As this is the first video in this series, we are going to prepare our home network for our new NAS. So we are going to start by checking the main elements within a typical home network. Which should help minimise a lot of potential troubleshooting later.
Note: As no two networks are the same, whenever we make reference to a network, we will be making reference to want we consider to be a typical home network. So for this series while we will be using a Google Nest WiFi network as our point of reference. The features and concepts we will be discussing will aways be generic to most models of wireless routers.
Check your Internet Speeds
The speed of your internet connection will be important, if you intend to access your NAS remotely. So we recommend that before configuring your new NAS, you check both the upload and download speeds of your internet connection. While download rather than upload speeds tend to be highlighted by Internet Service Providers (ISP). If you intend to access your NAS remotely, make sure that you have good upload speeds.
Check your WiFi Speeds
WiFi speeds are also important if you intent to access your NAS wirelessly. So before you setup your new NAS check that you have no WiFi dead zones, and that data transfer speeds are in line with what you expect from your wireless network.
Is your Router secure
While no device can be truly secure when connected to the internet, you need to make sure that the router you are using is as secure as you can make it. An important area to check is that the administrative credentials for your router are in line with modern security best practise. So as a minimum we recommend that the admin password to your router is at least 10 characters in length, uses lower and upper case letters, contains numbers and at least one no letter character.
We also recommend that you check that the firewall on your router is working correctly. While by default your router should be blocking all incoming traffic. If you do have open ports on your firewall, this may not necessarily be a bad thing, as long as you understand why they were opened in the first place.
Advanced network settings
In order to configure your new NAS, at some point in the future you will need to make changes to the following router settings: DNS, DHCP, UPnP, and Port Forwarding. While at this stage you do not need to worry too much about what these network settings are for. It can be useful to be aware of where specific settings are located and check that you have the access privileges to change them.
Check your router is up to date
If your router is not able to automatically receive security fixes and updates, you should be manually updating it yourself. Also if your router is over 5 years old, check that your router is still being supported by the manufacturer. If it is not, we recommend that you replace your router before you start configuring your new NAS.
Internet of Things
As Internet of Things (IoT) devices often are not kept up to date with security patches and fixes. It is now considered best practise not to have IoT devices on the same network as your NAS and computers. So an easy way to isolate IoT devices from your main network, is to move them to your Guest WiFi network.
Note: Not all wireless routers will create a Guest network that is fully isolated from your main network. However by placing your IoT devices on your Guest wifi network, if an IoT device is hacked, it will be harder for that hacker to access computers or your NAS.
Additional resources:
- Speed Test by Ookla – iOS, Android
- GRC – Shields Up
- Buy spare network cables – Network cables from Amazon
- mydoodads article – How to test the Internet connection for Google Nest WiFi
- mydoodads article – How to test the mesh network on Google Nest WiFi
- mydoodads article – Review the Advance Network Settings on a Google Nest WiFi
Reference materials:
- Wikipedia – Network Attached Storage
- Synology Support – Getting Started with DSM
- Synology Support – RAID Calculator
- Which article – Millions of people in the UK at risk using insecure routers
- routersecurity.org website – Router Bugs Flaws Hacks and Vulnerabilities
- Portland FBI notice – Internet of Things
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