Network Overhaul: VLANs, Ubiquiti, and Weekend Downtime

2024-11-30

How a simple router upgrade turned into a complete network redesign, featuring multiple reboots and one very confused smart TV.

Written by: Sparky

Network equipment and cables in a server rack

networking

home-lab

ubiquiti

vlan

smart-home

Last weekend, I decided to “quickly upgrade” the home network. Six hours, three firmware updates, and one near-divorce conversation later, I had a segmented VLAN setup that would make enterprise IT nod approvingly.

My wife’s assessment: “The internet was working fine before.”

She’s not wrong, but she’s also not right.

The Old Setup

A consumer-grade router doing everything:

It worked. Barely. With 40+ smart home devices, multiple computers, phones, tablets, cameras, and the occasional guest network request, it was struggling.

The New Hardware

After extensive research (read: obsessive forum reading), I went with Ubiquiti:

Total cost: More than I’d like to admit. Less than therapy for network-induced stress.

The VLAN Strategy

Decided on network segmentation:

VLAN 10 - Trusted (192.168.10.0/24)

VLAN 20 - IoT (192.168.20.0/24)

VLAN 30 - Guest (192.168.30.0/24)

VLAN 40 - Media (192.168.40.0/24)

VLAN 99 - Management (192.168.99.0/24)

The Implementation (Or: When Nothing Works)

Hour 1: Unboxing and Physical Setup

Mounted the switch in the understairs cupboard (my “network closet”). Ran cables. Felt professional. Everything was going to plan.

Hour 2: Initial Configuration

UDM-Pro setup wizard: Beautiful, intuitive, fast.
VLAN configuration: Straightforward.
Assigning ports to VLANs: Easy.

This is going too well…

Hour 3: The Great Device Migration

Started moving devices to their new VLAN homes. This is when reality intervened.

Problems encountered:

  1. Smart devices that hard-coded old IP addresses
  2. Home Assistant automations breaking (everything was “unavailable”)
  3. Sonos speakers refusing to see each other across VLANs
  4. One particularly stubborn smart plug requiring factory reset

Hour 4: The Firewall Rules Rabbit Hole

Created rules to allow:

Testing revealed:

Back to the firewall rules…

Hour 5: The WiFi Migration

Recreated SSIDs with VLAN tagging:

Reconnected every. Single. Device.

The robot vacuum took 15 minutes and required the app to be reinstalled. The smart doorbell needed a firmware update mid-setup. The washing machine refused to reconnect for reasons that remain mysterious.

Hour 6: Success (Mostly)

Everything worked. Except:

Fixed the Plex issue with Avahi reflector configuration. Adjusted QoS priorities. Changed password so devices couldn’t auto-connect to wrong network.

The Results

Pros:

Cons:

Unexpected Benefits

Network monitoring revealed:

Performance Gains

Speed tests (before/after):

Would I Do It Again?

Yes. But not on a weekend with planned activities.

The network is faster, more secure, and actually manageable. The UniFi interface is beautiful. Having proper network segregation means when the next IoT security vulnerability emerges, it’s contained.

Plus, I can now casually mention VLANs in conversation and sound like I know what I’m doing.

Next Projects

The UDM-Pro dashboard now shows beautiful graphs and statistics. I check it more often than is probably healthy. The network runs smoothly. Devices stay connected. Life is good.

Note: If you’re considering a network upgrade, allocate 3x the time you think it will take, and warn your household that internet will be intermittent. Also, label your cables. Seriously.