BenB
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:26 PM |
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Networking a house
I'm starting a house renovation in a couple of weeks time (contracts willing!).
Everyone keeps on yabbering on about putting in Cat5 whilst I'm doing the re-wire but being a network noob what's the plan? Previously I
haven't done anything more complicated than wiring up cable modem to a wifi router 
I don't want to go crazy with six cables going to each room etc etc so what does anyone reckon about a cat5 cable going to a wall plate in each
room back to my existing cable router?
I'm thinking of using something like this
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/10346/Electrical-Supplies/Data-Networking/Cable/Network-Cabling-Kit
Is it worth putting a couple of cables to each room? I know people talk about IP phones and networking tv blah blah blah but realistically I'm
going to be using this mainly for HD iplayer....
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Staple balls
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:32 PM |
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Use decent quality cable, and run 2 to each room, even if you only intend to use one. The last thing you want to do is find a cable died some time
between installing and decorating.
Also, I seem to remember 30cm from mains power is suggested, but I've not done this stuff in years.
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big-vee-twin
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:47 PM |
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Why not just use WI-FI just as good
Duratec Engine is fitted, MS2 Extra V3 is assembled and tested, engine running, car now built. IVA passed 26/02/2016
http://www.triangleltd.com
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Guinness
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:50 PM |
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I've done the ground floor of our house. Still got the first floor to do. Basically we had the floorboards / skirting boards off anyway, so I
fitted a 10 way switch in the understairs cupboard. From there, I connected via a set of ethernet cables down to a pair of twin outlet RJ45 sockets.
From there, there are a pair of cables into the dining room and another pair into the lounge.
Next up will be a pair of cables into each bedroom.
I've got a few hundred metres of cable left over Ben, so if you want a reel, and are willing to cover the postage, you can have a few hundred
metres for free. The reels weigh between 11kg and 8kg, depending on how much cable is left on them.
Mike
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mark chandler
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:51 PM |
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Easier route is just WIFI, you can also get ethernet over the mains wiring as well these days, still if they are paying...
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tegwin
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:52 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by big-vee-twin
Why not just use WI-FI just as good
Rubbish... WIFI wont run at 1000 mb/s! or even 100 usually!
I would be looking at putting in Cat 6 cable!! (cat 5 is old hat!)
I did our house when we moved in and just used ready made cables, so we dont have nice sockets on the walls.. we just have bits of cable hanging out
with the connector on the end...
If I were doing it again, run two lengths of cat6 cables to each room (buy a box reel.. its not that expensive!)
Bundle the cables ideally away from the power cables etc.
Where all the cables terminate in your cupboard... either crimp the cable ends onto a patch pannel, or fit plugs on the end and plug them straight
into your switch... depends how much of a stickler you are for "perfect wiring" :p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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blakep82
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:56 PM |
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mmm cable broadband in every room
you can get things that you plug into a normal electric socket. router goes into one, computer plugs into the other, and it just goes in another
socket, internet goes through the normal electic cables. strange but true
like this
http://www.broadband-mac.co.uk/mains_networking.htm
[Edited on 31/10/09 by blakep82]
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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BenB
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:56 PM |
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It's me paying
Guiness- yes please!! Consider any postage + VAT  covered.....
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Staple balls
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:57 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
I would be looking at putting in Cat 6 cable!! (cat 5 is old hat!)
At least Cat5e for my money, cat6 is more fun though  and not one of those £30 for 1000' reels, utterly crap cable.
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tegwin
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 01:59 PM |
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RS components do a 100m reel for about £60 I think... that looks reasonable...
Anyone ever seen a cat 6 patch panel with less than 24 ports on it? I cant find one anywhere :p
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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Jasper
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 02:08 PM |
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When we had the ground floor rewired we had the electrician put in CAT5 from the office to the lounge, didn't cost much extra as he was already
running standard wires.
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
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stevebubs
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 02:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
RS components do a 100m reel for about £60 I think... that looks reasonable...
Anyone ever seen a cat 6 patch panel with less than 24 ports on it? I cant find one anywhere :p
http://www.cablemanstore.co.uk/#111436X0
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stevebubs
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 02:13 PM |
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Run a couple of ports to each room.
a) If a cable dies then you're covered
b) If you decide you want to pump something non-ethernet over the second cable, then you can do...
Stephen
PS New Wireless 802.11n routers are 350Mbit/s ... how well they work depends on the density of housing around you...
1) Think walls - not good
2) Lots of neightbours - not good.
Bear in mind that there are only really 3 channels that don't overlap - the normal ones quoted are 1,6,11 but 1,7,13 are better (the former are
US channels which don't extend quite as far up the spectrum)
S
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Jasper
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 02:27 PM |
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I use Popcorn Hour to watch movies from my PC HDD through into the lounge and onto my plasma, you couldn't do this with High Def films via
wireless, it has to be a solid connection.
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
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jeffw
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 02:30 PM |
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There is no way that you will ever get 350Mb/s out of 802.11n, not happening.
1Gb/s over Cat5e is easy and relatively cheap...plus it is secure. My day job is IT security and I don't run wireless unless there is a full on
IPSec VPN client involved. If you don't want everyone else knowing your business buy a decent UTM device and wire your network.
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Guinness
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 03:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
It's me paying
Guiness- yes please!! Consider any postage + VAT covered.....
Ben, u2u me your address, and I'll get a reel in the post to you on Monday (will try to beat the postal strikes).
Cheers
Mike
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 04:44 PM |
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I wired a line from my router down to the living room. Linking 2 computers and the LCD.
Run a 1Gb network and it'll play anything smootly over the network.
Copying films across is easy, couple minutes. Wifi either drops its connection or just take hours to copy. Rubbish
Ben
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D Beddows
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 05:24 PM |
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I had cat5 cables put in when we moved to our present house and were having some other wiring done - one of the best things I had done tbh! Not having
to p*ss about configuring wireless routers is a godsend - you just plug the ethernet cable into the socket and bingo, reliable broadband speeds and
connection etc etc anywhere in the house 
[Edited on 31/10/09 by D Beddows]
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keithice
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 05:44 PM |
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when the floorboards were up I bought an ethernet cable from the frontroom to where the computer would be in the dining room, another up to my boys
bedroom. virgin socket to router then split to here and up to his room. his laptop had wireless... I don't need cable dad it's old
fashioned  .... try it says I... he never said anything about it but it's always plugged in ..
Smile and wave boys.... Smile and wave....
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Werner Van Loock
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 07:22 PM |
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If you don't intend to use gigabit, then you can run 2 wall sockets from 1 cable as only 4 of the 8 wires of the cable are needed.
So what you do is wire one plug with the regular orange/white, orange, green/white, nothing, nothing, green, 2x nothing
and the other with blue/white, blue, brown/white, nothing, nothing, brown, 2x nothing.
This is the real locost style
http://www.clubstylus.be
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BenB
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 08:18 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Werner Van Loock
If you don't intend to use gigabit, then you can run 2 wall sockets from 1 cable as only 4 of the 8 wires of the cable are needed.
So what you do is wire one plug with the regular orange/white, orange, green/white, nothing, nothing, green, 2x nothing
and the other with blue/white, blue, brown/white, nothing, nothing, brown, 2x nothing.
This is the real locost style
Doesn't that mean you're running without screens??
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Guinness
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 08:34 PM |
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Most CAT5e cable isn't screened. You can get CAT5E with a foil to act as a screen.
The 2 for 1 by using alternate pairs for separate sockets is a bit of a dodge, but not unknown when the cost of installing another cable is
prohibitive.
Mike
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BenB
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| posted on 31/10/09 at 11:06 PM |
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Luckily I've got some nice cheap Cat5 cable heading my way so the cost ain't a problem any more
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wilkingj
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| posted on 1/11/09 at 11:15 AM |
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Please DO NOT use LAN over the Mains Wiring
PLEASE DO NOT consider Ethernet over the Mains devices.
Whilst these do work well. Electrically they are very very nasty in that they radiate high levels of interference and interfere with other radio
services.
There is an ongoing battle with Offcomm over this technology raging at the moment.
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2009/rsgb_legal_challenge_to_plt.htm
If you can get cables under the floor, thats the best way to go. Its a WIN-WIn solution.
You GET NO interference, and you GIVE NO interference!
I agree with CAT6 (5/5e is old hat now)
for some futureproofing.
Run 2 cables. The cost is only in the cable, and the hassle of having to run another one is not fun once all the floorboards / ceilings are up. ie Do
it once, and do it right first time.
I would have my router at the Master Phone Line socket. (Best position)
I would ensure I have the latest Master socket (Your Phone provider does this not you, and will probably charge to change it!), and then fit an
I-Plate which will help with the broadband speeds.
For the technical types, the I-Plate puts a choke / Inductor in the bell wire circuit, which reduces interference and losses, thus increasing the
speed. However you must have the correct type of Master socket to fit the plate.
Thus you have your ADSL Router located at the master socket, and then run all your cables back to this point. Then depending on how many PC's
you are connecting to the network, you may need a Switch (Much better than a HUB) then plug up the cables you are going to use to the switch.
I have had a network running at home for about 10 years now (6PC's and a server)
It used to run with a Dial up modem and it autodialed on demand, and dropped out after a fixed "no-traffic" period.
I used a simple PC running Smoothwall for that, and it worked a treat.
http://www.smoothwall.org/
Just need an old PC of 50mhz or better and a modem. It also now works with a WAN connection from a straight ADSL modem, or USB modem. Excellent
software... and free too!
Mind you, most people get a free ADSL router witha 4 port hub from their ISP as part of the deal.
So stick to Cat6 Cable (Cat5E as a minimum).
Put 2 cables in to every location (even if you just hide the spare in the back of the box). Leave at least 200mm cable to be able to strip back and
terminate properly. No Bow String tensioned wiring. It becomes unreliable and will give problems.
Believe me, I've been in the Phone Business for 40 years.
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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wilkingj
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| posted on 1/11/09 at 11:23 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
RS components do a 100m reel for about £60 I think... that looks reasonable...
Anyone ever seen a cat 6 patch panel with less than 24 ports on it? I cant find one anywhere :p
Why not just terminate the cables with RJ45 plugs and plug straight into the Hub or Switch? Agreed a Patch Panel is neater and more professional.
Oh and dont forget to Label the cables as you put them in. So much easier when coming to sort it out later
You could just do RJ45 plugs on each end of the cables and then save some money that you would spend on sockets and back plates and a panel.
Final word. Its worth buying the correct Ratchet Crimping Pliers for the RJ45 plugs for the same reasons you would buy the ratchet crimpers for the
lucar connectors on your Kit car!
I wouldn't buy the kit from Screwfix. (2 cables to 2 rooms for £35!)
Go to somewhere sensible (Leccy or Comms wholesaler) and buy a 100m (305ft) box of Cat 6 cable, and then a pair of crimpers and a bag of plugs (I got
crimps etc from Maplin).
You can do the entire house with some quality cable and still have some spares.
[Edited on 1/11/2009 by wilkingj]
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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