Home Network Hand-holding

[pgreenwood]

While this may have been asked and answered already I’d like to verify my understanding with your assistance. I debated putting it in “Highly Technical” but decided it really wasn’t that.

My home was wired with Cat5e cable apparently intended to support telephone service primarily. The Network Interface Device is located outside the house. The homerun of cables from the main floor of this single-story home is located in the basement. A schematic of the connections is attached.

or http://imgur.com/ODMWcl4

The Cox ISP feed comes to a ZOOM 5350 combo cable modem / router which has four ports. All are currently used so I’ll need a switch with sufficient ports to handle the remaining circuits and future expansion. Will there be any trick to adding a switch to the 5350 to get additional ports?

The homerun Cat5e cables are terminated at RJ11 plates. The home ends of these cables are hanging loose in the basement since we never installed a landline phone (as the installer apparently assumed we would do).
My plan based on what I’ve read in the sticky and other resources on and off this site is to:

(a) properly clean up the loose ends of the unattached Cat5es into a 110 block or patchpanel. (You don’t have a separate block and patch panel. You just terminate cables into the patch panel, right? The number of panel ports, switch ports and cables is 1:1:1, correct?

(b) Don’t make (crimp) any patch cables.

(c) re-wire the RJ11 terminations with R45 keystones.
As for the daisy-chained situations, consider the MasterBR and Family Room are approximately 1M (3ft) apart. For the MasterBR-Family Room trunk, my options as I see them are:

(1) add a switch in the MasterBR to feed the Family Room and the bedroom

(2) patch the MasterBR keystone to the Family Room keystone located in the MasterBedroom assuming I don’t need service to the MasterBR. Can this work at all? If something else is needed by way of amplification or otherwise, what do you suggest? or

(3) homerun another cable to the Family Room if I want service to both locations.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Cerb]

a) Yes. Ethernet is point to point. If you have 4 devices, you need 4 separate cables, not considering switches. There's also rarely a good use for a block, rather than a patch panel, unless it's for phones. You can use right-angle brackets, or space it with wood blocks, and have a nice little rackmount patch panel w/o a rack.

b) Online, premade cables are cheap, and tracking down a bad crimp can waste time. If putting in the networking for someone else, yes, try to avoid making your own cables whenever possible. But, that's mostly a matter time and cost, which doesn't apply so much to home implementations. So, if you have the cable, crimper, connectors, and time, why not? If you're lacking those, including time, then cables from Monoprice, Firefold, Kong, etc. are the way to go.

Also, on that note, if you do have to try tracking down such issues, note that cable testers typically do not test connectivity, and most that claim to don't do it well enough. Switches, routers, and netbooks are good tools to use, and which you already have, mostly likely, should there be a problem that doesn't show up on a cheap tester.

c) Yes. IMO, choose 3, and get it out of the way now. In the short-term, a switch works, but it's more annoying long-term, and if you have the switch, you won't go redo it later. By having wired the connections already, you should be able to either get to them easily, or use what's there to help fish new cables. While you're already dealing with the other cables, it won't be too much trouble to add a few, compared to the planning, wind-up, and clean-up, of doing it sometime down the road.

Also, at the distances of runs in a typical house, Cat5e is likely to handle 10GbE, once it finally comes down in cost. If you have to buy new cable, you might as well make it 6, and curse it as you install it, but if you have 5 left, it aught to be good enough for years to come.

 

[evilspoons]

Cat 7 is actually available now, so for any new cable purchases I'd go with at least Cat 6, and personally, I'd buy Cat 7.

Just make sure you document which cables are new Cat 6/7 and which are existing 5/5e so you can figure out why 10 GbE works in certain parts of your house but not in others. Haha.

 

[pgreenwood]

If you have 4 devices, you need 4 separate cables, not considering switches.

Let's say I have 24 cables terminated in a 24-port patchbay. The modem/router has 4 ports. When, if ever, is it appropriate or likely to matter whether I use one 24-port switch or four 6-port switches? Thanks.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Don't forget that you will need to use ports to plug the switch or switches into the main modem/router.

 

[Cerb]

Let's say I have 24 cables terminated in a 24-port patchbay. The modem/router has 4 ports. When, if ever, is it appropriate or likely to matter whether I use one 24-port switch or four 6-port switches? Thanks.

When/if you use most of your ports, and/or want to neaten up your cabling.

 

[pgreenwood]

One router port for the 24 switch=26. Two ports; two 12-switches=24 etc. Maybe several switches=more flexibility or efficiency?

 

[Cerb]

Bandwidth gains from multiple unmanaged switches are generally hypothetical only.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I'd go with two 16's...

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page...gabit%20switch

 

[imagoon]

Let's say I have 24 cables terminated in a 24-port patchbay. The modem/router has 4 ports. When, if ever, is it appropriate or likely to matter whether I use one 24-port switch or four 6-port switches? Thanks.

Price and features is the only reason. You don't gain performance using 4 6 ports or 2 12 ports.

If a 24 Port is $15 / port and does everything you need, and 12 is $17 port (+ electrical etc), you buy the 24 port.