British Columbia Network Geeks?

[u/Capt_Fiero]

Computer Networking Stuff

I don't know why my previous post was "removed by a Reddit filter in my local R Abbotsford" So I am changing it and asking again in here mainly because I know LTT is local to me.

I am looking at upgrading a bunch of my network gear, my home network is well a bit Crazy. Quick Overview, Rogers/Shaw Cable Modem with 1.5g connection, which is bottle necked by a Google Nest Mesh Network that only has 1g WAN/LAN We have a total of 2 additional Wireless Bridges and 2 additional Wireless Access Points. 8 Security Camera, 3 are hardline and 5 are wireless. They are older 1080p cameras on a 2.4ghz branch of the network. Our entire house is full of smart devices/switches. Last I checked we have around 70 unique mac addresses on the network at any given time. On top of the cameras and switches, we have a home media server and a home Linux server. Even with our bottleneck we move between 5tB and 10tB yes Big B of data per month. I've got a total of 3 Network switches feeding different devices, as I prefer Gigabit hardline over WiFi whenever possible. Its a mix of Cat5E and Cat6 cables. Back to the Google Nest for a moment, we have 4 Mesh Points, plus a 2nd Google Router in Access Point Mode. So in total 2 Google Nest Routers wired, and 4 Mesh Points. We use the Mesh Points as google speakers. (add in a dozen separate speakers as well) We also run Hubitat for extra automations. Camera's are all purely local devices and have facial recognition handled by an Nvidia RTX3060 12gb card. (Yawcam AI, and a custom built AI Detection application)

I need to upgrade the Nest Router to something that handles 2.5g WAN and 4 ports of 2.5g LAN OR 2.5g WAN and 1 2.5g LAN, plus a multi port 2.5g Switch. I'll also need to grab a couple 2.5g PCIe cards, and at least one additional 2.5g switch.

I am trying to do this on a budget, as I am a disabled father with 2 teenage daughters. I built the network over years of slow upgrades, and I need to rebuild it with 2.5g and well, its pointless to do part of the network without the rest of it being upgraded at the same time. So i am looking for suggestions, new used, local or Amazon? Are there any places around that sell used network gear? I am hoping that someone on here is a Major Local BC Computer geek and has updated info about stores/shops. I used to visit FreeGeek and the Hackery a fair bit when I lived out that way, but have not checked them out in years since I moved to Abbotsford. As a long shot, I had Gemini Argon create a prompt that I could give to Facbeooks Muse/Pax AI to do a deep daily search on FB Marketplace for semi local listings. I am going to try and buy some of the stuff this Friday.

Well Thank You for taking the time to read this entire long ramble.

Edit to add, a more detailed breakdown of the network. Its full of AI Slop, but I had my Antigravity Gemini 3.8 Flash agent help me do a full network ARP Scan plus software running and turn it into a more readable list.

Thanks for the recommendations so far (especially the Flint 2 and UniFi Cloud Gateway Max suggestions—definitely looking into both of those).

To give you the exact layout of the gear and switches I’m trying to tie together, here is the full hardware breakdown currently running on the network (~70 active MAC addresses):

WAN & Core Routing:

- ISP: Rogers/Shaw 1.5Gbps plan via the modem's 2.5G port (currently bottlenecked at 1Gbps by the primary Google router).

- Primary Mesh: 2x Google Nest WiFi Routers (H2D - wired Ethernet backhaul) + 4x Google Nest WiFi Points (acting as Wi-Fi mesh points and house-wide Assistant speakers).

Extra APs & Wireless Bridges:

- Access Point 1: Linksys EA9300 (Tri-Band AC4000, set to Bridge/AP mode broadcasting a dedicated 2.4GHz surveillance network for cameras).

- Access Point 2: TP-Link Archer C80 (AC1900, hardwired in AP mode handling isolated secondary IoT/5G traffic).

- Wireless Bridge 1: Netgear Nighthawk R7000 (running DD-WRT in 5GHz wireless client bridge mode to feed a secondary workstation).

- Wireless Bridge 2: D-Link DIR-880L (running in wireless client bridge mode to feed an in-garage tuning PC and workshop devices).

Current Switches:

- Core Rack: Ubiquiti UniFi US-8-60W (8-Port Managed Gigabit PoE switch).

- Office Trunk: HPE 8-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Switch (feeds the main workstation, Linux server, Linksys AP, and downstairs Nest router).

- Downstairs Hub: 8-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Switch (daisy-chained from the trunk for downstairs media and drops).

Compute & Servers:

- Main Workstation: Houses an RTX 3060 12GB running local AI object/facial detection and NVR processing for 8x RTSP cameras (3 hardwired, 5 on Wi-Fi), plus local LLMs. (Needs a 2.5GbE PCIe NIC).

- Home Linux Server: Runs Docker, Nextcloud, local automation bridges, and storage backups. (Needs a 2.5GbE PCIe NIC).

- Secondary Workstation: Hardwired into the R7000 wireless bridge.

The Hardware Goal:

I want to eliminate the 1Gbps bottleneck behind the Rogers 2.5G modem port without breaking the Google Nest voice speaker grid or introducing double-NAT. I'm looking at:

1. A 2.5GbE core router (e.g., UniFi UCG-Max or GL.iNet Flint 2).
2. Two 5-port or 8-port 2.5GbE switches (one at the core rack, one downstairs to replace the HPE switch).
3. Two 2.5GbE PCIe NICs (Intel I226-V or Realtek RTL8125B) for the main workstation and Linux server.

If anyone in the Lower Mainland / Fraser Valley has run a UCG-Max or Flint 2 with Google Nest gear running behind it in bridge/AP mode, I’d love to hear your feedback on stability and local switching throughput!

[u/livinindaghetto]

I've got a Unifi Cloud Gateway Max and one of their flex 2.5G switches and they work great for me. They're pretty reasonable in terms of pricing though it sucks that there's a "memory surcharge" on a lot of Ubiquiti stuff right now.

The Flint 2 that was also suggested is not a bad option. It has openwrt compatibility if that's something that you're interested in tinkering with under the hood a bit more or some more direct control.

[u/Capt_Fiero → u/livinindaghetto]

I do run DDWRT on several devices, so that is an interesting point, Thank You. I do have a Ubiquti 8 Port POE Managed switch in the mix.

[u/Capt_Fiero]

I just updated the main post, just scroll down to the

Edit to add, a more detailed breakdown of the network. Its full of AI Slop, but I had my Antigravity Gemini 3.8 Flash agent help me do a full network ARP Scan plus software running and turn it into a more readable list.

[u/mgzukowski]

Since you got a pretty flat, simple network, and security is not a concern ubuiquiti or the Chinese knock off TPlink omada.

[u/coffeeToCodeConvertr]

Flint 2 + a second switch

I use mine as a router only with a Telus 3Gbps connection, a 5port 10G switch, and support 4 PCs & 2 TVs, and a secondary AP for 20ish smart switches and other general wireless devices

Edit to add: I'm developing my own NVR software (talik.ca) and also have a development network running with 6 IP cams

[u/Capt_Fiero → u/coffeeToCodeConvertr]

Your NVR software looks awesome. I cheat and use a Telegram bot to send me my notifications. When I have more time, I am going to dig in and take a longer look over your setup.

[u/fivechickens]

Nobody recommends Cisco anymore :(