It’s been just over a year since I last posted my 2024 Network Upgrade post. In that time, my network has undergone several changes. Here are the major updates:
- Swapped from a UDM Pro to a UCG Fiber.
- Upgraded my FTTH link from 2Gb to 5Gb! (Hence the upgrade from the UDM Pro)
- Added a UNAS Pro to the network for extra storage. It has 7x8TB drives in RAID 6, providing roughly 40TB of usable space (excluding the usual overhead).
- Added a Mac Mini M4, a Mac Studio Max M1 to my M2 Mac Mini and M1 Max MacBook Pro… That’s a lot of Macs!
- Added Starlink to the mix of internet connections. Total bandwidth into the house is now around 6.5Gb/s, with upload at about 350Mb/s.
In the (hopefully not too distant) future, my cable ISP plans to upgrade from HFC (Hybrid Fiber/Coax) to full FTTH. When this happens, my speed will increase from 1Gb/50Mb to 5Gb/500Mb—and needless to say, I’ll be ordering that as soon as it’s available! This will boost the total download speed to just over 10Gb (about 10.4Gb, since Starlink tops out around 400Mb/s) and upload to 800Mb/s (with Starlink contributing 40-50Mb/s). That’s why I chose the UCG Fiber. It should handle two 5Gb incoming links, one 10Gb LAN connection, plus the Starlink connection (with IDS/IPS off, of course).
