Important considerations for a successful ADC-SG130 installation experience
The Smart Gateway (ADC-SG130) provides a simple plug and play option for Alarm.com Video installs. The Smart Gateway's WPS installation eliminates the need to update cameras with complicated router passwords and ensures cameras stay connected when the home’s network SSID or password, or ISP changes.
The following are the most important things to note when working with the Smart Gateway to ensure the best possible user experience.
Network path
To avoid networking obstacles, it is recommended to always connect the Smart Gateway directly to the router.
However, in situations where a switch must be used, it is important to understand which type of network switch the customer has connected to their router since there are many types available.
What is a network switch?
A network switch is a device that connects multiple devices together by allowing devices to share and transfer data which enables communication between devices on a network. The two most common found on site are the following:
- Unmanaged switches — Sometimes referred to as dumb switches, these devices connect to a router using an Ethernet cord and allow for the expansion of additional Ethernet ports. They are generally plug and play and do nothing more than pass data from the router to the device.
- Managed switches — These devices generally require some oversight by a network administrator. These types of switches give the customer total control over the traffic accessing the network and may be able to be accessed remotely. When these switches are in use, it is important to work with the network administrator to determine if any changes need to be made to allow an Alarm.com video devices to communicate with the customer's network.
- Smart switches — These are an entry-level version of a managed switch, which may only have a select number of options for managing traffic but still would require the input of the customer's network administrator to verify the ability for Alarm.com video devices to communicate.
Maximum number of devices
Four. Anything more will impact performance.
Device compatibility
It is recommended to only add the following Alarm.com devices:
- Alarm.com video cameras
- Alarm.com bridges (ADC-W100, ADC-W110)
- Alarm.com smart chime ADC-W115C
- Alarm.com compatible doorbell cameras
Third party devices
The Smart Gateway is designed for use with Alarm.com video cameras and supported video doorbell cameras. Alarm.com strongly discourages the use of third-party devices with the Smart Gateway. Alarm.com is unable to account for connection method, throughput, and reliability of third-party devices and therefore does not support them.
Placement matters - Smart Gateway is not a Wi-Fi booster or Wi-Fi extender
The device is not set up to boost the network signal wider than the customer's current router when in the same location as the router. However, with a cable run and placement closer to the cameras that it will be connected to, the Smart Gateway provides an additional wired access point for Alarm.com compatible video devices and video doorbell cameras and better connectivity.
Why is the bandwidth reported from the device far below that of the customer’s network?
The Smart Gateway is designed to provide a cost-effective solution to a provider-managed video network. The amount of bandwidth made available by the Smart Gateway is a technical limitation of the 2.4 Ghz network. For this reason, it is unlikely for the available bandwidth to be above approximately 12 Mbps when running a speed test while connected to the Smart Gateway. This network limitation is the foundation for the recommendation of no more than four Alarm.com video devices per Smart Gateway.