home network set up

[tiggerbiker]

im getting fed up with the spaghetti of cables, various routers, switches, low transfer speeds and sometimes flaky wifi signal in my home and want to rip it all out then install network points to most rooms.

i was thinking of buying a used rackmount type gigabit network switch then running cat6 cables to all rooms that need access to the network, i have been browsing ebay for various bits i might need but am surprised at the huge differences in prices - before i go and buy something thats totally useless and either wont work or will be stupidly slow, has anyone got any advice as to what to buy, what not to buy, what to look for and any hints/tips?

i have my main internet connection (fibre) coming into my downstairs office which is connected to a draytek modem/router (which is connected to my NAS's), i also need 3 wired feeds into the lounge, 2 wired feeds into the main bedroom, 1 wired into the kids room and 1 wired into the spare room, id also like some spare capacity for future networked items

[beerman]

Always +1 on what you think you need. It saves the hassle of running a cable at a later date.

[Rhinoz]

Is there a reason why your not using homeplugs?

[tiggerbiker]

Is there a reason why your not using homeplugs?

i have considered it but id rather go with cables, just personal preference - im just a bit oldschool i guess

[Mr.James]

I run one wire from the router (BT HomeHub 5, 4x 1Gb) to each room, with these on each end:

http://goo.gl/wWYQTh

Then one of these in bedroom/playroom/living room and the point where the stuff needing them is clustered.

http://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-SE2500/

Sky box/TV/5.1/Raspberry Pi in main room
Xbox/Raspberry Pi in play room
TV/Raspberry Pi in bedroom

Then a bit of d-line micro trunking to hide the wires.

[evilsatan]

Buy good quality cable, do not buy from eBay unless it is a reputable retailer. I usually use Netgear switches but TP-Link are basically cloning them now so in lower budget jobs I use them. Buy a cable tester, you will want to test cables as you go.

[tiggerbiker]

Buy good quality cable, do not buy from eBay unless it is a reputable retailer. I usually use Netgear switches but TP-Link are basically cloning them now so in lower budget jobs I use them. Buy a cable tester, you will want to test cables as you go.

how do i recognize good quality cable?

[neilcritc]

Buy CAT6 cable i get from my wholesaler, if you want transfer rates don't use homeplugs i used the 500mb for a while and the transfer dropped down to 20mb! and as someone said if you need one socket buy a double, its easier to run an extra cable than think later oh i need another....

[MartinC]

When I brought my new house I had it completely re-cabled for electric and I also had the electrician run Cat6 networking cables to every room of the house, with all runs coming back to my office for a zero node network, I installed a small SOHO 8u cabinet and put in 2 patch cat6 patch panels so I could pretty much do anything.

Remember don't run your network cable along any main power cables for any long lengths as it will interfere with signal and try not to put any tight bends in the cable as it can effect the performance.

As said above always install more than you need, as you can use cat6 structured cabling for other thing as well.

I used Connectix Cat6 PVC solid Grey cable, I brought 2x 305m boxes, it was £85 +VAT a box to give you an idea.

Other tools I brought was a punch down tool and all the wall modules as it was all being sunk into the walls.

I decided not to go for a rack switch, as space was a premium and installed a 24 port network switch from TP-Link TL-SG1024D, it was a desktop size switch and fits well with my 8u cabinet.

It all works well and I hope that might give you some ideas and information that is helpful to you.

[Mr.James]

As said above always install more than you need, as you can use cat6 structured cabling for other thing as well.

This is also a good point. I have my server in the pantry on a shelf so it's at ceiling height and there's no chance of connecting a monitor to it.

I ran a CAT6 cable through a wall to the back of the TV in the play room and then stuck a couple of these on each end http://goo.gl/F5pzSM. Wireless keyboard with track pad and job done.

There's a slight bit of ghosting on it as I'm too cheap to go and buy some proper baluns, but it's only there in case of emergency.

[evilsatan]

The homeplugs I use are great but cable is always better if you can use it. Homeplugs are just convenient like wireless.

Look for reviews on the cable, good solid core should hold itself in place making terminating easier. Cheap cable is really hard to terminate as it keeps moving.

[BigBird]

The homeplugs I use are great but cable is always better if you can use it. Homeplugs are just convenient like wireless.

Look for reviews on the cable, good solid core should hold itself in place making terminating easier. Cheap cable is really hard to terminate as it keeps moving.

I agree. Buy cable from a reputable source like TLC. I had some cable supplied with a termination kit I bought on Ebay and it was rubbish. The twisted pairs untwisted themselves when the outer sheath was removed which was a bad sign to start with. Thought I would try it anyway as I had it there with the kit. Was taking three hours to transfer 3 GB of data to my backup drive in the garage. After changing to decent cable it took a couple of minutes. (">

[Mr.James]

Also, it might be worth mentioning that there are two types of cable.

You can get solid core, which is used to connect patch panels to wall sockets. The copper wire running inside the 4 twisted pairs is one solid piece of copper. This makes a better connection when you punch it down into the faceplate/patch panel.

Then you can get multi strand core. In this instance the copper wire running down the inside of the 4 twisted pairs is made up of lots and lots of fine strands of coppers. This is used when making patch leads that go from wall socket to network card. This makes a better connection than solid core when the teeth of the patch end are crimped down into the wires.

Don't make patch leads out of solid core cable. The teeth can push the solid core to one side giving a poor connection. Just buy your patch leads off eBay. They're cheap enough.

[Mr.James]

Also, make sure you disable any 'green' or 'energy efficient' Ethernet type settings on your NICs. The idea is that it senses how long the cable run is and uses less power if it detects a short cable run or when network traffic is low. A lot of switches aren't compatible with this and once the speed clocks down it won't clock back up again.

I've first noticed this when a PC kept dropping to a 10Mb connection instead of 1Gb. Switched off green Ethernet and problem went away.