This is a breakdown of my current UniFi home network setup for 2026.

The goal is to keep the network simple, organized, and easy to expand while separating cameras, guests, and my main home devices into their own networks.

šŸ§± Hardware Setup

Core Devices

  • UniFi Fiber Gateway ā€” Router
  • UniFi Switch 24 PoE Pro Max
  • 2 Ɨ U7 Pro XG
  • 7 Ɨ G5 Turret Ultra
  • 1 Ɨ G6 Turret

šŸŒ Network Architecture

Main Subnets

NetworkVLANSubnetPurpose
Default (Home)110.10.10.0/24Main devices
Cameras2010.10.20.0/24UniFi cameras
Guest3010.10.30.0/24Visitors

This gives each major device category its own logical network while keeping the addressing easy to remember.

šŸ§  IP Addressing Strategy

I wanted the IP layout to be predictable, especially for infrastructure devices that I may need to troubleshoot later.

Infrastructure IPs

10.10.10.1   ā†’ Gateway
10.10.10.2   ā†’ AP 1 - Living Room
10.10.10.3   ā†’ AP 2 - Upstairs
10.10.10.10  ā†’ UniFi Switch 24 PoE Pro Max

Camera IPs

10.10.20.10  ā†’ G5 Camera
10.10.20.11  ā†’ G5 Camera
10.10.20.12  ā†’ G5 Camera
...

DHCP Ranges

Home:    10.10.10.50 ā€“ 10.10.10.254
Camera:  10.10.20.50 ā€“ 10.10.20.254
Guest:   10.10.30.50 ā€“ 10.10.30.254

My general addressing strategy is:

  • .1ā€“.49 reserved for infrastructure and manually assigned devices
  • .50ā€“.199 primarily used for normal DHCP clients
  • .200ā€“.254 kept available as additional DHCP capacity

This gives me plenty of room for fixed infrastructure IPs without mixing them together with normal client devices.

šŸ”Œ Switch & Port Configuration

Port Profiles

  • Default / VLAN 1 ā†’ Access points and main devices
  • Camera / VLAN 20 ā†’ All UniFi cameras
  • Guest / VLAN 30 ā†’ Guest network devices

Keeping the port profiles clearly separated makes it much easier to know exactly where a wired device should sit on the network.

šŸ“” WiFi Configuration

šŸ” Home WiFi

  • SSID: Home
  • Security: WPA2/WPA3
  • Network: Default / VLAN 1
  • Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz enabled
  • Band Steering: Enabled

The main SSID is used for trusted household devices across all three WiFi bands.

šŸ‘¤ Guest WiFi

  • SSID: Guest
  • Network: VLAN 30
  • Security: WPA2/WPA3
  • Isolation: Enabled

I could also configure UniFi's hotspot functionality with a proper landing page, which would definitely look fancier.

For now, though, I'm keeping things simple and using a normal guest WiFi setup.

šŸ“· Camera Network Design

All UniFi cameras live on their own dedicated camera VLAN.

  • VLAN: 20
  • Subnet: 10.10.20.0/24
  • Connected through the PoE switch
  • Adopted and managed through UniFi Protect

Separating the cameras from my main home network gives me more control over what they can communicate with.

šŸ” DHCP Reservations & Naming

I use DHCP reservations for important infrastructure devices so their addresses remain predictable.

DeviceIP AddressLocal Name
Switch10.10.10.10switch24.local
AP 110.10.10.2ap1.local
AP 210.10.10.3ap2.local

This makes troubleshooting much easier than trying to remember changing DHCP addresses.

šŸ”’ Security Strategy

Network Segmentation

The basic segmentation is straightforward:

  • šŸ  Home devices ā†’ VLAN 1
  • šŸ“· Cameras ā†’ VLAN 20
  • šŸ‘¤ Guests ā†’ VLAN 30

The camera and guest networks are kept separate from my trusted home devices.

Planned Firewall Rules

My next step is tightening the firewall rules between the VLANs.

Planned rules include:

  • āŒ Block Cameras ā†’ Internet
  • āœ… Allow Cameras ā†’ UniFi Protect
  • āŒ Block Cameras ā†’ Home Network
  • āŒ Block Guest ā†’ Home Network
  • āœ… Allow Guest ā†’ Internet

The idea is to give each network only the access it actually needs.