When I made my outdoor speaker project, I quickly discovered that there are certain places in my backyard which do not have a strong enough WiFi signal for the ideal audio streaming experience with Apple AirPlay. The most problematic location is under my raised deck. I have a walkout basement so the deck is about 9-10ft above the ground. The outdoor speakers are mounted underneath the floor of the deck to make them more discrete and to protect them more from the elements.
When searching online, you will find many ways to improve wireless performance. One suggestion that I think you may not see often is to use more wires. ‘Using more wires will improve wireless performance? I thought the point of wireless was to use less wires?!' While that may be true, it is important to understand the physics of wireless networking. There is only so much bandwidth available among the range of frequencies used by wireless transmissions.
Consumer Routers Most everyone should be familiar with the standard consumer-grade wireless router. Many Internet Service Providers lease modems that have a built-in wireless router, which most consumers are likely to use because it is convenient. Other users choose to purchase their own wireless routers to have a better quality wireless router and/or to have more control over their home network.
Ideally the router should be placed in a central location in the home.
When I initially created VLANs on my UniFi wireless access points, I was still new to VLANs in general, and I was not quite sure how to configure my network switch. I was wanting to join my wired and wireless devices together on several different VLANs for various purposes (IoT network, guest network, security camera network, etc.).
Setting up VLANs on a TP-Link switch is not too difficult once you understand how VLANs work.
It is not uncommon for many home networks to utilize an all-in-one network device provided by the users' Internet Service Provider (ISP). For ease of setup and use, ISPs typically include/lease this equipment by default when users order Internet service. These all-in-one devices are essentially a combination of a modem, router, switch, firewall, and wireless access point. They can also include VOIP (Voice Over IP), home security, and cable TV services.
