• Switches – tired of dropped signals.  This puts an end to it quick
• Servers – centralize all your storage, and save on backup expenses, do everything in house.
• Routers – setup separate networks for your IOT devices
• Hard-wire – not WiFi – reliable all day every day
• Networking – making it all work together

It’s safe to say I have more than a passing interest in technology.  What first began as online trading in ’04 and blogging during my travels from then onward, my interest in computer related technology has continued to grow and develop.

The latest of these developments is a showcase of skills, taking an otherwise functional, hard wired, network and relocating it from the ceiling in my basement to a server rack.  While many people use wireless access points throughout the house, they can be prone to interference, and I have always known that hard-wired networks are rock solid.
Built ad-hoc over the years out of necessity, as time passed, I’ve learned to craft my own cables, pull them into the walls, and pull circuits for power.  If you need a switch installed and a hard-wired system put in place, I know all about it.

Over time, this system came together wonderfully, and now simplifies everything in the house.   The current rack houses two Synology NAS’s, which store all my media, host websites, run daily backups, hosts my own ‘cloud’, and run all the other packages that Synology offers.

With a desire to “de-google” my life, and move away from the ever present spying and data collection that is currently the norm, I became an unapologetic Synology fanboy..

Synology took the term ‘server’ and made it user friendly, such that a person with an average knowledge of computers could put their products to work for them quickly and easily.  As part of my knowledge base, I’m well versed in the install and deployment of their products to simplify, and secure, your interests from the prying eyes of big tech.

There is so much here to get into, the following link –> Rack Attack!! <– is the the post I wrote regarding this installation (* opens in new site/new tab*).  I hope you find it entertaining.

The two empty switches are for the home security system which was not built at that point.  The exiting network was solid but, over time, had become disjointed, and while up in the ceiling was clean, it wasn’t very accessible.  This new installation, along with the upgrades, centralized everything, and is as rock-solid as before.  Zero regrets.