Network

The Internet from Nowhere

One of the challenges in being in the middle of nowhere is communication.  Where we are located there is no cell signal, no wireless, and definitely no fiber.  So our only choice is to use satellite internet, although starlink looks very promising.

There are two main providers, Hughesnet and Viasat, and I have found Viasat to be a bit better.  I receive 30mb down, and 5mb up on most days.  Keep in mind, this is going to vary greatly depending on what beam you are on.  Given my whole area is very rural, I think I do better than most.

I have an unlimited plan, but it is not really unlimited.  It is actually only 100gig at full speed, then you will be deprioritized.  We are very careful on not downloading videos and do mostly audio conference calls, and delay our updates until the data is going to reset.  Then we download everything we can.  I download my media on other connections or at the end of the month as well.

So it works, but you just have to be careful with your data.  You are not going to stream TV over it, and have any data left…  If you go over, it still works, but your performance is not nearly as good.

Satellite Internet (Viasat)

 

Satellite Modem and Wireless Router

Getting the Data Around

The satellite model sits inside, and runs off of 48v.  So I have a 24->48v converter to run the modem.  I don’t like the features of the router, or the wifi capabilities, so I bypass those and run ethernet directly into a netgear router for those capabilities.  I also run a pihole (more on that in the servers section) that helps reduce downloads of ads and such, thus saving me even  more data.

I also have an 8 port ethernet hub in order to provide hard line to all of the servers and my development machine, as wireless only goes so far in bandwidth.  It speeds up transfers significantly.  Several of the security cameras go this route as well.

Taking it Outside

I also run an outdoor wifi access point, powered by 24v POE, injected off of my 24v battery bank, to cover the large majority of my 14 acres of property.  I have it up on the roof with the weather equipment, and it gives me great coverage across most of the property, and handles the remote security cameras that are individually solar powered.

The Outdoor Access Point