Hi there,
I was hoping to get into some homelab/networking so I can learn more about VLANs, Subnets, etc. However, I am moving into a new apartment where it has preconfigured internet (RJ45 ports in every room). Is there a way to still implement my own network? There is a closet that has all of the cables and what looks to be a switch but nothing other than that. Any recommendations on how you would go about that would be appreciated!
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You might want to ask the management or the provider. Unless you’re talking about a dorm, I doubt the entire apartment building is going in and out on 1 IP address. Plug something in, and just go to any showmyIP type site. Ask a neighbor to do the same. That alone will indicate if you are on one IP.
Look for equipment. How many switches and ports do you see? How many jacks in your apartment? Multiply that by number of apartments. Does that match up to the number of ports on the switches?
Those are some of the first pieces of info you’ll need before proceeding. If it appears that you share the same public IP with the entire building, tell the management that your work requires a secure connection and you can do that with - then tell them what you’ll need to do. You don’t want to put equipment in or swap cables in a utilities closet/cage that might be under the control of the management or maybe a contractor.
Yes, you can create new networks and just ignore the existing wiring. You might want to uplink to the provided service. Lots of options.
I’d likely get a fully programmable and manageable router and switch and AP and start with that. Maybe get one of those little racks.
Have fun.
You can always implement your own network–you don’t need Internet access for that. Most labs have limited connections to the Internet, especially when learning stuff like vlans, etc.
As far as how your apartment Internet would be different than your own isp, well, it’s all down to the IP address. If you get a public IP address (or more than one), you’ll be able to do everything you could with your isp. And in general, I’ve not seen an apartment that doesn’t do this.
If it is a ‘private’ IP subnet (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, 172.16…), then your Internet incoming traffic will more than likely be behind a NAT so you won’t be able to have a server sitting behind this without some workarounds. But your regular Internet traffic like browsing, etc will work fine.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask questions as I dealt with this in one of our previous apartment complexes.