What do I need for Home wired network installation?

[pvcpro]

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this topic so apologies if not,

I'm in the process of refurbishing my home office and want to install cat6 and cctv wires into the wall.

I just need confirmation of what equipment I need and in which order it goes, I'll have the phone line into the master socket and a cat6 RJ11 to RJ45 cable (I read these are better than the flat ones supplied by my internet provider) from the BT master socket to the router, then what?

I'm thinking I should fit a 4 port RJ45 ethernet faceplate to the wall, run cat6 from the back of that, up the wall and into the back of other RJ45 ethernet faceplates in different rooms, then connect to various other things using cat6 cables (are these called patch leads?).

Is there anything else I need, I have seen ethernet switches mentioned many times during my research, will I need one and if so where will it need to be?

Also I'll have electric sockets fitted so will these need to be a certain distance from the master socket, router and ethernet faceplate or can it be all together?

I will be burying a few lengths of 20mm PVC conduit into the wall for feeding cable up into the loft.

Sorry if I have missed out any information,

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Celeronmanuk]

I guess the "proper" way of doing it would be to run all the network cables back to a rack mounted patch panel and then into a rack mounted switch. This is what I've done with about 20 face plates throughout the house. I'm about to add a load more as we've extended.

You would then just plug the broadband router into one of these.

 

[pvcpro]

Thanks for the reply, what is a rack mounted patch panel and rack mounted switch?

 

[Celeronmanuk]

This is similar to my setup

The equipment at the top is the patch panel. All the network cables from the face plates are terminated on the back of this.

You then connect each used port of the patch panel to a network switch (pink/orange cables).

For a very small wired network (say 4 face plates), you could do as you've said and run cables from each face plate in the office to a bank of face plates where your router is. You could then connect each of these to the 4 port switch in your router.

 

[pvcpro]

I'm so sorry, I'm confused already by just looking at that picture, I'm not tech minded enough to understand why that big thing would be better than the 4 port faceplate I saw on Amazon which just fits to the wall like a normal faceplate.
So do I need a switch then? and if so can you please explain why so I can try to understand a bit more, laymans terms if possible

 

[Keithmac]

You can't splice LAN cables or have 2 things running off 1 port at exactly the same time.

A Switch can split 1 active Port into 4 / 8 / 16 ports.

If you have a router with 4 LAN sockets on it and you want 4 separate sockets in 4 rooms then you can use your idea with 4 patch leads.

If you want to run more than 4 sockets then you need a Switch with the appropriate number of outlets. They're normally 4 port, so with that you'd end up with 7 outlets from your Router.

Running a rack and bigger Switches future proofs your installation, you always have spare LAN sockets available.

Personally I have had no issues with WIFI but every house is different.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Best

I'm so sorry, I'm confused already by just looking at that picture, I'm not tech minded enough to understand why that big thing would be better than the 4 port faceplate I saw on Amazon which just fits to the wall like a normal faceplate.

You might be better indicating how many actual LAN outlets you might need, or might wifi be adequate in some locations?

My setup is a modem /router where the phone comes in, in the loft. That has 4x ports, 1Ghz and 5Ghz wifi. One port is wired down to a repurposed modem router (old copper broadband modem) on the ground floor, which also has 1Ghz ad 5Ghz wifi, plus four ports. So three usable ports on the top floor, three usable ports on the ground floor, plus 2x 1Ghz wifi, plus 2x 5Ghz wifi access ports. Disable DHCP on the downstairs router and all works great.

One port on the top floor serves a really old modem router which has 1 B&W laser printer, plus 2x colour laser printers, all of which is powered via a wirelessly remote controlled 13amp socket. I just switch that lot on in those rare occasions when I need to print.

 

[pvcpro]

Okay so I just looked at a couple of switches on Amazon, there's a 5 port or 8 port Netgear one for under £20 and they don't look too big so I guess having one of those sat on my desk next to my router won't be an issue.
I reckon that would be plenty for my needs.
So I can have 3 ports from my router in the office to serve 3 things in the office then send 7 (if I get the 8 port switch) cables through the wall to serve 7 things elsewhere?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So I can have 3 ports from my router in the office to serve 3 things in the office then send 7 (if I get the 8 port switch) cables through the wall to serve 7 things elsewhere?

Yes!

 

[pvcpro]

Another question, could I get another router to put in the loft to improve wifi?

 

[Celeronmanuk]

Another question, could I get another router to put in the loft to improve wifi?

You can use old wireless routers as wireless access points. There are loads of guides if you google "how to turn a wifi router into an access point". Essentially you disable DHCP.

I've done just this with an old netgear router from an ISP. I set the same SSID so the device just switches to it when it's got the best signal.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Another question, could I get another router to put in the loft to improve wifi?

Yes! , but you would probably need to connect it to your other router via a wired LAN cable for best results.

 

[pvcpro]

Ok thanks, does that mean a cat6 cable directly from one router into the other or can it be, cable from router into RJ45 faceplate, RJ45 faceplate to RJ45 faceplate, RJ45 faceplate to router?

 

[Celeronmanuk]

Ok thanks, does that mean a cat6 cable directly from one router into the other or can it be, cable from router into RJ45 faceplate, RJ45 faceplate to RJ45 faceplate, RJ45 faceplate to router?

You could do either either. The second option requires a punch down tool which are pretty cheap. Also a cheap cable tester is very handy.

 

[pvcpro]

Ok great, I'm just trying to avoid having loose cables going into the walls, I'd rather plug into a fixed faceplate.
I already have a punch down tool and a cable stripper, I'll look into getting a cable tester.