TiggerLAS

I've had dreadful experiences with NetGear over the years, and I won't put any of their gear into production anymore, except possibly a dumb network switch.

TP-Link, TrendNet, Zyxel, Cisco, Unifi. . . all acceptable alternatives, IMO.

If you want a nice solid network switch, try the Zyxel GS1200-8.

They are really, really easy to configure, especially VLANs if you use them.

Surface mount may be the way to go.

You can get surface mount boxes with keystone jacks that point out the side. These will be reasonably low-profile.

You could probably "rough up" the cover a bit with some sandpaper, and paint the cover of the box so that it blends in with the color of your bricks.

If you install the surface mount so that the jack(s) themselves point towards the floor, it would naturally direct the cables downwards, while hiding the unpainted faces of the keystone jack from direct view.

Additionally, you could choose dark-colored RJ45 keystone jacks, such as black, dark red, or grey, rather than using the more stark white or almond colors.

Cat6 will get you 10Gb up to about 175 linear feet, which is usually enough for your average 2-story home. It's still mainstream/readily available, and is a bit easier to work with than 6a. Definitely 6a for distances beyond 175 feet though. Agreed though on fiber backbones for high speeds.

I typically assume a very conservative 20-foot radius around a ceiling-mounted access point, give-or-take.

Some general placement rules:

Access points should be centrally located to the areas they are serving.

If you have a cluster of bedrooms off of a common hallway, then mount the access point in the hallway, so it is approximately equidistant from the center of each bedroom. Same for the living room/dining room/kitchen.

Don't mount access points along exterior walls, unless you want half of your coverage radius outdoors instead of indoors. Likewise, don't place them in exterior corners of your home, unless you want 75% of your coverage radius outdoors. Keep them more towards the interior of your home, to maximize the indoor coverage radius.

I don't believe that I said it was either/or in my reply.

Other folks were claiming that wireless mesh shouldn't be used, and that mesh units / access points should always be wired.

I responded with examples of why some folks would choose (wirelessly deployed) mesh systems, which, for them, might be the only viable option.

Then I mentioned that traditional (ostensibly pro-sumer based) access points were more stable, and often provided better overall performance compared to integrated (consumer-based) table-top systems.

Lastly, I offered one possible answer to OP, with regards to why some folks wouldn't automatically buy mesh, versus using a WiFi-type router.

I love the (close-but-no-cigar) citation of the IEEE document titled "Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems", which primarily deals with lightning protection for industrial and commercial buildings, equipment, power substations, and the like.

It's a good read, if you like air gaps, Faraday cages, and even makes mention of using lasers and rockets to dissipate storm clouds.

Every household should have their own rocket launcher. :-)

No mention of communication cabling whatsoever.

In fairness, section 2.7 does deal with interior wiring systems, but it defers to the NEC with regards to adequate grounding solutions, and, in the first few paragraphs of section 2.7.1, it clearly states:

"Basically, the NEC designates minimum acceptable limits for safety that may not be adequate for a particular application and may not necessarily provide for the efficient or practical use of high technology utilization equipment"

So, the IEEE defers to the NEC standards with regards to proper grounding/protection of interior wiring, and states that the NEC guidelines "might not be adequate for protection of high-technology equipment."

So, there's that.

Yeah, OP could put some ethernet arrestors on both ends of the cable, and then of course bond each one to a grounding source where the cables enter into each building. There are plenty advertised online, many of which come with their own sets of negative reviews after the devices failed to do their jobs, with a few of the reviewers being adamant that they followed the proper grounding procedures.

That of course doesn't mean that some other factors weren't in play, but it is certainly enough to raise suspicion, while simultaneously raising enough doubt to conclude that the devices might not offer reliable/predictable protection, even when installed correctly.

The IEEE 99.5% rule doesn't come into play here, as it only covers unrelated grounding scenarios, and doesn't apply to the real-life performance of the lightning arrestors themselves.

While some arrestors may have failed at their jobs due to incorrect grounding methods, the folks that claimed to have closely followed the included grounding instructions may very well have had a defective unit. Perhaps bad solder joints, a GDT that was compromised due to rough handling during shipping or from too much heat during soldering, or some other internal flaw.

Sadly, there's not a convenient way for home users to test them, other than the "wait and see" method. Not the best way to find out. :-/

As with any gas-in-a-tube device, leakage can develop from sudden impacts to the chassis, or simply from the passage of time, etc. Once the gas is gone, so is the protection for that conductor, and you only need one to fail for catastrophic results.

I wouldn't expect to see a manufacturer's analysis of failure modes and failure rates anytime soon. . . Heheh.

However, you did bring up an interesting point that gave me pause.

"Boxes powered by an electrical source means protection is gone - compromised."

So you're positing that lightning could induce a current flow in the underground cable, which will enter into the first media converter via ethernet, through its electronics, and then out to the building's electrical system via the converter's AC-adapter, where it will then enter the AC adapter of the second media converter, proceed through its electronics, and out to whatever ethernet device it is connected to.

I can actually envision that path, but can't even guess at the likelihood of that happening, any more than I could speculate on the failure rate of ethernet lightning arrestors, or the longevity of the gas-filled tubes inside them.

Either event seems possible, and is a matter of percentages.

Thanks for giving me things to ponder. . .

Don't mess around with grounding. Its not going to help.

Here are two possible solutions:

Get two sets of these (4 total units), and put a pair in your home, and a pair in your barn.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099JF9KJD/ref=sr_1_4

Then, link the boxes together with a short patch cord:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZ33Z9F/ref=sr_1_3

So:

Home > Media Converter > fiber patch cord > Media Converter > To barn

and. .

Barn > Media Converter > fiber patch cord > Media Converter > To home

If lightning hits, it may burn out one or two of the media converters, but the fiber link between the media converters will prevent the ESD from propagating to the equipment in your home, and your barn.

Obvious caveat: Depending on how close the strike is, it could still enter your equipment via other means.

Or, if you have line-of-sight between your two buildings, you could eliminate the cabling entirely, and use a pair of UniFi LiteBeam 5AC or Unifi GigaBeam adapters, to form a wireless link between the two buildings.

With less than 1Gb speeds, you'll not notice any improvement between a Cat5e cable, and a Cat6 or higher cable. Cat5e is rated for 1Gb speeds up to 325ft.

You'll get better mesh performance with a tri-band system, such as the TP-Link Deco X68 or similar. It has a dedicated WiFi band to move the traffic between the units.

Note that WiFi is all about location, location, location.

Keep your mesh units within 20, perhaps 25 linear feet of one another, and for best coverage radius, don't put them along exterior walls - keep them more towards the center of your home. This may mean running a longer cable between your modem, and your first Deco unit.

The default DHCP lease in the Asus is 24 hours.

Could it be simply renewing the IP address for each machine?

If you're on Comcast / Xfinity, and if you're in one of their "enhanced" service markets, then you might want to consider the Hitron Coda56 modem, which is on their approved list for faster upload speeds. If not, the S33 is perfectly acceptable.

Yes.

On the switch, define the ports that need to be on VLAN2 as "access ports".

VLAN2, Untagged, PVID2

Then use a single cable from your edgerouter to any one of those ports.

Make sure that no other (V)LANs are assigned to that particular port on the EdgeRouter.

Mesh can certainly be viable in situations where it is simply not possible or practical to install ethernet to support traditional access points.

You could be in an apartment or rental housing where you can't readily install the necessary cabling because you don't own the property, are in a historic home where you can't or don't want to risk damage to finished surfaces, or simply don't want the interruptions to the aesthetics. Or you might be in a home where there aren't accessible wall or ceiling cavities to run cabling.

Then there is always the balance between affordability and portability.

That being said, distributed WiFi via traditional ceiling-mounted access points are generally better than integrated table-top mesh units, both from a performance and stability stand point.

Stand-alone, non-mesh routers. . . probably about profitability. Low cost routers for the folks that can't afford, or don't need more advanced devices.