@Alexandre. 

Alexandre. wrote

You are correct: you will only need switch if you don't have enough Ethernet ports on Deco unit. 

That is just an option I mentioned if you find you need more Ethernet ports Deco unit can provide. 

Thank you for that clarification.

You are quite knowledgeable about this stuff, are you a networking engineer?

  @Alexandre.

Hi Alexandre, I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and prosperous new year.

I finally got a new Android phone and have managed to download the Deco app. Intend to install the Deco XE75 Pro modules soon.

I have some questions:-

1. Is it better to disable the wireless signal of the router from the ISP? - I am sure it is best to disable it.
2. Once the wireless signal of the ISP's router is disabled does the Deco setup app facilitate the naming of one common SSID for use in the entire house?
3. Does the Deco XE75 Pro app propagate one single SSID for the master and all satellites?
4. Is the handing-over from one satellite to the next automatic and smooth as one walks across different areas of the house?

Kind regards

  @Samazar 

>1. Is it better to disable the wireless signal of the router from the ISP? - I am sure it is best to disable it.

Yes, it is recommended to disable WiFi of the ISP Router.

>2. Once the wireless signal of the ISP's router is disabled does the Deco setup app facilitate the naming of one common SSID for use in the entire house?

Deco mesh will use one common SSID. If you add to your Deco mesh more Satellite Deco units later, they will also broadcast on same SSID.

>3. Does the Deco XE75 Pro app propagate one single SSID for the master and all satellites?

Yes, it does. The whole idea of WiFi mesh is to present single SSID to wireless device and have it roam seamlessly between WiFi mesh nodes. 

>4. Is the handing-over from one satellite to the next automatic and smooth as one walks across different areas of the house?

It should be automatic and smooth. Just keep in mind that some devices will roam faster, others may stay connected to strong signal from faraway Satellite for longer before roaming to nearest one. 

  @Alexandre.

Thank you for your kind help Alexandre,

I managed to install the units last saturday and they are working well.

I have a question, the master Deco unit is connected directly to the 4-port router provied by the ISP. Hence I only have 2 free ports on the master deco unit. I need to connect 3 devices to the master deco unit as follows: a sonos boost unit that drives the Sonos music infrastructure and the hard-wiring of 2 satellite deco units that sit far away from the master. Hence is it better to:-

1. Get an 8-port self configuring gigabit switch and plug it into the master deco unit and then plug all the 3 devices into the switch, this will leave 1 port on the master deco unit free?

2. Plug the Sonos Boost unit directly into the master deco unit, then wire the 2 Deco satellite units via the switch, this will not leave any ports free on the master Deco unit?

I want to get an 8 port gigabit switch in case I need to plug in more devices in the future e.g. a media player (Apple TV 4K or Nvidia Shield Pro) or a NAS drive.

By the way, I followed your advice - I added and set up the 2 satellite units wirelessly without hard-wiring them. Now that they are setup, I will hard-wire them. I suppose this prevents then from being configured as access points only, is that right?

By the way, I have not disabled the wireless signal of the router from the ISP yet. This presents two SSIDs but it does not seem to cause a problem. Although I realise that it may be causing signal interference and compromising performance a bit.

I am of the opinion that I should connect the Sonos Boost unit and the 2 Deco satellites via the 8-port ggabit switch. Then use the last remaining port on the deco master unit to hardwire the media player when I get it. Obviously, the media player will need the maximum bandwidth privilege for streaming video. Will that make a difference or would it be ok to hard-wire the media player into the switch too?

The only challenge I may be faced with is that I may not be able to run an ethernet cable from the minor lounge where the media player or Smart TV wll be placed. In this case, I could introduce a deco satellite unit as indicated in my original post diagram and then hard-wire the Smart TV or media player into the deco satellite unit. In this case the streaming would resort to the mesh.

  @Samazar 

I think both options are equal: connect everything to switch, and switch to Main Deco, or connect some devices to switch and connect one of devices to Main Deco.

This question was not raised before, because older Deco models had just two Ethernet ports. One is used to connect to the Modem/Router, and another is where switch will be connected. 

With your Main Deco having more than 2 Ethernet ports - you have choice how to use them, but it is very much equal choice and depends on what is more convenient for you to implement.

  @Alexandre. 

Thank you for your useful input and guidance Alexandre.

I think I will connect all devices to the switch and the switch to the master Deco unit, that way the switch can manage the communication.

Now I'm trying to choose an 8-port non-POE switch.

The TP-Link TL-SG1008D is available to me but some of the comments or reviews I've read on Amazon concern me because some users have mentioned that the TL-SG1008D is not capable of handelling gigabit speeds. Do you think TP-Link have corrected this via firmware or chipset upgrades?

The TL-SG108 seems to have good reviews but is not available.

I know I'm being a bit picky but if something claims to offer a certain ability then it must be able to deliver it in real world tests, deceptive marketing puts me off. I'd rather spend a little more in order to get realistic 1 gigabit performance.

I would not want buffering and latency issues when streaming content from Netflix or YouTube.

Just to understand, once a satellite unit has been added wirelessely and then hard-wired to the master unit - does it automatically resort to the wired connection when it is used by a device?

Samazar wrote

Just to understand, once a satellite unit has been added wirelessely and then hard-wired to the master unit - does it automatically resort to the wired connection when it is used by a device?

  @Samazar 

If wired link does not have issues, such as bad cable, satellite will use it automatically and seamlessly. 

  @Alexandre. 

Hi Alexandre, thank you so much for all your kind and useful help. I installed the deco units and they are working well.

Hi @Alexandre, hope you are well. First of all, I'd like to thank you for your kind and useful help. I managed to configure the home network using Deco XE75 Pro modules and it is working well. I have a question for you, I need a simple intercom solution at home. For example, family members should be able to call each other such that the calls use the MESH Wifi created by the DECO XE75. Is there a tp-link intercom app that works efectively and reliably?

I did a bit of research and came across the tpPhone App but I'm not sure this provides the intercom solution I need.

Any suggestions or advice?