Networking

After several years of running a three-pack of Cisco Business CBW240AC 802.11ac access points, I decided it was time for an upgrade. The Cisco 240ACs had served me well. They were reliable, offered good coverage throughout the house and, for their generation, delivered a solid wireless experience. However, wireless technology has moved on considerably since I installed them. My old Cisco access points were based on Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), whereas my replacement is the Zyxel NWA50BE PRO, a Wi-Fi 7 access point capable of up to BE6500 / 6.5Gbps of aggregate wireless throughput and equipped with a 2.5GbE Ethernet interface. Zyxel NWA50BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Access Point This is the access point I purchased and installed as part of my upgrade from the Cisco 240AC to Wi-Fi 7. If you’re interested in the NWA50BE Pro, you can check the current price and availability on Amazon UK. Check Price on Amazon UK Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally used or believe are worth considering. But there was another reason this particular upgrade was interesting for me. Stepping outside my comfort zone As an Infrastructure Engineering professional, I’ve spent much of my career working with enterprise networking and infrastructure products. Cisco, HPE, Aruba and other established enterprise vendors are the names I’m familiar with and, more importantly, the platforms I’ve trusted. So when I started looking for a replacement for my Cisco access points, moving to Zyxel wasn’t an obvious decision for me. I’ll be honest — I was nervous about it. Zyxel is a brand I’d obviously come across before, but it wasn’t a vendor I had personally relied on in the same way I had relied on Cisco and HPE in professional environments. I therefore spent quite a bit of time researching the NWA50BE PRO before making the decision. I looked at the specifications, management platform, firmware support, security features, VLAN capabilities, PoE requirements, cloud management and, importantly, what the real-world experience was like for people actually using the hardware. I also wanted to make sure that it would integrate properly with the network architecture I already had at home. That meant considering how it would work alongside my pfSense firewall, my network segmentation, multiple SSIDs and existing PoE switching infrastructure. There was a certain amount of hesitation before pressing the order button. Would it feel like a step backwards coming from Cisco? Would the management platform be good enough? Would the firmware and support be there? Would it actually perform as advertised? These were all questions I had before making the switch. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The Zyxel NWA50BE PRO has genuinely surprised me. In fact, after installing and configuring the three access points, I was amazed by how capable the product is. The hardware feels well thought out, the management experience is straightforward and the performance has been excellent. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel like I compromised by moving away from the enterprise vendors I’m accustomed to using. If anything, the experience has made me reconsider where Zyxel fits into the networking market. My Home Network Setup Before looking at the access points themselves, it’s worth explaining how I’ve built my home network. I’m a big believer in keeping the network properly segmented, even at home. Rather than putting every device onto a single flat network, I’m using my own custom pfSense firewall as the core of the network. The wireless network is separated into two distinct environments: These are presented to wireless clients using two separate SSIDs. My wireless setup SSID 1 – Trusted My primary wireless network for trusted devices. SSID 2 – Guest A separate guest network with restricted access to my trusted network. The Zyxel access points are therefore not simply providing wireless connectivity. They are sitting within a properly segmented network architecture, with pfSense handling the routing, firewalling and network separation. This is one of the reasons I particularly like using business-oriented networking equipment at home. It gives me the flexibility to build the network in the way I want rather than relying entirely on whatever functionality happens to be built into a consumer router. What You Need for a Similar Home Network Setup If you’re considering building something similar to my home network, here’s a rough idea of the equipment I’m using — or, more accurately, the type of equipment you would need. It’s important to point out that my own hardware has been in use for several years, and some of the exact models I have are no longer readily available. Rather than recommending obsolete hardware, I’ve included links to current alternatives that are similar in terms of functionality and capability. I’ve also deliberately gone for equipment that sits towards the higher end of what you might consider for a home network. You absolutely don’t need to spend this much to get good Wi-Fi at home. There are plenty of cheaper alternatives available, particularly if you don’t need VLANs, multiple SSIDs, PoE or advanced firewall functionality. However, if you’re interested in building a network similar to mine, these are the types of components I’d look at. 🛜 Wi-Fi Access Points The most important part of my upgrade is the three Zyxel NWA50BE PRO Wi-Fi 7 access points. I’m using three APs to provide coverage throughout my home, with the APs connected back to my wired network using Ethernet and powered via PoE. Zyxel NWA50BE PRO BE6500 Wi-Fi 7 Access Point Check Price on Amazon UK Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I have personally used or believe are worth considering. The three APs are configured to provide both my trusted and guest SSIDs, with the