OpenHab2: Setting Up the Home Network Software
Setting Up the Home Network
Software:
Hey guys matt here from mksmarthouse.com and in this video we are going to be setting up the software for the home network.
The only thing we are going to need to setup the software in the network is a computer with an ethernet port. I won’t be doing two separate videos for Mac and PC because this is mostly in a web browser which in my case is google chrome. Also, when each one of these 4 videos in the Network series hits 100 likes I will release the video of setting up the home automation server with OpenHAB 2 sooner than it is planned.
First thing we have to do is setup the main router, the Archer C7 from TP-Link. So we are going to take an ethernet cable and plug it into a LAN port of the router and then take the other end and plug it into the ethernet port of the computer. Since I have a 2016 MacBook Pro I needed to use a couple dongles… Anyway, then we have to find the IP address of the router, it is typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 but, on the Archer C7 it is always 192.168.0.1. If you are on Mac you can go to System Preferences then network and look at the router field. On pc you can open command prompt and type in ipconfig and then look at the router field. Next we are going to take that IP address and put it into the address or URL bar in the web browser and press enter. The router’s web page will pop up and will ask for a username and password, for the archer C7 the default username is admin and the password is admin then press login. If you didn’t know this is the router’s user interface and how you can configure and change it as well as show you its status and certain information. Before we do anything we should Upgrade the Firmware of the device. I am not going to show how to do that for this particular router because I have already done it, and because if you do it wrong it could brick your device. If you really want to update the firmware which I recommend, you can google it and find dedicated guides. The first thing we are going to do is head over to DHCP and change the Start IP address to start at 192.168.0.50 instead of 192.168.0.100. Then press save, and a box should pop up, just press OK. The reason I am doing this is because I don’t need 100 reserved IP adresses I only need about 50. Next, I am going to head over to network and then WAN. Then I am going to click the check box next to “Use these DNS Servers” and in the primary DNS type in 8.8.8.8 then in secondary type in 8.8.4.4 then click save. The reason I changed the DNS servers is because I like using google dns servers instead of the default ones. Once we click save it will obtain network parameters again with the new dns server settings. When it finished obtaining head over to Wireless 2.4GHz. Here we are going to change the name of the 2.4GHz wifi network, I recommend doing something meaningful and you can remember because we are going to be using this quite a bit in addition to the password which we will set next. I named my 2.4GHz network K-WiFi then clicked save. Now we are going to change the password so in the left column click Wireless Security and then in the PSK Password field type in a password you would like to use and scroll down and hit save. The 5GHz network is next so click on Wireless 5GHz in the left column. Here we are going to change the name of the 5GHz wifi network and click save. I named mine K-WiFi5GHz. This name should be different than your 2.4GHz wifi network. Then head over to Wireless Security and Change the password in PSK password field and scroll down and hit save. This password could be the same or different than your 2.4GHz network but you should remember it anyway. Next is the Guest Network so click that in the left column. First click the check box to the left of Guest Network (2.4G) and change the name of network, I chose K-Guest then later on I chose K-GuestWiFi. Also, click the dropdown that says disable security and choose WPA/WPA2-Personal and choose a password in the PSK Password field. Then scroll down and hit save. But we are not done yet because now we have to set up the guest 5GHz network. So, click the checkbox next to Guest Network (5G) and change the name of the network, I chose K-GuestWiFi5GHz. Also, click the dropdown that says disable security and choose WPA/WPA2-Personal and choose a password in the PSK Password field, this can be the same or different as the 2.4GHz network. Then scroll down and hit save. Next to apply all these changes we are going to head over to System tools, reboot and press the reboot button, when the box pops up click ok. The device should reboot and the page should become blank, keep hitting refresh until the login box comes up once it does login with the default credentials we talked about before. Speaking of we should change those so go to system tools and password. I kept the username the same of admin and changed the password. Please remember these credentials as we will be using them to access this router many more times in the future. Once done click save. It will automatically log you out, so log back in with your new credentials. And that's it we are done with the main router, next is the wireless access points So, exit out of this tab. Now unplug the ethernet cable from the LAN port of the main router and plug it into a LAN port on the Netgear AC1750. Now, like the main router we have to access the router’s web page. If you are on Mac you can go to System Preferences then network and look at the router field. On pc you can open command prompt and type in ipconfig and then look at the router field. On the Netgear AC1750 it is usually 192.168.1.1 to start of. Next we are going to take that IP address and put it into the address or URL bar in the web browser and press enter. Upon first connection of the router it will automatically run through setup by first checking the internet connection then asking you to set a couple things. First is a password I recommend using the same login password as the main router to keep it consistent when logging into each router to access settings. Next pick and answer two security questions. Then click next. Then it will show you the current wifi settings just ignore them and press take me to the internet. But, we won't be using it as we will type in that router's ip address again to change some settings. There should be a pop up box asking for the username and password, so enter them and press login. First we are going to click the advanced tab, then in the left column click advanced setup then wireless AP. Here click the box next to Enable AP Mode and press apply. When the box comes up press ok. The device will now reboot! Now we are going to open up a new tab and go to the main router’s IP address to find the other router’s new IP address. So type in the main router's ip in the address bar and hit enter. Then log in and go to DHCP in the left column and then DHCP Clients List. Here we can see all the devices connected to the network. But we are looking for our netgear router and here it is at the bottom, it is listed using its model number R6300v2 so we are going to look at its assigned IP which is 192.168.0.53. We are going to take that IP and open a new tab and put that IP in the address bar and press enter. Then we are going to log in. Now we are going to be configuring it to match the main router. So first head over to wireless. Then in the wireless network (2.4GHz) Change the SSID to match the main router's 2.4GHz wifi ssid, in my case that is K-WiFi. Also, change the mode to 450Mbps instead of 217 Mbps in the drop down. We also have to change the 2.4GHz wifi password to match the main router's 2.4GHz wifi password. Next is the 5GHz WiFi Network, and we are going to type in the same 5GHz SSID and password as the main router mine is K-WiFi5GHz. Then we are going to press apply and it will update all the settings. After that click Guest Network in the left column. In the 2.4GHz network match the same SSID as the main router, mine is K-GuestWiFI, Then in the 5GHz also match the same SSID as the main router mine is K-GuestWiFi5GHz. Also, for both the 2.4GHz section and 5GHz section click WPA2-PSK[AES] and match the same password as the main router for each network. Then click the box next to enable Guest Network in both the 2.4GHz section and the 5GHz section. Then hit apply. Lastly, go to the advanced tab then in the left column click administration and router update. Then on that page, in the section that says Check for new version from the internet click the check button. Now it is checking for a new firmware in my case there was none so i clicked back. And that is it we are done configuring the access point so now just click logout in the upper right hand corner. Now unplug the ethernet cable from the access point and plug it into more access points if you have any and repeat the same process. Once you are done configuring the access points we now have to give them static IP addresses so we can always access them from the same address. So, to do this we are going to plug the computer into the LAN port of the main router. Then we are going to open up the web browser and access the main router's web page by typing in its IP address in the address bar and then logging in. Then in the left column go to DHCP and Address Reservation. Ignore what I currently have there and don’t worry that you do not have it. Anyway click the add new button. Now there are two fields one is asking for the MAC Address of the device and the IP Address we want to assign it to. To find the MAC address we simply have to go to the device and look for the tag that says MAC address. But when we type it in everything should be uppercase and separated by a dash every two characters. Once that is entered we have to decide on a IP address for it. Personally I am just going to go in order, so I am going to give this access point 192.168.0.2. The reason I am giving 2 and not 1 is because 1 is reserved for the router so we cannot use that. Anyway now we hit save. Then when the box pops up click OK. Now again since I have two I am going to repeat the same process for the other one except for this one I am going to give it an IP of 192.168.0.3. Then save and OK. Once we are back on the Address Reservation Page there should be a little red warning on the bottom saying to reboot, so press the “click here” to reboot. Then click the reboot button and OK in the pop up box. Then give it a minute to reboot. Once the router is fully booted, reboot each access point by pressing the power button to turn it off for 10 seconds and then pressing it again to turn it back on. Once the access points are fully booted head back over to the computer open a new tab and test out the new IP address. And that is it, the software is fully setup. So, you can go ahead and unplug the computer from the ethernet port of the router as well as from the computer. The network is now ready for final installation which is what we are going to do in the next video. Alright thank you for watching and If you have any questions leave them in the comments section below or head over to mksmarthouse.com/forum where you have a better chance of it getting answered. Good Bye!