The home network has come a long way from it's simple beginnings. From even as recently as a year or two ago, the AV related data we move over the network has increased significantly. At first, the home network was used mostly for accessing the internet or downloading music files. Then as time moved on and technology progressed we started seeing streaming music and video services such as Pandora and Netflix.

Now with almost every system we install, we will have multiple streaming devices such as Sonos, Roku, Apple TV and so on. These devices stream from the internet into the home. With automation systems like Control4 we are now streaming even more data inside on the home network. That means a lot more data or bandwidth is being used inside your home. There are several reasons for this. With data storage being relatively inexpensive we can store high quality FLAC, ALAC or .wav files on an NAS drive and stream them throughout the home. These files sound much better but also are much larger then their counterparts (.mp3, .mp4, .aac etc) and because of that, put more data over your network. Other systems like security cameras also use a lot of bandwidth. 

To give you a better idea of just how large your home network may be, here's a list of devices found in a typical home AV or automation system.

• Streaming Video - Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chrome, and TV's or Blu-ray players.
• Other TV providers such as DirecTV, DISH and your cable company
• HVAC - Heating and Air Conditioning is often controlled via a wireless thermostat (Control4, Nest,) 
• surveillance - either the IP cameras or the Digital Video Recorder are sent over the network.
• Intercoms and Doorbell systems - these systems typically carry video and voice over the network.
• iPhones, Android
• iPads and Android Tablets
• Laptops and Computers
• Printers and Scanners
• Networking Devices - additional switches, wireless access points
• Shades or Blinds
• Pool and Spa
• Home Automation controllers, Control4 Crestron, RTI, URC
• Streaming Media - Sonos, Heos, Autonomics etc.
• Lighting controllers, Control4, Lutron
• NAS Drives - music, video storage
• AV Receivers and Zone amplifiers
• Security systems, to notify monitoring station, communicate with automation system

As you can see, there is the potential for a lot of traffic over your network. This traffic can cause you to experience delays or hiccups with your system. The results of all the traffic and load on your network, means you may experience delays when pressing remote control buttons, drop outs when watching video or listening to music and unreliable "communication" between the devices.

One of the first things we learned at Control4 training school was that the typical cable company all-in-one (router/switch/wireless access) device is inadequate for use with Control4 (and likely others) products. This is especially true in a large system. One of the big problems with these "free" devices, is that they do not provide proper backplane/fabric structure. In our training, Control4 had this to say about what they recommend:

"Backplane or Switching fabric – how much capacity the switch has for moving data between ports – should be at least 2x the rated connection speed of each port – example 24 port Gigabit switch should have 48 Gbs backplane rating or it may throttle data transfers"

They also ask the question, if you are going to spend several thousand on a streaming and/or automation system, why would you leave that to a "free" or inexpensive (router/switch/access point) combo like the cable company provides? Instead of a combined unit like you get from the cable or phone company, Control4 recommends separate devices for each of those three functions. Again, that is especially true if you are doing a large system. Even with a medium sized system, if you want it to function reliably, you will want a separate router, network switch (or several) and a separate wireless access system.

Some of the brands on the approved list are Luxul, Packedge , Ubiquiti, Cisco other "proSumer" type devices. Be sure to check the specific model number before a purchase, or leave that to your AV technicians. 

If these steps in building you home network are followed, you will have as Control4 states a "Reliable, Responsive and Extensible" network.