Cat 7 home network wiring questions

[LintMan]

As part of some other electrical work I'm getting done on my house, I'd like to have the electricians run some CAT 7 (or 7A?) to a few places around the house from my office where the FIOS router is to spread wired gigabit internet to those places. The CAT 7/7A is mainly a future-proofing measure at this point.

How I envision this setup:
- FIOS router to gigabit ethernet switch to be acquired.
- 4 short (5') ethernet cables from switch to nearby quad wall plate. Quad wall plate to be acquired.
- 4 CAT 7/7A lines run approx 130' or so from quad wall plate through walls to single wall plates around the house. Single wall plates to be acquired.
- Various TV's. game consoles, PC's etc connect to internet via single wall jacks at various spots around house.

The electrician said they could do it, but seemed kind of unfamiliar with CAT 7 and I agreed to provide the cable, wall plates, and jacks and plugs as a cost savings since they don't stock that stuff and would mark it up on me. I don't know exactly what I need for the wiring and am getting lost in the weeds of GG45 jacks, keystones modues, CAT 7 or 7A crimp plugs, and which tools they'll need. I'm disabled and doing this work myself would be hard, but I'll need to provide them some guidance and baybe the proper tools. I really need some help here.

I also need to purchase the gigabit switch/ I need a lot of ports (beside the 4 CAT 7 long distance ones). Perhaps this one would be good? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00023DRL...colid=37G12RM0AP6OA&coliid=IHAY8MHQ3NL35&th=1 Would a managed switch be a better choice?

Thanks for your help!
-Lintman

 

[jlee]

I don't have answers to those questions, but I'd consider going with a PoE switch and some Unifi APs while you're at it.

 

[razel]

I take it the dry wall isn't up yet. If not have them run those Ethernet lines through a PVC pipe. Then you can upgrade yourself anytime. In the meantime, CAT7 is not official. Therefore you'll be at the mercy of marketing. Don't go ebay no-name brand cheap on your cable. If I were you I'd buy the CAT6A bulk from Blue Jeans or Monoprice. Blue Jeans is more likely Belden since they have Belden custom made their top-notch audio RCA cables. The jack keystones you can freely buy from your local Home Depot/Lowes. However having that PVC pipe in your wall will help you greatly in the future.

As for switches. I tend to buy the metal cased $20-$30 8port Gigabit TP-Links that look exactly like the Netgears. The metal TP-Links support IGMP snooping which isn't turn on on many of the lower priced Netgear. However the cheapest metal managed Netgears can be on sale which support many features of their more expensive models such as the new 8 port Nighthawk.

However, gigabits switches have gotten so cheap that even the $10 5 port Tenda's at Monoprice can be no-brainers and literal throw aways. $10 is sometimes three times the price for a Ethernet coupler at a B&M.

 

[rchunter]

Just get cat6. It's a whole lot cheaper and it will still support 10gb connections no problem. You can buy a 1000ft spool of Belden 2412 cat6 for under $200 from amazon. Cat6a will run you more like $500 a spool.

 

[mnewsham]

However, gigabits switches have gotten so cheap that even the $10 5 port Tenda's at Monoprice can be no-brainers and literal throw aways. $10 is sometimes three times the price for a Ethernet coupler at a B&M.

I'd be hesitant on cheaper switches simply because you're going to have true gigabit service.

With 300-500mbps, pretty much any gigabit switch/NIC/router etc will be able to handle the speeds, at full 940/880mbps however you'll be at the limit of the specification.

Not that you need to spend a fortune on switches or anything, but something to keep in mind.

I've already seen some marvel chipsets in gigabit NICs top out at ~400mbps.

Enjoy the service though, I know I do.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Since when did FIOS raise their max speeds to gigabit? That IS impressive.

 

[mnewsham]

Since when did FIOS raise their max speeds to gigabit? That IS impressive.

It's limited roll out in certain areas, started in New york, now it's hit DC/Baltimore and Northern Virginia, and Boston areas. Though even in those markets, if your local CO hasn't upgraded yet, it wont be available to you.

And yes, from my experiences so far, the speeds are impressive.

They wanted $124.99 for JUST gigabit internet service, but if you sign up for TV and Phone service, I lowered it to $98.99 a month. Though I have no plans to use either phone or TV, I just wanted the lower price for Gigabit. Discount good for 24 months, the same length as my contract.

If you're a new customer you can get Gigabit for $80/month.

 

[13Gigatons]

As part of some other electrical work I'm getting done on my house, I'd like to have the electricians run some CAT 7 (or 7A?) to a few places around the house from my office where the FIOS router is to spread wired gigabit internet to those places. The CAT 7/7A is mainly a future-proofing measure at this point.

How I envision this setup:
- FIOS router to gigabit ethernet switch to be acquired.
- 4 short (5') ethernet cables from switch to nearby quad wall plate. Quad wall plate to be acquired.
- 4 CAT 7/7A lines run approx 130' or so from quad wall plate through walls to single wall plates around the house. Single wall plates to be acquired.
- Various TV's. game consoles, PC's etc connect to internet via single wall jacks at various spots around house.

The electrician said they could do it, but seemed kind of unfamiliar with CAT 7 and I agreed to provide the cable, wall plates, and jacks and plugs as a cost savings since they don't stock that stuff and would mark it up on me. I don't know exactly what I need for the wiring and am getting lost in the weeds of GG45 jacks, keystones modues, CAT 7 or 7A crimp plugs, and which tools they'll need. I'm disabled and doing this work myself would be hard, but I'll need to provide them some guidance and baybe the proper tools. I really need some help here.

I also need to purchase the gigabit switch/ I need a lot of ports (beside the 4 CAT 7 long distance ones). Perhaps this one would be good? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00023DRL...colid=37G12RM0AP6OA&coliid=IHAY8MHQ3NL35&th=1 Would a managed switch be a better choice?

Thanks for your help!
-Lintman

Not worth the money. Cat 6 can run the new Ethernet standards at 5 and 10 Gigabits. The equipment will arrive this year or maybe next year. Some motherboards are already showing up with the new 5 Gb/s port.
Cat 5e = 5Gb/s at 55m (178 feet)
Cat 6 = 10Gb/s at 55m (178 feet)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2.5GBASE-T_and_5GBASE-T


Also newer Cat 8 is coming down the road that will support 40Gbps....can never really future proof.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's limited roll out in certain areas, started in New york, now it's hit DC/Baltimore and Northern Virginia, and Boston areas. Though even in those markets, if your local CO hasn't upgraded yet, it wont be available to you.

And yes, from my experiences so far, the speeds are impressive.

They wanted $124.99 for JUST gigabit internet service, but if you sign up for TV and Phone service, I lowered it to $98.99 a month. Though I have no plans to use either phone or TV, I just wanted the lower price for Gigabit. Discount good for 24 months, the same length as my contract.

If you're a new customer you can get Gigabit for $80/month.

SIGH.

I wish I could get that. I just checked, and the fastest FIOS I can get at the moment is 500/500, for the cheap, cheap price of $300/mo. 🙁

 

[mnewsham]

SIGH.

I wish I could get that. I just checked, and the fastest FIOS I can get at the moment is 500/500, for the cheap, cheap price of $300/mo. 🙁

Yeah If I go to the FiOS website, even "upgrading" to 25mbps will increase my bill by $15.

"upgrading" to 500/500mbps would cost me $220 more.

1gbps though, locked in for 2 years at ~$100.


The gigabit service should be rolling out to other markets, so if it's not available yet, keep checking.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is cat 7 officialized yet? If not I'd stick with cat6 or whatever is the latest version of cat6. (cat6a I think?). Honestly, gig between client devices is fast enough - I could even get away with 10/100 myself if I had to tbh.

Behind the server rack is where 10gig will really shine, ex: between servers/storage. Of course it never hurts to future proof, but cat6 will probably do 10gig anyway just like cat5e will do gig. It's just that it's not guarantee.

Either way whatever you go with, I would get the electrician to run all the cables but leave it up to you to terminate. Most electricians don't really seem to be good at data. Ex: they don't realize there is a minimum untwist length etc. A lot of them just treat it like electrical.

 

[LintMan]

Weird - I wrote a long reply on Monday that appeared to have gone up, and now there's no damn trace of it.

I don't have the heart to try to rewrite everything I had wrote, so I'll trim it down to my main concern, but thanks for all the replies/comments, everyone!

This is an oldish house and we're not doing pipe for the cables, so upgrade later won't be easy. The cables will be snaking all over the house, so I'm concerned about interference. Even if I skip the cat7, I'd prefer to at least do cat6a for the increased resistance, but 6a is AWG23 also, so I have the same thickness issue with termination needing special hardware.
As I gather it, I should be able to use rj45 cat6a keystone jacks to terminate, and stick them in standard wall plates and then plug in my PCs/devices as normal. Is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[13Gigatons]

This is an oldish house and we're not doing pipe for the cables, so upgrade later won't be easy. The cables will be snaking all over the house, so I'm concerned about interference. Even if I skip the cat7, I'd prefer to at least do cat6a for the increased resistance, but 6a is AWG23 also, so I have the same thickness issue with termination needing special hardware.
As I gather it, I should be able to use rj45 cat6a keystone jacks to terminate, and stick them in standard wall plates and then plug in my PCs/devices as normal. Is that correct?

Thanks!

Standard Ethernet wires are between 22-26 gauge so you shouldn't need special hardware just use jacks that are same as the cable {6a cable to 6a jacks}. I also have an old home but have resorted to running the wires outside and then just drilling a hole in the wall and running the wires along the baseboard terminating at a baseboard jack. It's cheaper, easier to upgrade down the road. Everyone always wants everything inside the walls.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

They wanted $124.99 for JUST gigabit internet service, but if you sign up for TV and Phone service, I lowered it to $98.99 a month. Though I have no plans to use either phone or TV, I just wanted the lower price for Gigabit. Discount good for 24 months, the same length as my contract.

I think NYAA found a new home 😉

 

[mnewsham]

I think NYAA found a new home 😉

My ISP is fairly lenient on data use, but something tells me that attempting to host one of the worlds busiest websites (it was in the top 400 or 500 on Alexa rankings) would be a bit more than they'd be willing to allow for a residential line 😛


It would be cool though.