Help! Not IT savvy

[rpcollins]

Hey everyone,

If you just want me to cut to the chase you can skip the first 3 paragraphs, I just wrote it out so it would help explain where I am at.


So I have 2 6850-48L's I bought from a guy on facebook marketplace. Needless to say I had no idea what a managed switch was. I know absolutely nothing about IT. I do know some self taught stuff for home use and I used to build computers back in the day. What I can say right now after the 2 weeks of research I have a whole new level of respect for you guys. My mind is blown. Here is where I am at and I need help and some pointers. I have a newborn at home and my wife is starting to give me stink face for hanging out in the attic too long. I bought these to use at my house because I like to have everything hardwired to minimize issues, and we have so many devices.

All the lingo and acronyms I use here I learned over the past 2 weeks so if something sounds like a beginner you know why...
It took me about a week to figure out how to plug into the console, usb console cable didn't work, console to DB9 to USB didn't work, made an adapter using Alcatel pin configuration, and using hyperterminal, putty, console2, etc. I am logged in now. Took another week to figure out how to clear the password and configuration and today I got the WebView working!!! It was a very proud moment for me. I am using Putty which seems to work great for this. I also have some of the manuals but not sure if there are more I need, I have the Getting Started, Hardware User Guide, Network Configuration Guide, and OS CLI Reference Guide.

My equipment/configuration at my home:

ISP "modem" with a fiber connection and 2 cat5e (only 1 is active, maybe there is a way to get the other to work) with 300Mbps up and 20Mbps down
Asus RT-AC66U Gigabit router- Jumbo enabled, IPV6 @ Native, Port forwarding for Honeywell security cameras. (setup at front of house in attic)
Asus RT-N12D1 (setup as a WAP at the center of my house, 2.4 only, DHCP off)
Netgear EX2700 Range Extender (setup as a WAP at front of my house, 2.4 only)
Alcatel OS6850-48L - Software Version 6.4.4.669.R01
Computer in attic setup as a "Console Computer"
Alactel OS680-48L (not in use- plan on mirroring the first one as a backup)
Honeywell PoE security camera system
Zmodo sPoE security camera system
House alarm system
Samsung SmartThings Z-wave Hub
My computer
My kids computer (2 cat5e)
printer
Amazon Firestick
Xbox
and the list goes on with not so important stuff from here about 22 total including equipment above

HERE IS WHERE IM IN NEED OF HELP:

I got the 6850 working, I went through the steps on a post on how to delete the old boot.cfg to where it was at all default settings.
Followed everything in the Getting Started guide, and I did "write memory". I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE FROM THIS POINT ON. I have all my equipment plugged in and its all working (to my knowledge). I would keep learning but my wife is not happy with how much time this is taking up.

How do I now certify?

Do I need to synchronize?

The Netgear EX2700 keeps linking up, down, up, down, up, down... why?

Do I need to set anything else to optimize my system or look at? Should I have equipment hooked up differently?

A couple of things like my computer, kids computer and security cameras I'd like to have on the 1gigabit, is there a way to do that other than staying plugged into the Asus? Software upgrade(is it worth the cost)? Using combo ports (is that what they do?). Using SPF adapters?

Is it a good idea for security purposes to create a VPN? How do I do that?

Id like the "Console Computer" to have a network drive as a backup for everything in the house (my computer, kids, xbox, cameras, etc) What is the easiest way to do that?

I ordered SPF adapters but realized they were the fiber ones and not the cat5e ones. Should I return and get the cat5e SPF adapters?

[rpcollins]

I found how to certify.

It also looks like 1000Mbps is working on 1/1 and 1/3 without me doing anything. Is that typical? I found the info on WebView System/Interfaces/General

[rpcollins]

So... No tips at all guys? lol. I've just kept reading and learning. Is there a way to delete this since I have almost answered all my own questions?

[devnull]

Well it's always difficult to motivate myself if i hear "i have this and that and no clue please tell me".
I don't feel to spend my freetime on that.
There are manuals for the switch, there is a "basic command overview" http://www.latouche.info/admin/user_gui ... witch.html.

From your first post i did not understand what you want to do.

Yes if you change any configuration you need to certifiy otherwise it is gone after reboot.

For a Home-Switch i think the 6850 is way to power-hungry and loud (fans) normally e.g. a small netgear is the better solution.

The 6850-L only supports Gigabit on the 4 Comboports, the "non L"- variant on all ports.
You could buy an upgrade licence to use Gigabit on all ports- but this is to expensive and makes no sense at all.

For the combo-ports (1-4) you can use either copper or SFP Modules, but not both at the same time.

For backup a Synology/QNAP as a NAS is a proven solution, that i would prefer.

[rpcollins]

Hey I'm back. So I've been using the 6850-48 (not the 48L) for almost 2 years now and its been amazing. My house is very network hungry. I'm using 24 ports on it as of right now with Ip cameras, automated systems, gaming computers, appliance connections, etc. Ive just been using it as a switch and I am interested in having it take control of my DHCP, and start taking advantage of the other features it has. For home use, what are some features I should look at using? Im interested in a more powerful firewall and setting up a VPN, can the 6850-48 support these?

[Tommy124]

the firewall and vpn will be on other systems as the switch is just a "switch".
as i'm not sure how far you are in using the switch, segregation with vlans could be interesting (camera's in a separate segment,etc...)
otherwise features for home use aren't realy there as it is an enterprise switch and it is a tad overkill.

[rpcollins]

I run a business out of my home, we are hardcore gamers, and almost anything electronic in our house is connected. 10 POE cameras, 2 dual lan computers, 2 laptops, 3 phones, 4 TV’s, Xbox, Samsung Smart Home, security alarm, Minecraft server (stand-alone), 3 garage doors, irrigation system, Sense Smarthome energy monitor, 2 nests, and a few others I can’t remember as of now. Every router I’ve ever tried has had issues with the workload. I bought the Alcatel 6850 for $20 at an auction and figured out how to connect to the console and program it for use as a switch and that’s about it. Ever since I got that we have had flawless internet. But as of late, between that and the Alcatel modem is an ASUS RT-AC66U that is running the DHCP and WiFi the ASUS is starting to lag so I need to remove it and start using the 6850 for routing. I’ve turned it on before and it worked but that was on the 6850L I had previously. This is all hooked up to a 5000VA battery backup and everything is on a rackmount in my attic with cooling.

So this isn’t really good for Firewall or VPN? And what is Layer 3?
TIA

Btw the fiber optic is nice as we have a 10GB fiber optic line from our ISP and from there modem I can have a fiber optic line running right to the Alcatel but I’m not that advanced yet.

[Tommy124]

the most you can do for firewalling on the 6850 are ACL's but that is not a good way to have it connected to the internet.
It does not have VPN capabilities.
Layer 3 is from the OSI model, and it is going to different broadcast domains eg: from 192.168.2.0/24 to 192.168.3.0/24
The 10gb isn't possible on the alcatel as it is a 1gb switch so that is the most you'll get out of it.

[rpcollins]

Great thank you. What would you recommend for VPN and ddos prevention. (Yes I’m susceptible)

[devnull]

A Firewall/Security device of least distrust.
i personally liked fortigate, others are happy (at home) with sophos, also the ubiquiti edge router series should be ok for a vpn of 100Mbit/s
depends on need, price, and expected performance.

ddos prevention at home is bullshit, as your device/uplink will be flooded in case of a ddos and is the limiting factor... no chance for a device on premise to help you here. for real ddos protection you need an external service, that filters in upstream e.g. cloudflare, akamai, link11 .. ... I don't think you need that.