equipment & estimated costs for basic home network

orange_smurf

orange_smurf

orange_smurf

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Hi!

I’m in the process of purchasing a house, and I'm designing a home network. I'm completely out of my comfort zone, so I would like some advice on the best approach, the necessary equipment, and rough cost estimates. I am comfortable cutting into the plaster walls etc.

Here’s what I plan to do (floor plan below):

I plan to fill the wall between the lounge and the study, so,
- Ethernet in the study/home office with a PC and a simple NAS (the Virgin Media Hub is installed here).
- Ethernet in the lounge for a TV.
- Run HDMI and USB from the HTPC to the TV through the wall for gaming, movies??

Also,
- Ethernet in all the bedrooms.
- Ensure Wi-Fi coverage for the rest of the house.
- Wi-Fi coverage in the garage, located at the rear of the house, which has power sockets.
- Security cameras on the outside (possibly five in total)

I would appreciate any advice! I've read some threads here and had to look up a few terms, so please keep it simple :)


Floor Plan:

 
Think about where you want your equipment first. Where will you store switches, routers, etc. Then plan how to span out from there to the various locations you need to reach and with what cabling.

If you want ethernet, get some cat6 reels and run them in pairs. Terminate the cables into some RJ45 wall sockets and you'll be golden on that front. Ethernet is especially good for security systems and POE cameras. You just need one cable and don't need to concern yourself with power reqs. Again, run cables in pairs, terminate into a wall socket, then use a patch lead out to the camera (space for the wall socket pertaining). Really good for loft wiring and then mounting the cameras on the roof soffit.

You can get DAC or fibre if you want to future proof for beyond 10Gb speeds, but cat6 will do 10Gb just fine.

I'm sure others will be along with some fine suggestions, too.
 
Thanks for starting my journey into the dark and twisted world of networking, @aaronyuri :)

Q: By running in pairs, do you mean using one cable terminating into two RJ45 wall sockets? The advantage of this setup would be connecting two devices in a room without needing a switch or hub.

Q: I came across an alternate "Through Coupler Faceplate" solution. Is there any downside to using this, or am I being lazy not terminating to cables myself?


Regarding placement and locations, I am considering keeping the VM Hub in the study and connecting the 10 Gbps port to an Asus ZenWiFi Mesh Router.

From the router, I plan to:
a) Run a cable outside to an ASUS ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor Router that supports PoE for garden coverage.
b) Connect to an Asus Node on the opposite side of the house for Wi-Fi coverage on the ground floor.
c) Run another cable into a switch in the loft. This switch will connect to each bedroom via Ethernet, along with the PoE cameras and another Asus Node for upstairs coverage.

Does this sound plausible, or am I spewing out gobbledegook?

Ta.
 
You're welcome.

Pairs meaning two separate cables terminating into two separate RJ45 ports. This means that, if you ever have any issues with one cable, you always have another cable on the same run.

Ethernet is very much point-to-point when it comes to cabling. You don't want to be in a situation where a cable fails and then you need to feed another cable through to restore service (conduit does at least make the cable replacement easier though).

There are a multitude of methods available to terminate RJ45. Choose whatever you think would be best for you. Personally, I like wall sockets because they go into single pattress boxes nicely. Easy to fish out of loft insulation, for example.

You don't need a router specifically for garden coverage - you could run some shielded cat6 by itself. It depends on distance and your garden aspirations, mostly. If you're just after WiFi coverage in the garden, there are outdoor suitable WAPs available for this purpose.

If you do plan on putting a switch in the loft, either make sure the switch is easily accessible or that you can access the power for the switch. If you ever need to reboot it, you don't want to be crawling through insulation to do so. You could kill your RCB/MCB instead but that's a choice you can now at least make consciously in advance.

Generally speaking, try to bear these specific thoughts in mind when you're planning these things:

Have an overall goal and stick to it. You can always upgrade and change things if you do it right in the first instance.
Always have your future plans in mind. For example, you don't think you need power today, but you might in a few years. Few years later you will thank yourself for running it.
Maintenance a few years down the line, not just meeting the needs of today and tomorrow. Unless you really like chasing and filling cable runs, of course!
 
Thanks for the additional information, @aaronyuri. You've given me a lot to think about. I've been looking at the Ubiquiti ecosystem and the UniFi Design Centre to give me an idea of the scope and costs.

@radderfire, Funnily enough, I was talking to someone about Reolink cameras. I'll take a look at the other thread.
 
Hi. To follow up on my question, I have decided to buy into the Ubiquiti/UniFi ecosystem for PoE cameras, Wi-Fi, and 10Gb Ethernet that I've drafted here: design.ui.com.

Laying cable shouldn't be an issue, but I'll need to get someone in to install the camera system. Google returns a few installation companies that I'm looking into. Can anyone recommend any home installers near the Midlands?

Ta.
 
orange_smurf said:
Q: I came across an alternate "Through Coupler Faceplate" solution. Is there any downside to using this, or am I being lazy not terminating to cables myself?
Click to expand...
The downside is that you would need holes in the wall big enough to allow an RJ45 connector through, rather than just the bare cable.

Presumably this means you have been looking at premade patch cables - which then means your measurements need to be pretty much spot on (as you will either come up short, or will end up with loops of extra cable that you have to "hide"), rather than just running cable, cutting to length and then terminating.
 
orange_smurf said:
Hi. To follow up on my question, I have decided to buy into the Ubiquiti/UniFi ecosystem for PoE cameras, Wi-Fi, and 10Gb Ethernet that I've drafted here: design.ui.com.

Laying cable shouldn't be an issue, but I'll need to get someone in to install the camera system. Google returns a few installation companies that I'm looking into. Can anyone recommend any home installers near the Midlands?

Ta.
Click to expand...
Personally, if I could muster up the funds, I'd go a different route, the UDR7 is a bit compromised, 1 x 4K camera and only micro-SD storage.. and it will limit the built in WiFi's location to a corner of the house and using Mesh access points is just wasting bandwidth/performance if you can wire everything..


The starter kit:
- UCG-F (plenty of oomph for 5 x 4K cameras, mega bandwidth for internet with all security features on, and even has PoE / 10G / 2.5G ports for itself)
- Pro Max 16 PoE switch
- 2 x U7 Pro XG Access Points
- G6 cameras as you can afford them (add them one at a time if needed)
- G6 Doorbell Lite is fine, as is the chime (both are PoE, hence the PoE switch being handy), I have the G6 standard doorbell and its a bit overkill!

I know it's more more money but:
- The UCG-F can handle 5 x 4K cameras and has an NVME tray (I have an 8TB nvme in mine, but a 2 or 4TB nvme would be fine), as well as masses of routing performance.
- I'd put a downstairs and upstairs access point (wired PoE) centrally located, the U7 Pro XGs are really good, I can max out my 1.6gbps internet connection from my phone..
- The 16 port PoE switch has 2.5g PoE++ ports (4) as well as 1G PoE+ ports (12) and even has 2 x 10G SFP ports (so a cheap SFP premade fibre cable can connect the UCG-F to the Switch for 10G bandwidth)

Physical location for kit is always flexible, I have my main PoE Switch in the loft and that can eailiy wire to the cameras (all mounted on the soffits), the upstairs ceiling mounted Wifi AP/ and also an outdoor AP on the back of the house.. Then a service void (vent pipe ) allowed me to drop a premade fibre cable to join the switch and UCF-G with 10G, then I also went out the loft, down a drainpipe and found an almost completely hidden route to my front door for the doorbell (PoE)..
I then found a route through the airing cupboard to wire a centrally located downstairs access point, so all my internal cabling is now hidden and you'd be hard pushed to spot the external cabling as it's hidden by the drainpipe..

I did have the thought of running the incoming internet through to the loft as well and just moving the router up there, but as it happens, since it has 2.5G and other ports, I have it connected to a few things as a mini switch..


Installing cameras is easy enough, they are just ethernet devices screwed on a wall or soffit or similar, of course you need ladders which may be your compromise, but I wouldn't pay 'extra' for a specific camera installer for these, they are plug and play effectively..
 
Last edited:
Armageus said:
The downside is that you would need holes in the wall big enough to allow an RJ45 connector through, rather than just the bare cable.

Presumably this means you have been looking at premade patch cables - which then means your measurements need to be pretty much spot on (as you will either come up short, or will end up with loops of extra cable that you have to "hide"), rather than just running cable, cutting to length and then terminating.
Click to expand...

I agree with your suggestion. Until I have a better look at the house, I will hold off on that decision and focus on the hardware components instead.



Demon said:
Personally, if I could muster up the funds, I'd go a different route, the UDR7 is a bit compromised, 1 x 4K camera and only micro-SD storage.. and it will limit the built in WiFi's location to a corner of the house and using Mesh access points is just wasting bandwidth/performance if you can wire everything..


The starter kit:
- UCG-F (plenty of oomph for 5 x 4K cameras, mega bandwidth for internet with all security features on, and even has PoE / 10G / 2.5G ports for itself)
- Pro Max 16 PoE switch
- 2 x U7 Pro XG Access Points
- G6 cameras as you can afford them (add them one at a time if needed)
- G6 Doorbell Lite is fine, as is the chime (both are PoE, hence the PoE switch being handy), I have the G6 standard doorbell and its a bit overkill!

I know it's more more money but:
- The UCG-F can handle 5 x 4K cameras and has an NVME tray (I have an 8TB nvme in mine, but a 2 or 4TB nvme would be fine), as well as masses of routing performance.
- I'd put a downstairs and upstairs access point (wired PoE) centrally located, the U7 Pro XGs are really good, I can max out my 1.6gbps internet connection from my phone..
- The 16 port PoE switch has 2.5g PoE++ ports (4) as well as 1G PoE+ ports (12) and even has 2 x 10G SFP ports (so a cheap SFP premade fibre cable can connect the UCG-F to the Switch for 10G bandwidth)

Physical location for kit is always flexible, I have my main PoE Switch in the loft and that can eailiy wire to the cameras (all mounted on the soffits), the upstairs ceiling mounted Wifi AP/ and also an outdoor AP on the back of the house.. Then a service void (vent pipe ) allowed me to drop a premade fibre cable to join the switch and UCF-G with 10G, then I also went out the loft, down a drainpipe and found an almost completely hidden route to my front door for the doorbell (PoE)..
I then found a route through the airing cupboard to wire a centrally located downstairs access point, so all my internal cabling is now hidden and you'd be hard pushed to spot the external cabling as it's hidden by the drainpipe..

I did have the thought of running the incoming internet through to the loft as well and just moving the router up there, but as it happens, since it has 2.5G and other ports, I have it connected to a few things as a mini switch..


Installing cameras is easy enough, they are just ethernet devices screwed on a wall or soffit or similar, of course you need ladders which may be your compromise, but I wouldn't pay 'extra' for a specific camera installer for these, they are plug and play effectively..
Click to expand...

Thank you for your detailed response. I've made several adjustments based on your advice.

I do have a question: In my original plans, the 4K cameras were intended to connect to an UNVR-Instant located in the loft, which has a built-in HDD. Is there any reason I should forgo this setup and connect the cameras to a Pro Max 16 PoE switch instead, and rely on the UCG-F NVMe storage for recordings?

Oh. I don't do "heights", so yeah, I'll need someone else to install them on the soffit. Best leave it to a professional, considering the cost of all this kit.


Cheers guys.
 
orange_smurf said:
I agree with your suggestion. Until I have a better look at the house, I will hold off on that decision and focus on the hardware components instead.





Thank you for your detailed response. I've made several adjustments based on your advice.

I do have a question: In my original plans, the 4K cameras were intended to connect to an UNVR-Instant located in the loft, which has a built-in HDD. Is there any reason I should forgo this setup and connect the cameras to a Pro Max 16 PoE switch instead, and rely on the UCG-F NVMe storage for recordings?

Oh. I don't do "heights", so yeah, I'll need someone else to install them on the soffit. Best leave it to a professional, considering the cost of all this kit.


Cheers guys.
Click to expand...
You don't need to buy into the full Ubiquity ecosystem from day zero. If you want to be more conservative, a Reolink NVR with PoE cameras will be just fine. You can put together one of their NVRs and cameras for easily £500-600 plus storage costs. Ubiquity is good gear but it is more prosumer/enterprise than something that's just good enough for a household.

However, the real equipment cost more comes down to the cables that you choose to run. Ethernet will be far more cost effective than fibre. But if you're running fibre then you need SFPs/transceivers which further increases costs.

With the cheap, low power Realtek 10GbE adapters around I see no reason to go fibre over ethernet, personally.
 
@aaronyuri , I've looked into Reolink options, but I'm going all in with the Ubiquity ecosystem! As a baseline, only the connection from the Cloud Gateway (UCG-F) to the Switch (Pro Max 16 PoE) will be fibre. Everything else will be connected via Cat6 Ethernet.

@Demon , I've answered my own question regarding the UNVR-Instant; with the proposed setup, it's really not necessary :)
 
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