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Main vs. IoT vs. Guest Networks and Smart Home Functions

rjenk

2 weeks ago - last edited 2 weeks ago

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Registered: 2023-11-27

Main vs. IoT vs. Guest Networks and Smart Home Functions

2 weeks ago - last edited 2 weeks ago

Tags: #Amazon Alexa #Client Devices

Model: Deco XE75 Pro

Hardware Version: V2

Firmware Version: 1.2.12 Build 20240813 Rel. 33006

In order to figure out how to best setup my home network (I have a fairly large home network with around 100 devices, many of which are used for smart home functions), I am trying to understand better how the various networks function on the Deco XE75 Pro so I can make some design determinations. Based on searches and documentation I found, I think this is how each network functions.

Main Network
- By default, no restrictions on device communications for members of the Main Wireless network or connected wired network.
- There is only manual isolation of individual devices.
IoT Network
- Allows all devices on the IoT Network to communicate with one another as well as the Internet. Devices on the IoT network cannot communicate with the Main Wireless network.
- There is network isolation, but not device isolation.
Guest Network
- Allows all devices on the Guest Network to communicate to the Internet. Devices cannot communicate with each other or with the other wireless networks.
- There is network isolation and device isolation.

I have seen some conflicting information on the IoT Network in that some have said there is communication allowed between the Main Network and the IoT network, while others said there is isolation. So, can someone confirm exactly how it works?

The other thing is that naturally, any wired devices appear to be part of the Main Network. This creates a tricky configuration when dealing with a wired IoT device. Deciding of where to place things gets cloudy quickly.

Alexa/Voice devices - Main Network or IoT Network? Used to issue voice commands for smart home functions, control TVs, etc.
Smart TVs/Roku/Firestick devices - Main Network or IoT Network? Some are wired, some are wireless.
Smart Home Devices (light bulb, light switches, plugs) - IoT Network? Isolation issues if voice control devices are not on IoT Network?
Smart Home Gateways - Some are wired (SmartThings, Home Assistant, HUE) and would be part of the Main Network. While SmartThings and HUE are cloud-based, a wired Home Assistant device would directly communicate on the Home Network. Which network should wireless versions go (cloud-based vs. local)?

While my goal would be to use the IoT for Smart Home devices, to make everything work right it seems that everything would have to be on the Main Network. If there is true network isolation between the Main Network and the IoT Network, I wish there was an option to allow individual devices to communicate between those networks. It would also be nice if you could designate one of the wired ports to be part of the IoT network.

Any feedback from others that have tackled smart home integration and IoT network use?

1 Reply

rjenk

LV1

a week ago

Posts: 4

Helpful: 3

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Registered: 2023-11-27

Re:Main vs. IoT vs. Guest Networks and Smart Home Functions

a week ago

I decided to do some testing and this is what I found so far...

TL;DR

So...the IoT implementation for TP-Link appears to only be a method of managing devices and does not provide any type of isolation. It just provides a way of making individual networks (separate SSIDs) for 2.4GHz and 5/6GHz traffic. It does not do any type of isolation of the IoT devices, so there are no security gains by using it. There also appears to be stability issues if frequencies are shared between the Main and IoT Wireless Networks.

Configuration:

(1) Deco XE75 Pro and (3) Deco XE75 units
Main Wireless Network (2.4/5/6 Radios Enabled)
Guest Wireless Network (2.4 Radio Enabled)
IoT Wireless Network (2.4 Radio Enabled)
Home Assistant, Hue Hub, SmartThings Hub (in the decommissioning process), and Alexa devices are all on the wired network and Main Wireless Network.
Approximately 50 TP-Link smart home devices on the Guest Wireless Network.

Initially, the PC with Home Assistant could not see the TP-Link smart home devices because they were on the Guest Wireless Network, and it was successfully isolating traffic and only allowing Internet access.

I enabled the IoT wireless network and moved a TP-Link smart home device to that network from the Guest Wireless Network. I had Home Assistant scan for the device and it was located and successfully integrated into the system. Based on this initial test, there is no isolation between the Main Wireless Network and the IoT Wireless Network. I continued adding the TP-Link smart home devices one by one. As I continued to move devices over to the IoT network, things were looking good.

After getting approximately 25 devices moved to the IoT network, I began having issues successfully moving additional devices, and some of the devices began to disconnect/no longer be available in both Home Assistant and the TP-Link smart home app. I continued to add devices, getting up to 31 total, and at that point, it was almost impossible to get additional devices to connect, and more of the existing devices were dropping. So off to Google I went to research.

I found quite a few posts from TP-Link owners that were complaining of issues with the IoT implementation for various reasons including that it was unreliable. I found someone that noted that the IoT network, as currently implemented, appeared to be just be a way of separating 2.4GHz and 5GHz devices. This appears to be the case since there is no type of isolation between the two networks.

With that information, I disabled the 2.4GHz radio on my Main Wireless Network, so it only had 5/6GHz, and the Guest and IoT networks only used 2.4GHz. That improved the performance of the IoT network somewhat, but it was still hit or miss.

I'll keep testing and post what I find for those interested.

Main vs. IoT vs. Guest Networks and Smart Home Functions

Main vs. IoT vs. Guest Networks and Smart Home Functions

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