You can't beat a cable

For years, I had one simple rule for my home network: keep it simple. As our family’s dependence on reliable internet grew – for working from home, streaming TV, online gaming and, back then, homework – I deliberately removed complexity wherever I could. The old home servers disappeared. Exchange Server gave way to Microsoft 365. Files moved to OneDrive, with a Synology NAS providing local storage for anything that didn’t belong in the cloud. More recently, after a bout of Azure bill shock, that was joined by a second, smaller NAS in a separate building to provide an additional backup. There are still pockets of complexity. Home Assistant runs much of our smart home, for example (and the Zigbee pains are a whole seprate topic). But I’ve always tried to keep the underlying infrastructure as simple and as reliable as possible. Keeping it simple Back in 2018, after converting our loft and spreading the house across three floors, I invested in an AmpliFi HD mesh Wi-Fi system. If you don’t…