A few Qs about installing ethernet in a house

[BD2003]

A few general questions, I definitely plan on wiring whatever home I eventually buy. Assuming I have a closet in the basement...

I'd have the modem installed in the closet, connected to a router right next to it. So far, so good. Ideally I'd like to run ethernet to the living room, 2-3 bedrooms and a theater. Multiple devices would be used in each area.

So what should I do in terms of switches? Would I want one giant switch in the closet, and then run multiple wires to each room? Or would I want a smaller switch in the closet, a single wire run to each room, and then a switch in each room if necessary? Or is it possible to buy some sort of mini-switch that can fit in a wall plate, for a really clean install?

Also, I'd like to install a few IP cameras outdoors, maybe 1-2 indoors. I believe it's possible to power some cameras over ethernet....how does that change things in terms of the gear/cabling?

I'd also like the house and backyard to be bathed in wifi, so that means multiple APs. Are there any best practices for that? Obviously a router in the basement won't cut it. Would I want to use combo switch/APs in some of the rooms? Or would I want a separate wire run to standalone APs placed strategically through the house?

Also, I'm concerned that say 10-20 years from now, 10-100gbit might be standard. I really only want to do this once, cause it sounds like such a PITA...what are my options in terms of future proofing? Or will it cost way more to future proof now, then to just have it all rewired in a decade or two with cat12x fiber-holographic wire? Is there such a thing like a tunnel/conduit that would make it much easier to run multiple wires such as HDMI, speaker cable, etc....where I could just pull an old one out and slip a new one right in real easy?

And generally, how much do you save by going DIY on this? Is it like painting where it costs a tiny fraction to do it yourself vs hiring a pro, or is it pretty reasonable to have it installed? Assuming I bought all the switches, APs, patch cables and the patch panel myself, what would be the ballpark price be for the wiring and wall plate installation in 5 rooms?

 

[Fardringle]

Use a central switch in the wiring closet. A patch panel would be a good idea as well (wires in the walls go to the patch panel, then short cables go from the panel to the switch). Run two drops (cables) from there to each room (or more if you want dedicated lines for separate components such as in your theater room), and do it in conduit so you can easily replace the cable if necessary in the future. If you need more than two wired connections in a room, use a small switch to share the connection in that room.

The size of the home and the yard, and the surrounding environment will determine how many wireless access points you might need, and where they need to be placed.

You can save money by doing it yourself if you know how, but unlike painting where a drip on the floor is annoying but not disastrous, if network cable is installed improperly it might work intermittently, or it might not work at all. You don't necessarily need a "pro" to do a home wiring job, but you should have someone that knows what they are doing.

 

[VirtualLarry]

wire your home with fiber, for 40Gig-E over fiber. That's the only way to be future-proof.

(well, plus two Cat6a drops)

 

[BD2003]

wire your home with fiber, for 40Gig-E over fiber. That's the only way to be future-proof.

(well, plus two Cat6a drops)

Is there any way to wire the walls with fiber, and convert it to ethernet at the terminals? How much more expensive than ethernet are we talking about?

 

[Mushkins]

Is there any way to wire the walls with fiber, and convert it to ethernet at the terminals? How much more expensive than ethernet are we talking about?

He's kidding (I hope), just use Cat6. The stiff stuff goes in walls, the not stiff stuff is for outside the walls or short runs. Fiber in the home would be stupid expensive for no reason, home networking equipment is so far off supporting those speeds and connections in any reasonable way. By the time we get there you'll be either living somewhere else, or too old to care that your network isnt the absolute fastest it can be at all times.

Go with Fardingle's description, it's exactly how I did my most recent home wiring and it's exactly what I wanted, and I payed professionals to do it.

Of course, one thing to remember is that if you're going to put it all nice and neat in a closeable utility cabinet at node zero, *make sure you get a plastic cabinet*. When all was said and done and my wifi signal didnt reliably reach the bedroom 20 feet away, only then did I realize that I put my wireless router in its own little faraday cage :whiste: Ended up buying a separate wireless AP and sitting it on top of the cabinet!

 

[JimKiler]

Use a central switch in the wiring closet. A patch panel would be a good idea as well (wires in the walls go to the patch panel, then short cables go from the panel to the switch). Run two drops (cables) from there to each room (or more if you want dedicated lines for separate components such as in your theater room), and do it in conduit so you can easily replace the cable if necessary in the future. If you need more than two wired connections in a room, use a small switch to share the connection in that room.

The size of the home and the yard, and the surrounding environment will determine how many wireless access points you might need, and where they need to be placed.

You can save money by doing it yourself if you know how, but unlike painting where a drip on the floor is annoying but not disastrous, if network cable is installed improperly it might work intermittently, or it might not work at all. You don't necessarily need a "pro" to do a home wiring job, but you should have someone that knows what they are doing.

Agreed, and plan for your router in an upstair room so put 3 runs in that place, in case one is bad. That way you can have the internet come into your closet, go to your upstairs router, then back to the closet were your patch panel and switch are located. That is what i did. I think Fardringle also suggested two runs to me and I am glad he did. My builder charges $200 per outlet so i saved thousands. Put two runs in every room you could and may want wired internet in the future. You can leave them in the walls with a face plate until needed.

Also i did not use conduit, but i paid $200 for a tech tube from my basement to my attic. So I can add cables later to any upstairs room. The only caveat is they have to go on an interior wall, but that is not a big deal to me.

You can get cheap wiring from monoprice.

 

[BD2003]

He's kidding (I hope), just use Cat6. The stiff stuff goes in walls, the not stiff stuff is for outside the walls or short runs. Fiber in the home would be stupid expensive for no reason, home networking equipment is so far off supporting those speeds and connections in any reasonable way. By the time we get there you'll be either living somewhere else, or too old to care that your network isnt the absolute fastest it can be at all times.

Go with Fardingle's description, it's exactly how I did my most recent home wiring and it's exactly what I wanted, and I payed professionals to do it.

Of course, one thing to remember is that if you're going to put it all nice and neat in a closeable utility cabinet at node zero, *make sure you get a plastic cabinet*. When all was said and done and my wifi signal didnt reliably reach the bedroom 20 feet away, only then did I realize that I put my wireless router in its own little faraday cage :whiste: Ended up buying a separate wireless AP and sitting it on top of the cabinet!

Any reason not to use cat6a (for 10gbit support), other than cost of the cable itself? Should be backwards compatible with 1gbit gear right?

If I understand it correctly with gigabit, any individual line can carry a total 1gbps. So if I only made one run to a room, and then went to a gigabit switch in the room, all the devices in the room can communicate with each other at a full 1gbps, but they share a total 1gbps link down to the big switch at node zero. Or does a 1gbps switch only support a total of 1gbps flowing through it at any time? Or is the total throughput of a switch a separate spec independent of the wire speed?

But say I wired with cat6a, and 10gb switches eventually become as affordable as 1gbps....all I'd have to do is replace the switches, and then they'd share a full 10gbps down to node zero, even if they might only support 1gbps each to the room switch?

 

[JackMDS]

While Culturally, the 1990s was characterized by the rise of multiculturalism and alternative media, the first decade of the 21st century is the Age of Inense drama Queening/Kinging, so when you ask for help on line you have to factor it out.

CAT6 is very inexpensive run it to every place that you can especially to places that are far from the Modem or and expected to provide High bandwidth internet stream.

A Good source for inexpensive Network related hardware can be found here - http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10232

As for Wireless the general approach is....

The best way is to lay a CAT6 cable to central locations in the house that is close to the destination Wireless client and install an Access Point, or Cable/DSL Router configured as an Access Points. Then connect it to the Main Router.

Using Access Points or Wireless Cable/DSL Routers as a Switch with an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

You do not want/can not/hate/your client hate to lay Cables.Start with One affordable Wireless Router that can do WDS (the reason to start with WDS capable Router is that in case you need to add more Wireless WDS hardware the original Router has to support it).


Start with One affordable Wireless Router that can do WDS (the reason to start with WDS capable Router is that in case you need to add more Wireless WDS hardware the original Router has to support it). If you are lucky your environment is conducive to get covered with one Good Wireless Router, you are done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_distribution_system

Due to the added flexibility, it is a better solution to choose Routers that can work with the free 3rd party firmware DD-WRT

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/WDS_Linked_router_network

Using a Laptop loaded with Wirelessnetview, do a Wireless survey, http://majorgeeks.com/WirelessNetView_d6102.html

According to the signal strength reading, identify spots that have strong signal, and spots with weak or No signal.

Repeaters have to be put in places that have relatively strong signal and are in proximity of the "dead" areas.

How many WDS units are needed? It depends on your specific environment. It is a good idea to start with one additional unit, try it, and decide on the Next step according to the outcome.

------------
Good Wireless Routers that can be flashed with DD-WRT and be configured as main Wireless Router, or Access Point/Repeater, if needed.

Money is Not an issue. Asus RT-N66U -RT-N66U

Best value for the price is - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E1683316207

 

[BD2003]

Right now in my current house I'm using two routers with tomato, one configured as a switch/AP, hardwired to each other with a 100ft cat6 patch cable stapled to corners. It works, but it's ugly as sin. It's enough to cover the house pretty well, although I do have an in-between zone where a client doesn't always release it's grip from the more distant AP, even though there's no real connectivity...but as I understand it, that's purely an issue with the client, not the APs.

With enough wire running throughout the new house, I'd likewise like to avoid wireless bridging if I could. I'm coming at this from a "do it right the first time, so you don't have to do it over" angle. I figure if I had to fall back on WDS, I didn't run enough wire.

While on the topic of wireless...does the presence of 802.11n gear degrade 802.11ac performance, in the same way 802.11b/g can degrade 802.11n?

I can see at monoprice that cat6a is roughly double the price of cat6. It might add $100-200 or so to the total bill, which I'm perfectly fine with, as long as it wouldnt cause problems with all the cat6 and gigabit gear I already have.

 

[386DX]

Right now in my current house I'm using two routers with tomato, one configured as a switch/AP, hardwired to each other with a 100ft cat6 patch cable stapled to corners. It works, but it's ugly as sin. It's enough to cover the house pretty well, although I do have an in-between zone where a client doesn't always release it's grip from the more distant AP, even though there's no real connectivity...but as I understand it, that's purely an issue with the client, not the APs.

With enough wire running throughout the new house, I'd likewise like to avoid wireless bridging if I could. I'm coming at this from a "do it right the first time, so you don't have to do it over" angle. I figure if I had to fall back on WDS, I didn't run enough wire.

While on the topic of wireless...does the presence of 802.11n gear degrade 802.11ac performance, in the same way 802.11b/g can degrade 802.11n?

I can see at monoprice that cat6a is roughly double the price of cat6. It might add $100-200 or so to the total bill, which I'm perfectly fine with, as long as it wouldnt cause problems with all the cat6 and gigabit gear I already have.

Cat6 is fine no need four Cat6a. For your house need you will want to run each outlet to a central location (closet) onto a patch panel. From the patch panel you'll connect to preferably a PoE (Power over Ethernet) managed switch. Don't cheap out and skip the patch panel.

For your wireless coverage I'd hide a Cat6 in the ceiling or wall of where you'd think you'd want to put a wireless AP in the future. These should run down to the patch panel as well. For your AP I'd suggest Unifi's from Ubiquity Networks. They are one of the cheaper AP that support seamless roaming (will require a server to act as a wireless controller), and doesn't require the expensive (thousands of dollars) hardware like Cisco's implementation. Your cheap AP running Tomato or DD-WRT will never support seamless roaming, they connect to one AP until you move out of range then it tries to reestablish connection again to the new AP that's now closer in range. With true wireless roaming the controller is smart enough to hand your connection over to whatever AP has the best signal quality.

 

[Mushkins]

Right now in my current house I'm using two routers with tomato, one configured as a switch/AP, hardwired to each other with a 100ft cat6 patch cable stapled to corners. It works, but it's ugly as sin. It's enough to cover the house pretty well, although I do have an in-between zone where a client doesn't always release it's grip from the more distant AP, even though there's no real connectivity...but as I understand it, that's purely an issue with the client, not the APs.

With enough wire running throughout the new house, I'd likewise like to avoid wireless bridging if I could. I'm coming at this from a "do it right the first time, so you don't have to do it over" angle. I figure if I had to fall back on WDS, I didn't run enough wire.

While on the topic of wireless...does the presence of 802.11n gear degrade 802.11ac performance, in the same way 802.11b/g can degrade 802.11n?

I can see at monoprice that cat6a is roughly double the price of cat6. It might add $100-200 or so to the total bill, which I'm perfectly fine with, as long as it wouldnt cause problems with all the cat6 and gigabit gear I already have.

Cat6 can already be a little touchy with the punchdowns to keep it in spec, I can only imagine keeping Cat6a in spec is just as painful. If it's only a $200 difference, i'd say it couldnt hurt as long as you dont mind the potential for added difficulty. Just remember that your patch cables need to be cat6a to see any benefit should the network equipment catch up. I wouldn't recommend making your own patch cables when you can buy them guaranteed done right by a big fancy machine in a factory for pocket change.

As for the switches, the cardinal rule is less is more. Your big multiport switch at node zero is going to have the performance to back up handling all those connections. Ideally you want to utilize those connections, you dont want to be splitting throughput by putting cheapo SOHO 4 ports on the other end (your example of adding a switch to a switch looked correct to me, the uplink will be the limiting factor.). Will you honestly see a performance difference in a home situation? Probably not for most people, but like you said, do it right the first time Once your hands are in the wall, more drops is never a bad idea.

 

[JimKiler]

OP, if would advise against using switches in each room, even with green equipment, your energy use would be better to have it all in one room and just do multiple runs.

If you really want Cat6a, maybe do a run of Cat6a and a run of plain old Cat6 as well. When i did my runs, i had one box of Cat6 so i had to do one run at a time. But if you buy two boxes you can pull two runs at the same time and save a lot of time. I had 5 people help and we took most of a day to pull the runs in a house without any sheet rock.

 

[BD2003]

Cat6 can already be a little touchy with the punchdowns to keep it in spec, I can only imagine keeping Cat6a in spec is just as painful. If it's only a $200 difference, i'd say it couldnt hurt as long as you dont mind the potential for added difficulty. Just remember that your patch cables need to be cat6a to see any benefit should the network equipment catch up. I wouldn't recommend making your own patch cables when you can buy them guaranteed done right by a big fancy machine in a factory for pocket change.

How do you know when its out of spec, and what happens if it is? I'm reading that cat6 can support 10gb in runs under 50 meters...that's probably more distance than I'd need, but the cat6a really isnt prohibitively more expensive. So I guess what would be worse, cat6a that's potentially not in spec, or trying to push 10gbit over something like 40m on cat6?

I live in a high population density, high competition area for broadband. My cableco gave me a free upgrade to 110/35 (for $59/mo), just to keep me from jumping to FIOS. 2 years ago I was paying the exact same price for 30/5. I could even get 500/100 from FIOS right now if I was willing to pay $300 a month. At the rate it's improving around here, gigabit isn't going to cut it before the decade is out, so supporting 10gbit ethernet is a relatively near term concern.

But I agree, no reason to make my own patch cables. I assume connecting the solid wire to the patch panel/keystone jack is much simpler than crimping a custom patch cable?

As for the switches, the cardinal rule is less is more. Your big multiport switch at node zero is going to have the performance to back up handling all those connections. Ideally you want to utilize those connections, you dont want to be splitting throughput by putting cheapo SOHO 4 ports on the other end (your example of adding a switch to a switch looked correct to me, the uplink will be the limiting factor.). Will you honestly see a performance difference in a home situation? Probably not for most people, but like you said, do it right the first time Once your hands are in the wall, more drops is never a bad idea.

Can you recommend a good 18 to 24-port switch?

 

[Mushkins]

How do you know when its out of spec, and what happens if it is? I'm reading that cat6 can support 10gb in runs under 50 meters...that's probably more distance than I'd need, but the cat6a really isnt prohibitively more expensive. So I guess what would be worse, cat6a that's potentially not in spec, or trying to push 10gbit over something like 40m on cat6?

If it's out of spec, it might still run completely fine but slightly slower than its maximum capability, or you could run into intermittent connectivity issues. Depends on why it's out of spec, it could be a poor punchdown at the patch panel, the cable is physically damaged or bent too steeply around a pipe in the wall, you undid too many twists to punch it down, etc. The equipment to legitimately certify that an installation is up to spec is pretty pricey stuff, doesn't really make sense to buy it for a single home installation.

I live in a high population density, high competition area for broadband. My cableco gave me a free upgrade to 110/35 (for $59/mo), just to keep me from jumping to FIOS. 2 years ago I was paying the exact same price for 30/5. I could even get 500/100 from FIOS right now if I was willing to pay $300 a month. At the rate it's improving around here, gigabit isn't going to cut it before the decade is out, so supporting 10gbit ethernet is a relatively near term concern.

500/100 is great, if you have thousands of dollars of enterprise level equipment that can support those kinds of speeds Even then, internal speeds and external speeds aren't a 1:1 ratio. 500Mbit is roughly half the speed of GigE, affordable Gigabit downstreams to a residential are still a very long way off, much less anything more. Internally speaking, SOHO equipment across the board pretty much only supports GigE max, if you're looking for 10GigE you're talking about $1000 minimum for an 8 port switch, plus $300-500 each for NICs that can handle 10GigE *per PC*. Simply put, by the time those speeds are affordable and relevant in a residential environment, it will be cheaper to pay a datacom company to come out and lay completely new cable in your house than it would be to buy into the tech now.

But I agree, no reason to make my own patch cables. I assume connecting the solid wire to the patch panel/keystone jack is much simpler than crimping a custom patch cable?

Absolutely Punching down involves putting the little wires into a color coded guide and using a $10 blade to push them in all the way. Crimping a patch cable properly is a huge PITA unless you do it all day every day, and even the people that do will tell you to just buy the premade ones unless you absolutely have to recrimp.

Can you recommend a good 18 to 24-port switch?

Honestly, most of the SOHO Gigabit stuff uses nearly identical chipsets. I typically go with zyxel stuff or trendnet if i'm looking to save a few bucks.

Though if you're still set on that 10GigE with Cat6a in the home, there's always the Dell S4820T. Hope you've got good credit, they run about $35,000. In all seriousness, even enterprise level equipment uses mostly SFP cables for anything above GigE, so if you *were* going that route you'd be better off running fiber through your walls, not Cat6a, but like was previously discussed that's just hilariously expensive for no real world benefit.

 

[BD2003]

Well, I wouldn't be buying into 10gbit devices or switches just yet, just the cabling. When it's eventually affordable to SOHO, built in to PCs, etc...all I'd need to do is replace a few switches. I'm sure gbit gear was just as prohibitively expensive at a time.

Google fiber is already out there offering 1gbit connections....is that just the same kind of fiber that FIOS is using? I'm assuming Verizon's fiber can support much higher speeds than they're currently offering.

 

[Mushkins]

Well, I wouldn't be buying into 10gbit devices or switches just yet, just the cabling. When it's eventually affordable to SOHO, built in to PCs, etc...all I'd need to do is replace a few switches. I'm sure gbit gear was just as prohibitively expensive at a time.

Google fiber is already out there offering 1gbit connections....is that just the same kind of fiber that FIOS is using? I'm assuming Verizon's fiber can support much higher speeds than they're currently offering.

Google Fiber is also a pilot program only currently available in two cities out of the entire world, and Verizon stopped laying new FiOS lines years ago with no public plans to continue

The underlying fiber optic technology can definitely reach speeds considerably higher than 10GigE, but the cabling and backbone hardware is also considerably more expensive and involved to maintain due to the fragile nature of the tech and the cost of materials to even make it work right compared to copper wire.

By the time we move to affordable 10GigE or beyond in the home, odds are there's going to be a bigger and better cable than Cat6a and you should run new lines anyway. There's no guarantee that 10GigE in the home will even use cat6a instead of some form of fiber, with fiber-capable NICs instead, especially considering the current 10GigE datacenter tech is practically *all* fiber, devices like that switch I mentioned are currently niche products for datacenters that can say "$35k per switch is cheaper than switching to all fiber cabling."

Its your walls and your cabling, but the majority of reputable datacom installers would put regular old Cat6 in the walls and call it a day. Once *something* is in the wall, it's fairly easy and cheap to replace on the off chance it's actually ever needed. In this kind of work trying to future proof *that* far into the future is usually just wasted time and money.

 

[BD2003]

Google Fiber is also a pilot program only currently available in two cities out of the entire world, and Verizon stopped laying new FiOS lines years ago with no public plans to continue

The underlying fiber optic technology can definitely reach speeds considerably higher than 10GigE, but the cabling and backbone hardware is also considerably more expensive and involved to maintain due to the fragile nature of the tech and the cost of materials to even make it work right compared to copper wire.

By the time we move to affordable 10GigE or beyond in the home, odds are there's going to be a bigger and better cable than Cat6a and you should run new lines anyway. There's no guarantee that 10GigE in the home will even use cat6a instead of some form of fiber, with fiber-capable NICs instead, especially considering the current 10GigE datacenter tech is practically *all* fiber, devices like that switch I mentioned are currently niche products for datacenters that can say "$35k per switch is cheaper than switching to all fiber cabling."

Its your walls and your cabling, but the majority of reputable datacom installers would put regular old Cat6 in the walls and call it a day. Once *something* is in the wall, it's fairly easy and cheap to replace on the off chance it's actually ever needed. In this kind of work trying to future proof *that* far into the future is usually just wasted time and money.

What makes it easier to replace once something is in the wall? I would think that skimping the first time, then having to remove the old line, and then running the new one would make for three times the work.

 

[Mushkins]

How is it fairly easy to replace once something is in the wall? I would think that skimping the first time, then having to remove the old line, and then running the new one would make for three times the work.

Because the hard part is fishing that first cable through the wall Once you have a single run already in there, you tie as many as you need to one end and literally use the old cable as a guide to pull the new cables through. Even easier if there's no drywall up and you put proper cable conduits right in the walls so there's no chance of snagging on pipes or loose nails or whatever. The only real cost is the spool of new cabling.

Cat6 is already specced to support more speed than most people have or need in their home setup.

 

[BD2003]

Because the hard part is fishing that first cable through the wall Once you have a single run already in there, you tie as many as you need to one end and literally use the old cable as a guide to pull the new cables through. Even easier if there's no drywall up and you put proper cable conduits right in the walls so there's no chance of snagging on pipes or loose nails or whatever. The only real cost is the spool of new cabling.

Cat6 is already specced to support more speed than most people have or need in their home setup.

Maybe I cant visualize this because I've never run any cabling through a wall...I actually have no idea what's behind drywall. If the source is in the basement, and the endpoint is on the 2nd floor....how can you use the new cable as a guide? It's at least 20 feet beneath you and through multiple floors and walls. The drywall will almost certainly be in place already, at least on the ground and 2nd floor.

I'm assuming conduit is exactly what it sounds like...a nice big hollow tube, where you just keep pushing until it comes out the other end. Is installing that pretty much impossible if the drywall is already up?

Is there a good primer video on how to run cable through walls?

 

[VirtualLarry]

A friend was getting a new house built, several years ago. I told him to get it wired with ethernet. The installer stapled the lines down. Is that bad practice?

 

[Mushkins]

Maybe I cant visualize this because I've never run any cabling through a wall...I actually have no idea what's behind drywall. If the source is in the basement, and the endpoint is on the 2nd floor....how can you use the new cable as a guide? It's at least 20 feet beneath you and through multiple floors and walls. The drywall will almost certainly be in place already, at least on the ground and 2nd floor.

It depends on specifically what part of the drywall you're looking behind You know all those electrical sockets, water faucets, lights, and fans in your home? They're not all magic, there's all sorts of wires and pipes in your walls connecting them together. There's also all the studs, beams, and crossbeams actually holding your house together, and don't forget insulation materials for the outward facing walls. *Thats* what's behind the drywall, it's usually not just a hollow recess. Plus god knows what the original builders dumped in there assuming no one would find it (We found an old baseball card in my wall when they did my Cat6 )This is why ideally you want to install your cables in a brand new home with proper conduit while it's being built, at the same time the plumbers are doing the pipes and the electricians are doing all the electrical, *before* the drywall goes up. Installing in a house after the drywall is up is considerably more expensive and time consuming, but it can be done.

As for using it as a guide, yes, the existing cable is buried in the wall navigating that maze of pipes and wires. However, that cable has two know endpoints where it comes *out* of the wall. Pulling the whole thing out and re-navigating that maze from scratch would be a nightmare, luckily you already have a nice big copper string that goes through it all Tape up the new cable securely to one end, go to the other end, and as you pull the old cable out you're simultaneously replacing it with the new. Cut the old stuff loose, install the new stuff on the wall plates, and seal it back up. Bam, done, without putting a single hand in the wall. It's a *little* more complicated than that in practice, but that's the general idea.

I'm assuming conduit is exactly what it sounds like...a nice big hollow tube, where you just keep pushing until it comes out the other end. Is installing that pretty much impossible if the drywall is already up?

Yep, that's what conduit is. Yep, if the drywall is already up it's probably not worth the hassle. Still useful in attics/basements/crawlspaces though where you have easy access to the cables to protect them.

Is there a good primer video on how to run cable through walls?

I don't have anything off the top of my head, but i'm sure youtube has a billion videos on the subject.

A friend was getting a new house built, several years ago. I told him to get it wired with ethernet. The installer stapled the lines down. Is that bad practice?

I cringed. Yes, this is about as bad a practice as you can get. He probably just asked the electrician to do it instead of getting a real datacom certified installer to do it. Cat5/Cat6 works on the concept of very delicate twisted pairs of copper wire inside. Pinching those pairs under a staple at best will mess with the twists and throw your cable out of spec but it'll still work. At worst it could damage or completely break some of the internal wires, making the entire cable worthless.

 

[aigomorla]

wire your home with fiber, for 40Gig-E over fiber. That's the only way to be future-proof.

(well, plus two Cat6a drops)

Is there any way to wire the walls with fiber, and convert it to ethernet at the terminals? How much more expensive than ethernet are we talking about?

he's totally kidding...
the 40Gb hardware alone would probably cost more then all the PC's collectively u own inside the house.



Here is how i have my home network setup.

ARRIS Docsis3.0 modem -> Intel Atom Smoothbox router -> 16port 1GB switch -> Connects to everything in the house.
I have Wifi IP cameras... i have 3 wifi access points scattered thoughout the house connected to that switch.

U dont need a 16 port, but i didnt want to have to cross wire more switchs onto it...

A friend was getting a new house built, several years ago. I told him to get it wired with ethernet. The installer stapled the lines down. Is that bad practice?

his past job must of been a cable company install...

 

[alkemyst]

A friend was getting a new house built, several years ago. I told him to get it wired with ethernet. The installer stapled the lines down. Is that bad practice?

It's not recommended, but chances are he is fine...only testing the bandwidth would tell you for sure.

With 802.11ac and the future wireless types, Ethernet to a client is going away.

 

[Mushkins]

It's not recommended, but chances are he is fine...only testing the bandwidth would tell you for sure.

With 802.11ac and the future wireless types, Ethernet to a client is going away.

Wireless will never reach speed, security, or reliability parity with wired connections unless we simply stop developing wired technologies, and even then we're essentially trying to beat physics. For a lot of people wireless is "good enough" as long as they can open facebook and watch grainy youtube videos, but i'm not seeing any motherboard manufacturers rushing out to dump the onboard NIC anytime soon

 

[alkemyst]

Wireless will never reach speed, security, or reliability parity with wired connections unless we simply stop developing wired technologies, and even then we're essentially trying to beat physics. For a lot of people wireless is "good enough" as long as they can open facebook and watch grainy youtube videos, but i'm not seeing any motherboard manufacturers rushing out to dump the onboard NIC anytime soon

It's going to be way better than 'grainy' videos. While you may not be seeing manufacturers dumping NICs (they didn't dump parallel either for a long time). Businesses are going for wireless more and more to the clients.