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Completed This Years Project

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By Usman Masood Ashraf
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Completed This Year’s Project: A Deep Dive into Homelab Network Infrastructure Upgrades

INTRODUCTION

Every year brings new challenges for infrastructure engineers – and homelab enthusiasts are no exception. The Reddit post describing a 2025 home network overhaul (CAT6a cabling, patch panel reorganization, and switch consolidation) reflects a universal truth: Even personal labs demand enterprise-grade discipline.

This project exemplifies core DevOps principles applied to physical infrastructure: repeatable processes, documentation-driven workflows, and scalable design. For sysadmins managing hybrid environments, these skills directly translate to production systems.

Why This Matters:

  • Homelabs as Production Proxies: Test networking concepts risk-free before deploying to critical infrastructure
  • Cost Optimization: Strategic hardware consolidation reduces power consumption and management overhead
  • Skill Validation: Physical layer proficiency complements cloud/automation expertise

In This Guide You’ll Learn:

  1. CAT6a cabling best practices for 10GbE environments
  2. Enterprise-grade patch panel organization techniques
  3. Modern switch selection criteria (PoE++, SFP+, throughput)
  4. Documentation frameworks for physical infrastructure

UNDERSTANDING THE TECHNOLOGY

Structured Cabling Fundamentals

CAT6a Specifications:

  • Bandwidth: 500 MHz (vs. CAT6’s 250 MHz)
  • Distance: 100m at 10GbE speeds (CAT6 only achieves 55m)
  • Shielding: Foiled Twisted Pair (FTP) reduces alien crosstalk

Key Decisions:

  1. Solid vs. Stranded Core:
    • Solid (23 AWG) for permanent runs (walls, ceilings)
    • Stranded for patch cables (flexibility)
  2. Termination Standards:
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    # T568B (North America Standard)  
Pin 1: White/Orange  
Pin 2: Orange  
Pin 3: White/Green  
Pin 4: Blue  
Pin 5: White/Blue  
Pin 6: Green  
Pin 7: White/Brown  
Pin 8: Brown

Patch Panel Strategy:

  • Logical Grouping:
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    Ports 1-4: Access Points (Ceiling-mounted)  
Ports 5-12: Office (Left wall plate → Right wall plate)  
Ports 13-24: Media Room (Top-to-bottom alignment)
  • Labeling Schema: Room-Wallplate-Port (e.g., LR-N-1 = Living Room, North Wall, Port 1)

PREREQUISITES

Hardware Checklist

| Component | Specification |
|————————|————————————|
| Switch | 24x 10GbE PoE++ (802.3bt), 8x SFP+ |
| Patch Panel | 48-port Cat6a compliant |
| Cable Tester | Fluke DSX-8000 or Klein VDV526-107 |
| Punch Down Tool | TRENDnet TC-PDT |

Network Planning
  1. Diagramming Tools:
  2. Security Considerations:
    • Physically secure network closet
    • Disable unused switch ports
    • Separate VLANs for IoT/management traffic

INSTALLATION & SETUP

Step 1: Cable Runs
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# Measure exact distances with laser measure  
# Add 10% slack for termination and future adjustments  
cable_length=$(echo "1.1 * $required_length" | bc)  

# Use flexible conduit for future upgrades  
conduit_size=$(awk "BEGIN {print $cable_count * 0.4}")  # 40% fill ratio

Termination Process:

  1. Strip 2” sheath using precision stripper
  2. Untwist pairs < 0.5” to maintain impedance
  3. Terminate using 110-style punch down block
Step 2: Switch Configuration

Initial Setup (Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch):

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# Access CLI via SSH  
ssh admin@switch-ip  

# Configure basic settings  
configure  
hostname Homelab-Core  
ip address 192.168.1.2/24  
ip default-gateway 192.168.1.1  
exit  

# Verify port status  
show interfaces status | include Connected

PoE Budget Management:

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# Check available power (example output)  
show power  

Total Power Capacity: 400W  
Power Used: 287W  
Remaining Power: 113W  

# Limit per-port consumption  
interface 0/1  
poe-limit 30.0  # Watts

CONFIGURATION & OPTIMIZATION

VLAN Architecture
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# Create VLANs  
vlan database  
vlan 10 name Management  
vlan 20 name IoT  
vlan 30 name Media  
exit  

# Assign access ports  
interface range 0/1-4  
switchport mode access  
switchport access vlan 20  

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# For NAS connections  
interface range 0/23-0/24  
channel-group 1 mode active  
exit  

interface port-channel 1  
description NAS-LAG  
switchport trunk allowed vlan 10,30

Performance Tweaks:

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# Enable flow control for 10GbE  
interface 0/1  
flowcontrol receive on  

# Jumbo frames for storage traffic  
system jumbo mtu 9000

USAGE & OPERATIONS

Monitoring Stack

Prometheus Exporter Setup:

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# snmp_exporter.yml (extract)  
modules:  
  ubiquiti:  
    walk:  
      - 1.3.6.1.4.1.4413.1.1.1  # EdgeSwitch OID  
    metrics:  
      - name: poe_power_usage  
        oid: 1.3.6.1.4.1.4413.1.1.1.1.2.7  
        type: gauge

Grafana Dashboard Metrics:

  • Port utilization heatmap
  • PoE load vs capacity
  • CRC error rate alerts

TROUBLESHOOTING

Common Issues

Problem: Port negotiation fails at 10GbE
Solution:

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# Force speed/duplex  
interface 0/1  
speed 10000  
duplex full  
# Check cable certification report

Problem: PoE device not powering on
Diagnosis:

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show poe interface 0/1  
# Status: Fault (Check power budget or PD compatibility)

CONCLUSION

Completing a network infrastructure project like this delivers tangible benefits: 50% reduced switch management overhead, future-proof 10GbE capability, and enterprise-grade troubleshooting visibility.

Next Steps:

  1. Implement NetBox for IPAM/documentation
  2. Explore FRRouting for BGP lab scenarios
  3. Benchmark performance with iPerf3

Final Thought: Homelabs aren’t just hobbies – they’re the proving grounds where infrastructure expertise transforms from theoretical knowledge to muscle memory.

External Resources:

Open Source, Reddit Guides, Monitoring
homelab sysadmin how-to tools monitoring observability security hardening
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.