Wired house network (advice)

[manwithnoname]

I’m currently getting my house rewired and I'm considering putting in a wired network while I have the opportunity. (I'm looking for a distraction from the 7 rooms I need to decorate).

Think I have 7 ports to wire, I’ll be connecting it all to a 1Gbit switch. It's a semi detached house so I can see no cable runs been more that 100m so I will use cat5e unless someone can give a good reason for cat6.

What I have:
Back boxes
NTL modem
4 port router

What else I think I need:
Face plates
Modules
Cable (solid)
[Patch Panel + Couplers] or I might put sockets in the room with the switch
Cable (Strand) for patch cables
Male Connectors - for patch cables
8 port Gbit switch
Tools
Testing equipment - I have 3 pcs, so I can stick a pc at the each end of a cable for testing or is there a particular piece of equipment someone would recommend?

The only bit of wired networking I’ve done is making a few BNC cables donkeys years ago. A summary of the tools required and any tips from anyone who has done this. I'm continuing my research on the net and I have just read there are 2 wiring schemes 568A and 568B, may be an idiots guide would be handy.

[kidzer]

T568A and B are the different ways for arranging the wires in an Ethernet cable, yes.

T568B is the one used for straight cables oddly enough (I think).

Here's a link that explains the difference better than the rubbish ASCII Diagram I just spend the last 10mins on and realised it was rubbish!

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/diff568ab.htm

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cable (Solid)" and "Cable (Strand)" for the cables, Cat5(e) etc all use regular UTP Cable (AWG 24 if memory serves, but thats not really relevant), its just the pinouts at the end that change what type of cable it is (Straight/Crossover/Rollover).

Anyways, enjoy your cabling adventure, im looking to do a similar thing in the future

[Phil_P]

One piece of advice - buy a decent crimping tool, one of the ratchet types. They're not cheap (can be £50 upwards), but the cheap variety are awful if you've got more than the odd terminal to put on.

It doesn't really matter if you use T568A or T568B so long as you're consistent. I prefer T568B personally. Here's a better schematic:

http://www.incentre.net/incentre/frame/ethernet.html

Don't bother making your own patch cables, you can buy them cheaper than you can make them yourself. Check out screwfix, for example:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31844&ts=37705

If you have cable and plugs left over from a bulk purchase, then fair enough, but I'd buy rather than plan on making patch cables.

You can get a network cable testing tool but all it is is 8 flashing LEDs that tell you that you have a connection on each pin. It's just as easy on a small job like yours to plug a PC in and see if it works. Spend the cash you save on a decent crimping tool

Only other thing is to avoid kinking the cable when you're routing it. Do shallow curves, not tight 90 degree bends where possible and keep away from electrical wiring. Long parallel runs next to electrical wiring are bad, and where you must cross an electrical cable, do so at 90 degrees. Try and keep a minimum of 6" from electrical cables, and further from fluorescent lights, motors etc to avoid interference.

[Phil_P]

Oh, and the other way you can do a project like this and save a lot of hassle... buy long patch cables (20, 30 or 50m - whatever you need), and just cut one end off. Then run the plugged end from the main distribution switch to each room and terminate into a wall socket. Easy, no crimping/termination required as many wallplate sockets use punch down type connections (BT style). Quick and easy home wiring

[Jay]

why do you need all this bandwith?

If its just a simple network use home plug

Solid CAT5e is your best bet, its not that flexable but its resistant to almost all punishment, nothing worse than running a 70m run to find 2 weeks later its damaged and have to do it all again

[Lourdes]

Cat6 is higher quality and doesn't cost much more, I always recommend using it. Be sure to get a decent IDC punch down tool (Krone clone) and crimpers, should cost you just over £20 for those.
Don't bother ordering from a website, look for local suppliers to tradesmen because they're usually much cheaper and will carry all you need.

[mycarsavw]

http://www.cef.co.uk/

Try them for decent prices.

[manwithnoname]

...

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cable (Solid)" and "Cable (Strand)" for the cables...

Opps that Solid/Strand thing might be gibberish, I was half way through working out the items for my house rewire at the time, I was up to the immersion heater cable

Oh, and the other way you can do a project like this and save a lot of hassle... buy long patch cables (20, 30 or 50m - whatever you need), and just cut one end off. Then run the plugged end from the main distribution switch to each room and terminate into a wall socket. Easy, no crimping/termination required as many wallplate sockets use punch down type connections (BT style). Quick and easy home wiring

interesting idea, might consider this if I don't bother putting in face plates the room with my switch in.

why do you need all this bandwith?

If its just a simple network use home plug
...

One of those cases of: because I can

[Steve]

I just wired up the student flat I'm moving into.

Now obviously, because it's rented, the cable needs to be removeable, so instead of horizontal runs to faceplates and then patch leads, I just have really long patch leads between endpoints.

I bought 100m of stranded CAT5e. Stranded is more flexible and less prone to breaking than solid, which is why it's used for patch cables. CAT5e is, again, more flexible than CAT6.

At the point-of-presence I have my modem, router, and then an 8-port Gigabit switch (3com) which supports Jumbo frames... from my NAS testing I know that Jumbo frames can have a big performance advantage for sending files point to point.

The reason I did it was because wireless is crap, and I want to stream TV around the house.

[Jay]

serious if you don't need the bandwith save yourself the time and effort and go home plug. Its very good for general use.

[Phil_P]

Stranded vs solid core - like said above, stranded it usually used for patch cables whereas solid core is usually used on long permanent runs of cabling. Most 300m reels of Cat5/6 is solid core.

interesting idea, might consider this if I don't bother putting in face plates the room with my switch in.

Adding a patch panel and patch cables into the equation just complicates things and adds extra cost and unnecessary connections. I know it's how professional installations are done, but for a home wiring project, I just wouldn't go there.

When I wired my house, I simply ran a cable straight from the switch to each room and terminated in a wall mounted faceplate outlet that used punch down connections. The switch is tucked away in a cupboard out of sight and I can either plug my wireless access point in any room (so I get strong signal in that room) or plug the PC directly into the wall. If it's a room with more than one PC, like an office, just plug in another cheap 4 port switch in that room.

[Lourdes]

serious if you don't need the bandwith save yourself the time and effort and go home plug. Its very good for general use.

Except it costs a ton in comparison...

[aidanjt]

I’m currently getting my house rewired and I'm considering putting in a wired network while I have the opportunity. (I'm looking for a distraction from the 7 rooms I need to decorate).

Think I have 7 ports to wire, I’ll be connecting it all to a 1Gbit switch. It's a semi detached house so I can see no cable runs been more that 100m so I will use cat5e unless someone can give a good reason for cat6.

What I have:
Back boxes
NTL modem
4 port router

What else I think I need:
Face plates
Modules
Cable (solid)
[Patch Panel + Couplers] or I might put sockets in the room with the switch
Cable (Strand) for patch cables
Male Connectors - for patch cables
8 port Gbit switch
Tools
Testing equipment - I have 3 pcs, so I can stick a pc at the each end of a cable for testing or is there a particular piece of equipment someone would recommend?

The only bit of wired networking I’ve done is making a few BNC cables donkeys years ago. A summary of the tools required and any tips from anyone who has done this. I'm continuing my research on the net and I have just read there are 2 wiring schemes 568A and 568B, may be an idiots guide would be handy.

Get yourself a 16port gigabit switch, I got a netgear GS116 last year for £116, worth every penny, you never know when you have to run more cables in the future so space to grow your network is important. Cat5e is fine, in fact it's less of a hassle to crimp and it supports gigabit datarates so that will be fine. Use TIA 568A wiring schema for your runs and patch cables, TIA 568B is for the opposite side of a crossover cable (the GS116 features CSMA/CD and "AutoLink" to figure out what kind of cable it's connected with so it automatically works with either straight through or crossover cable). As others mentioned a high quality crimping tool is a must, and a multimeter might come in handy too.

[manwithnoname]

Get yourself a 16port gigabit switch, I got a netgear GS116 last year for £116, worth every penny, you never know when you have to run more cables in the future so space to grow your network is important. Cat5e is fine, in fact it's less of a hassle to crimp and it supports gigabit datarates so that will be fine. Use TIA 568A wiring schema for your runs and patch cables, TIA 568B is for the opposite side of a crossover cable (the GS116 features CSMA/CD and "AutoLink" to figure out what kind of cable it's connected with so it automatically works with either straight through or crossover cable). As others mentioned a high quality crimping tool is a must, and a multimeter might come in handy too.

A 16 port switch is a good idea thanks.

Can any one recommend a crimp tool and a tool to wire up the modules?

[aidanjt]

I got something like this myself:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...23257&doy=22m7

The rachet design is pretty reliable, you'll feel when it's made a successful crimp.

[med2003]

This may sounds like a dumb question, but if I want gigabit ethernet around the house, (I do have a gigabit router), would I need any special cabling or would plain old Cat5 do it?