Wiring House With CAT5 For Ethernet?

[Hideous_Hog]

I'm going to start this project next month, planning for 4 rooms with RJ45 connectors in the wall. As of now I have no broadband, but I want to network, and anticipate either DSL or cable. Questions:

1. Where should I plan to hub everything? Will any place that has a phone jack and a cable jack nearby work, or does the hub have to be at the source of both phone and cable?

2. What is the cost-effective route to go with the cable and wall jacks? Buying patch cable with connectors will cost about $20 per cable strand (say 40'-60' per room).

3. I have an existing cheap 4 port hub that has an "uplink" port. Will this be sufficient for 4 rooms AND broadband, or will I need something else?

4. I have never tried applying a RJ45 to raw CAT5 cable, nor applying it to wall jacks. Do you need special tools? Is the tool expensive?

A newbie, but wants to learn :-]

 

[Lord Evermore]

Most broadband routers come with either a single Ethernet port or a 4 port hub/switch built in. If you get the 4 port kind, then that plus your 4 port switch will be enough for 4 rooms, plus you'll have 2 left over for future connections. (The connection between the router and the switch will require one port each. The uplink port is usually shared with one of the standard ports, so that you can use either of them but not both at the same time.)

If you wire a single cable to each room, you could then put a hub or switch in each room to allow multiple computers to share that connection. The speed difference will be negligible, since Ethernet is so much faster than any broadband connection you'd be getting.

For DSL, any phone jack can be used to carry it, as long as it's going over the same wire (most residential does). If you've got to get a dedicated line installed, then you'd just have it installed where you want to put the router. For cable, the cable company can use the existing cable wire and jack, they just have to put a filter on it possibly, or maybe even nothing. As long as the signal to the jack is good, you should be able to use it.

You should put the broadband connection and router+switch in a room that's easily accessible, so that anybody can get to it to do things like rebooting the switch or router or DSL/Cable modem (this has to be done on a regular basis for most people, but not at times that you can schedule; the modems just tend to lock up or need to be reset due to network problems with your provider). So don't put it into one person's bedroom where nobody else is allowed to go or something like that. However you certainly don't want it all sitting on your kitchen counter.

It's not hard to make your own cables, and much cheaper than buying premade cables. All that's required is an RJ45 crimper, which can be bought for 15 dollars or less. Just get a cable diagram for straight-through Cat5 Ethernet so you know what wires to put where on the connector. You may make a few bad ones at first, but eventually you'll get it. Buy the cable in bulk like a 500 foot roll if you can get it. The more per roll the cheaper per foot. You'll want to test each cable by connecting it between computers and the switch and seeing if you can get a good network connection and throughput, before you run it through the walls or tack it to the baseboards. You should try a few short ones to make sure you've got the hang of making them, before going for the 50+ foot ones (though you can always just snip off the ends and try again, only losing an inch or so on each end).

Putting the cable to the wall jacks I'm not so sure about, but I can't imagine it takes anything more than a crimper as well.

 

[OJ]

I wired my house with cat5 cable and rj45's in modular jacks in the wall. I got everything at Home Depot, no tool needed with the 10-pack of connectors, they supply a pushdown tool. Get "blue" plenum cable and my old 10mbps hub worked until I got a 100 mbps router. I put my hub and central hookup in the basement to get it out of the way.

 

[TheBigZ]

I wired my previous house with cat5 in nearly every room. Then I bought a new place. Ugh.

Anyway, yes it's something best done with the right tools. A crimper for doing the cable plug ends is almost a must. A punchdown tool for doing the wall outlets makes life a little easier, but I did mine without one. I used a small screwdriver and was very careful.

But if you don't object, I'd like to offer up something for your consideration. When I moved, I got all set to start wiring this place. Then Linksys & a couple other companies started coming out with 11mb wireless. Wireless is starting to really blossom now, with Linksys announcing a dozen or so new products at Comdex. There are really on two possibly serious drawbacks to wireless. Price... yeah, it MAY be cheaper to wire your house, but you can expand as you need to with wireless. And wireless also gives you an outdoor (or possibly even another building) option that wired probably wouldn't. The second issue is that it's only 11mb/s. Here it depends on what your main reason for the wiring is. If you just want to share your band throughout your house, then 11mb/s will probably do the trick, since I doubt your cable or dsl is even half that fast anyway. If however, you were wiring mainly to share files, then yeah... 11mb/s will suck compared to up to 100mb/s ether. I opted to wait a little while longer. The new offerings from
Linksys look promising. You may want to give some of this a little more time to come down in price & go wireless.

 

[Windogg]

Home Depot should have everything you need. Consinder getting a patch panel to punch down all the wires. Its more attractive than having strands of wire dangling out of a hole in the wall. It also makes it easier to organize/document where each port is in the house and provide a place to add more ports.

Plus like OJ said, get "Plenum" wire to comply with local fire codes. Using satndard PVC behind the wall may be problematic if you want to sell it later.

Windogg

 

[Lord Evermore]

What exactly is plenum wire? Just wire that the plastic won't melt on or burst into flames?

 

[Windogg]

Plenium wire does not give off toxic smoke when burned. Sounds kinds silly since any heat source that would cause network wiring to burn would ignite many other items that are toxic. Many places have regulations requiring plenum wire when used behind walls and in ceiling boards. It does cost a lot more (anywhere from $100 - $300 for 1,000 feet). Its always best to check local fire codes before wiring.

Windogg

 

[Mday]

plenum refers to the jacket... and it's fire (as in smoke and fire) protection

 

[Mday]

http://timlau.home.acedsl.com/crimping/crimping.htm

i haven't made any changes, and things should be changed, but i don't care...

making your own cables is cheaper... shop around.

prices on the cabling have LOWERED a lot.


---

if you go full out on the tools, expect to pay like $200 for tools, includes crimper\cutter (for plugs), punch down tool (for jacks), tester, and some stuff i don't remember... unless you get a kit which should cost less...

 

[Mday]

arstechnica did an article on this, go there....

http://arstechnica.com/guide/networking/installation-1.html

 

[Hideous_Hog]

Thanks all.

 

[Pastore]

Quick comment, I wouldn't reccommend getting a cheap punch tool. I bought a cheap one (12 bucks) and when I punched down the wires, the tool did not make a clean cut, and only about 50% of my cables worked. Before you ask, I used the punch tool correctly.

 

[Supergax]

I'm a recent veteran of the Home Depot method. The stuff is made by Leviton Telecom, and it's called QuickPort. The punchdown tool that comes with it worked fine for me, I had no problems, things are working great now.

 

[cavingjan]

I finished wiring two houses lately for cat5. Some rules of thumb:
1. Always run twice as many lines as you think you are going to need. They can always be used for more ethernet or telephone connections.
2. always run a pull string with it as long as you are going through the hassle of running new lines.
3. patch panels are the say to go. This this type of project, make it permanent. Don't just use cat5 with male connectors on the end. (you'll probably be using solid core wire which doesn't handle the moving around and rerouting that stranded does) Plus it adds some flexibility. I'm still using one of my ethernet connections as a phoneline until I can move this router downstairs.
4. home run all the wiring into a nice little area. Be warned. No matter how much you try to keep in organized, it'll still look ugly to other people. GF likes the network but hates to look at the cabling in the basement. Put it all in an area that can be closed but easily accessible (under the stairs is a wonderful location with a door closing it in and hiding it)
5. Plenium is nice but check with code before you spend the extra money. Codes around here only require it if it is being used around heating ducts.
6. For the most part, you can use the same outlets that are being used for the coax or phone if you are able to run lines to them. Otherwise you'll have to put in new boxes. I was lucky to be able to get to 3 boxes easily and only needed to cut a hole in the wall for the office and that I put in the closet.
7. there was something else but I can't remember it now. Oh well, I'll edit this when I think of it.

EDIT: HomeDepot currently has cat5e for $60 for a 1000ft spool. Cheapest I could find anywhere including the internet. Their Plenum however is expensive.

 

[DaddyG]

Regular cable has a PVC sheath, thats polyvinylchloride. The Chloride turns to Chlorine gas when it burns, not good VERY toxic. Plenum cable is made of Teflon, not toxic when it burns. To comply with code, even the cable ties need to be Teflon, those guys are very expensive.

 

[cavingjan]

I did some checking on building codes in Maryland. Until Plenum is required for residential phone connections, it will be fine to use regular cat5 for data too. When I added a second phone line, I discovered that the contractor used cat5 instead of cat3. Not that it makes a difference. Now for commercial buildings, you must use Plenum.

 

[td]

Question? What is the main reason for wirung your house? Is it so that you can plug in a laptop in several rooms or do you plan on moving your computer around to different rooms? I guess what I am asking is what other reasons or applications are there for wiring your house/

 

[Supergax]

I wired my house due to the fact that the cable modem and one computer is on the first floor, on the opposite side of the house from the second, which is upstairs. I had a 100ft cat5 patch cable running up the stairs, and finally became sick of tripping on it. I ended up running coax and cat5 down along side a ventalation pipe in the attic to the basement and across to the other side of the house to come up onto the first floor. With the patch panels it looks very professional, and really didn't take as long as I thought it may.

 

[office boy]

There should be no problem using regular PVC Cat5 cable for your home wiring. What do you think all the power wire is your house is wrapped with?

 

[Sir Fredrick]

I recently wired a brand new building for my dad's business. Small 5 computer network. A 500ft spool will be plenty, get a crimp tool and some rj-45 connectors and you're set. The wall plates are not hard to wire, they come with instructions and they require no special tool, just a phillips screwdriver.

The suggestion of running more wires than needed is a good one, also be sure to give yourself some wiggle room. i.e. when you feed through the wire, feed through a couple extra feet, and then when you cut it at the other end, do the same. That way if you screw up and you have to cut the wire, or if it needs to be moved or what have you, it won't cause any problems.

The hardest part of the whole process is actually running the cables through the wall. I suggest using a snake of some sort, and if you can't run the wire down the wall, try running the snake up the wall and tying the wire to the snake.
If you don't have drop ceilings the process is a lot more difficult.

Oh yeah, one more thing...keep that cat5 far away from flourescent lights!

 

[DaddyG]

Plenum cable (teflon coated) is only required IF the cable is located in an air return/supply duct. If not, then PVC is fine.

 

[cavingjan]

I've used both a good punch down tool and a freebie that came with a phone jack. I liked the real punch down tool but I just don't see a value in paying $30 for a good one with only 4 jacks to complete. It makes a huge difference in professional appearance. I'd like to think I take pride in my work.

 

[HaVoC]

<< 3. I have an existing cheap 4 port hub that has an &quot;uplink&quot; port. Will this be sufficient for 4 rooms AND broadband, or will I need something else? >>

None of the other excellent replies addressed this question so I guess I'll do that.

A 4 port hub is NOT enough ports for 4 rooms and broadband. Your WAN port on the hub will be the uplink port which connects the hub to your cable router and modem and hence the Internet. The way hubs work is that the 4th port is used as an &quot;uplink&quot; port when connecting to another hub or router and this means that port can't be hooked up to a room. For 4 rooms + uplink you will need at least a 5 port hub.

And since you are making the investment for cables and supplies why not look into an inexpensive switch like the Linksys or Netgear products. The speed of 100 base-T switched ethernet makes it worth it and for a small amount of ports that a home network requires the switch is not much more expensive than a hub. With hard drive space becoming so cheap these days you can use one of your computers as a central file/print server and backup/store data through the network.

Lastly, take care when making the cables. While it is not rocket science, it certainly takes some practice to get the connectors right. The most important thing of ethernet is that the speed and reliability of the connections depends greatly upon the &quot;twists&quot; in the conductor pairs. The twists prevent &quot;crosstalk&quot; which is unwanted noise picked up from adjacent conductors. When stripping ends of cable to make male RJ-45 connectors, unwind as little of the conductors as possible where they insert into the connector. There should be no more than 1&quot; length of untwisted conductors.

 

[Sukhoi]

<< Plenum cable (teflon coated) is only required IF the cable is located in an air return/supply duct. If not, then PVC is fine. >>



But, is there really a problem using PVC in a cold air return duct, other than building code? I was just going to run a standard snagless PVC line.