other words, my Managed switch supplies the power and data completely on the Ethernet cable. Making installing easy and not having to mount near an outlet for a power source for the device. My 28 port switch has 250 watts of power for PoE devices. 

 

Why all the work? Well after this is completed I'll have PoE cameras hooked up to monitor the property and buildings. Then seamless WiFi is cast over the property that is firewall secured. The public will have their own WiFi signal that bandwidth restricted and firewall away from my personal data and cameras. Then while I'm say working in the shop I'll be able to say print a document in the shop and just walk up to the main house to get said document. With my old setup, the possibility of hackers coming in on the internet side and attempting to gain access to my PCs is possible, and need to protect my main PC which is the controller for Mopar1973Man.Com. 

 

The best part of all this it all works seamlessly on a Linux OS I'm using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for my software. Then even if I'm traveling about doing a job I can still check cameras at home, access my home network, etc. Completely secure. 

Got a lot done. Moved the Starlink to the north side of my house. I'm not happy I had to drill nearly a 1.75-inch hole through the wall to get the starting to plug through the wall. Then place the satellite dish on top of my fireplace chimney for now. Way better signal way fewer obstructed errors from Starlink.

 

Then now Starlink is hooked into the network on the property. All computers and devices now are on Starlink. By Monday ill be calling Ziply fiber to come get their router box and pull both the internet and phone line.

 

 

I've got more done. I got the outdoor WiFI antenna up. Then I managed to get the camera configured. I found out the internal camera software works way better. Strangely enough you have to find the cameras IP of the work group switch and then type that IP address into the browse. You configure the camera on your browser. It has movement detection and I could configure the camera to send the video files over SFTP. I've got to tweak the video area to exclude movement from a tree.

 

Sadly I fried a WiFI antenna here in the house. Then WiFI head for my place was whining for a update for its firmware. So laying on my bed early morning I hit the update button. It started and run for awhile then FAILED. Sadly the internal software is damaged and will not boot up. I've got to call TP-Link Tuesday and finish my warranty filing to get my replacement WiFi head.

 

So far in enjoying this setup. WiFi has been better. Better range and coverage. Internal network is fast. I can transfer files between devices pretty quick.

 

As for the Starlink I'm pleasured. The speed is better on clear skies. But if it get stormy it slows down. Then if then lightning you'll most likely lose internet. My last large storm was dropping 8 inches of rain and hour. Rain lasted about 30 minutes. But the lightning continued most of the night. Yea about 6 hours of no internet. At least now with Starlink I'll keep internet when the power is out being my solar power home.

 

With Ziply (former provider) when the power was out I would lose internet. Being the fiber optics require power to keep the light pulses going. 

 

Yeah wiring is temporary for now i might move things (WiFi and/or camera)