Home network

H

Homer74

n00b
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
11
So we just bought a home and I plan on rewiring the house with Cat6. I will have at least 20 drops to install. Looking for some recommendations on 24 port patch panels and 24 port switches.

(Unless there is something I am missing) I assume patch panels are pretty standard, so just looking for a good brand.

As far as switches, I may not need a managed switch but I would like one to tinker with. Would like to stay under $250.

If anyone is feeling froggy, I would love to hear advice/recommendations from folks who have rewired their homes.

Thanks
 
Find a used Procurve 1400-24G for unmanaged or a 1810-24G or 1800-24G for a managed switch. You could get a 1800-24G for under or around 250 on eBay. In fact I just picked up a 1800-24G for $150 off of eBay.

As for patch panel, just get one off of monoprice.
 
Last edited:
/usr/home said:
Find a used Procurve 1400-24G for unmanaged or a 1810-24G or 1800-24G for a managed switch. You could get a 1800-24G for under or around 250 on eBay.

As for patch panel, just get one off of monoprice.
Click to expand...

exactly..
 
Homer74 said:
Thanks for the recommendation.

Anyone have tips for rewiring their home?
Click to expand...

Baseboard chases are way easier than running cable through walls. Plus, they give you the option of easily adding access points in the future.
 
Magnus said:
Baseboard chases are way easier than running cable through walls. Plus, they give you the option of easily adding access points in the future.
Click to expand...

I hate baseboard chases, I personally like concealing in wall. Interior walls are VERY EASY exterior are harder because of vapor barrier and insulation.. BUT can be done if you have the right tools.
 
dashpuppy said:
I hate baseboard chases, I personally like concealing in wall. Interior walls are VERY EASY exterior are harder because of vapor barrier and insulation.. BUT can be done if you have the right tools.
Click to expand...

I guess it's an esthetic thing versus ease of use. However, there are some baseboard chases that essentially replace your existing baseboards and would therefore be invisible.
 
I will be running the cable through the walls. Should be fairly easy as almost all drops are on interior walls and I will be running from the basement to first floor.

Now the the few drops I have on exterior walls I haven't exactly figured out how I am going to do that yet.
 
Homer74 said:
I will be running the cable through the walls. Should be fairly easy as almost all drops are on interior walls and I will be running from the basement to first floor.

Now the the few drops I have on exterior walls I haven't exactly figured out how I am going to do that yet.
Click to expand...

are you drilling up from basement or down from attic ? for the exterior walls ?

One hint, GLOW ROD'S :) and flex bit :)

( yes i do this concealing daily )
 
Well I be getting ready to do this very soon also soon as I buy a house I be running alots of cat 5 or 6.
 
Running up from Basement to First floor is fairly simple. Running Basement to Second Storey gets more difficult.
 
ugh. cat6 is fine when building a house but is a big pain in the ass afterward to do it right. you might want to consider connecting a couple of locations and using wireless for the rest. as is, most of your devices will hook up using wireless anyway.
 
/usr/home said:
Running up from Basement to First floor is fairly simple. Running Basement to Second Storey gets more difficult.
Click to expand...

Yeah tell me about it, my new house that I just bought, I wish they ran a conduit from the attic to the crawlspace, would have made my life easy, BUT they didn't..
 
dashpuppy said:
Yeah tell me about it, my new house that I just bought, I wish they ran a conduit from the attic to the crawlspace, would have made my life easy, BUT they didn't..
Click to expand...

Have you ran any to the second floor yet? If you have, I'm interested in any suggestions/tips/tricks as to how to. (I really have no walls that line up or any closets that line up between floors.)
 
Going up from basement to first floor only. The exterior walls will be the only ones I am concerned about. I have easy access to all interior walls. Thanks for the advice Dashpuppy.

Plan on getting a couple new routers, one for basement and one for first floor wifi. Any recommendations?
 
Homer74 said:
Going up from basement to first floor only. The exterior walls will be the only ones I am concerned about. I have easy access to all interior walls. Thanks for the advice Dashpuppy.

Plan on getting a couple new routers, one for basement and one for first floor wifi. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

One wired router and a few access points 89$ gets you a smoke detector style with wireless n AND poe.


Going from crawlspace / basement to above is very easy, id just drill straight down, buy your j-box's and stick a flex bit into the wall, put your hand in and see if you can force the bit on a 90deg angle but also space it in the center of the 2x4 then drill straight down.

make sure you put in some pull strings to your main run..
 
/usr/home said:
Have you ran any to the second floor yet? If you have, I'm interested in any suggestions/tips/tricks as to how to. (I really have no walls that line up or any closets that line up between floors.)
Click to expand...



then your only option is a exterior wall, it will be hard, but can be done using glow rods and cutting & patching a little bit of drywall.
 
Avoid outside walls if you can, a real pain because of the insulation, not to mention all the messing around will disturb it and potentially create a cold pocket. It CAN be done, it's just a pain... it's also tricky to know how the wall aligns with the rim joists and can be hard to find your hole.

If you have an unfinished basement, you are in for a fairly easy job. If it's finished, will be a pain unless it's drop ceiling.

If you end up having to rip drywall and stuff, while you are there, create some kind of chase/conduit system so any future additions will be easier.

I've never done it myself, but I suppose using crown moulding as a conduit would work ok, especially in a room that has no crown so you can just add it later.

And run cat6 while you're there. People will tell you you don't need it, and just go with the cheapest cat5 you can find, but no, use the highest grade cat6 or even cat6a you can find. You may not need it, but at least you are future proofed.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Avoid outside walls if you can, a real pain because of the insulation, not to mention all the messing around will disturb it and potentially create a cold pocket. It CAN be done, it's just a pain... it's also tricky to know how the wall aligns with the rim joists and can be hard to find your hole.

If you have an unfinished basement, you are in for a fairly easy job. If it's finished, will be a pain unless it's drop ceiling.

If you end up having to rip drywall and stuff, while you are there, create some kind of chase/conduit system so any future additions will be easier.

I've never done it myself, but I suppose using crown moulding as a conduit would work ok, especially in a room that has no crown so you can just add it later.

And run cat6 while you're there. People will tell you you don't need it, and just go with the cheapest cat5 you can find, but no, use the highest grade cat6 or even cat6a you can find. You may not need it, but at least you are future proofed.
Click to expand...

Unless he is in a datacenter and is looking to run 10gbe soon, then there is no need for cat6. Go cat5e and it will be fine. If you see also, he is going to be running some POE stuff so most poe is still at 10/100. No need for cat6.

NOW THAT BEING SAID, if you want to go all out and be the bigest baller on the block sure go spend all your money on cat6..
 
cat6 is only a few bucks more than cat5 for a box of 1000 feet...

Now if you really want to go all out, go plenum rated. In fact I think it's actually code, but it's not really enforced in residential settings. Just don't actually run it in ducts.
 
Red Squirrel said:
cat6 is only a few bucks more than cat5 for a box of 1000 feet...

Now if you really want to go all out, go plenum rated. In fact I think it's actually code, but it's not really enforced in residential settings. Just don't actually run it in ducts.
Click to expand...

last time i checked cat5 vs cat6 was big difference, if its the same price or only a few $$ more id go for it.

Plenum NICE but a motha fawkin BITCH to patch & crimp.



If i ever won the lottery, my house would have 4 cat6 plenum runs per room and id have my self a nice little DATA center in my basement lol..
 
dashpuppy said:
Unless he is in a datacenter and is looking to run 10gbe soon, then there is no need for cat6. Go cat5e and it will be fine.
Click to expand...

I thought you said you did this daily. Why not recommend he future-proof?

If you see also, he is going to be running some POE stuff so most poe is still at 10/100. No need for cat6.
Click to expand...

All the new stuff coming out that is PoE is 10/100/1000 - in my experience anyway. I'm speaking in terms of Cisco here too. My Cisco 1142 AP is Gig + PoE.

NOW THAT BEING SAID, if you want to go all out and be the bigest baller on the block sure go spend all your money on cat6..
Click to expand...

In a house of his size (he didn't state so I'm going to guess we're talking about a modest 1.7-2k sqft home here), he'll need, what, 2 boxes of CAT6 cabling? If he's running what he's running, an additional $100 (estimate over the box of CAT5E) isn't exactly going to break the bank.


dashpuppy said:
Plenum NICE but a motha fawkin BITCH to patch & crimp
Click to expand...

Plenum? Pointless as hell in a home.
 
The difference between Cat 5e and Cat 6 right now on monoprice is about $20 per 100ft box. Allows me to future proof a little.

House is about 2000 sq ft. A couple boxes should do it. Out of curiosity how do you guys calculate how much cable you will need to do a job. Do you just make an educated estimate (using rough numbers) and add 20% or do you have a program you use?
 
dashpuppy said:
One wired router and a few access points 89$ gets you a smoke detector style with wireless n AND poe.


Going from crawlspace / basement to above is very easy, id just drill straight down, buy your j-box's and stick a flex bit into the wall, put your hand in and see if you can force the bit on a 90deg angle but also space it in the center of the 2x4 then drill straight down.

make sure you put in some pull strings to your main run..
Click to expand...

Any recommendations on the router and/or smoke detector style APs with wireless N and PoE?
 
Homer74 said:
The difference between Cat 5e and Cat 6 right now on monoprice is about $20 per 100ft box. Allows me to future proof a little.

House is about 2000 sq ft. A couple boxes should do it. Out of curiosity how do you guys calculate how much cable you will need to do a job. Do you just make an educated estimate (using rough numbers) and add 20% or do you have a program you use?
Click to expand...

If I'm doing multiple runs, what I do is measure where the cable will be run, and add it all up. In some places where I can't physically measure, I usually guess generously. Then I add maybe like 5 feet, and start pulling out the wire and cutting. This can be a bit risky as if you are off, you just wasted what you measured, unless you can recycle it in a shorter run. You also get waste if you over estimated, which will mostly be the case. But it's better to have a few feet of waste than the whole thing. I usually recycle the wire into making magnetic coils and other stuff like that.

A 1000ft box is probably all you need, but it really depends how far the runs are from the patch panel. I currently have 9 runs in my house and have 700 feet left (though most of the runs are short, the server room is under my office). Pros will actually run straight out of multiple boxes at same time so they can cut it only at the end and have the exact needed size. So if you think you're going to need multiple boxes, you could do this too.
 
/usr/home said:
Ubiquiti Unifi. ~ $80 an AP. Much better than Engenius IMO.
Click to expand...

I have no comment, because i have never used one. I was going to buy the 3 pack thinking i needed them for full coverage of my 1900sqf home but NOPE the 9550 that i have covers the whole house..

top of my stairs middle of the house.

DSCN3058.JPG
 
Yeah I thought I would need two Unifis for my house, one on the top, and one on the bottom for the main floor and basement, but a central one on the main floor covers the whole house with full bars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top