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Complex Home Office Network
Last update: 2023-10-06
I have two home office networks. One is in Seattle. The other is in a mid-sized city 1600 miles from Seattle.
The Seattle scene:
Primary internet connection: Aerial fiber to the house. Block of eight static IP numbers, five usable. About 1200 feet of ethernet cables connects many devices through switches.
The five usable IP numbers provide segmentation (separate networks) for about 90 devices on the Internet. These devices include:
- Three video surveillance systems. Two of the systems are IP-based cameras over ethernet. The other system is analog.
One of these systems is dedicated for the large chicken coop, which has five cameras.
- Two media servers, accessible from remote
- About 12 Amazon Alexa devices
- Four multi-monitor work stations
- About 15 computers
- Cloud-controlled wireless (wifi) access points
- Two VPN servers
- Several network-enabled printers, some of which have cloud access
- About 15 Kasa plugs for remote control of devices
- Two Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices
- Several wifi-connected thermostats
- About six Roku TVs
- About three FireTV devices
Router configurations for each network includes port forwarding for remote access to devices.
The remote (secondary home) scene:
Primary internet connection: Buried fiber to the house. One static IP number.
- About 11 internet-accessible cameras on three separate brand systems
- Two multi-monitor work stations
- Three computers
- One Network Attached Storage (NAS) device
- Wifi-connected house thermostat
- About three Roku TVs and devices
- One FireTV
- One VPN server
- Two network printers, one with cloud-connection
Remove Malware and Set Up Wireless Network Printer
Customer’s Windows computers were running slow. We did an analysis and scans and determined the computers were infected with malware.
We backed up data, reinstalled the operating system, and then restored programs and data.
Additionally, we installed a new wireless network printer to work with the revived computers.
Customer then reinfected computer by not paying attention to what website he was on when downloading. What he thought was the right website was not and the program he downloaded and installed, reinfected the computer. We cleaned up the computer again. And, we provided additional instruction to educate the user on how verifying that he is on the right site before downloading.
Recover Windows 10 Start Button
Customer upgraded to Windows 10, only to discover the Start button in lower left did not work.
Icons on the desktop launched programs, but none of the programs provided the access necessary to fix the problem.
Customer had many family photos on the computer, so reinstalling the operating system was not a good option.
Through research and persistence, the Start button was brought back to life with full access to all programs and data.
Recover Windows 7 Access
Customer completely forgot the Windows 7 password for laptop.
We were able to regain access and reset the password without re-installing the operating system, without any third-party software, and without any data loss.
Enhance WiFi in Large House
Customers with a sprawling house was not getting the wifi coverage they wanted. Attempts to use a wifi extender failed.
To solve the problem, we:
- Did a survey of the wifi signals in the area to check for interference and congestion
- Provided alternatives
- Demonstrated the best alternative.
Customers were hot to implement one of the alternatives after a demonstration with real-equipment in the customer’s house.
Additionally, the in-home network was streamlined to eliminate a router and to provide easier access to to the home security cameras. This included proper port-forwarding setup in the router.