Networking my home

danswan

danswan

danswan

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Hi all.

I've recently moved house, not long after finishing kitting out the old one with cat6, ports in all the rooms with a patch panel in the loft. We're getting a loft conversion done so I'm taking the opportunity to do the same at my new place.

I'm happy with the logistics of it all having done it once already, just as I'm speccing this up I have a few questions which I'm sure someone will be able to answer

- In my old house I used a 12 port wall patch panel which I bought for a pittance from eBay. It was perfectly functional but felt a little cheap and I was always worried it would prove the weak link in my network, although it never did. This time round, though, I want something a little more solid if possible.

- I'm not going to have a server cab or anything like that, I'm getting a fairly small cupboard built in when the loft is done, and I plan to terminate all my cables there. There will be 12-14 cables coming into the cupboard. When I google for patch panels almost all of them seem to be rack mounted, other than the same el cheapo one I used before. I was thinking as an alternative I could use 3 x normal double-gang wall boxes with 4 x standard cat6 modules in each (giving me 12, more if needed). I think this would give a tidier and more reliable finish, for a decent price. Is there something else which would do a better job?

- I previously used cat6 cable, but am thinking I should probably use cat6a, which obviously has a price premium. I can pick up some bog-standard cat6 cable similar to what I used last time (which game me nice, solid gigabit LAN speeds throughout) for about £100 for a 305m reel, which would be plenty. I'm looking at £200+ for cat6a. Is it worth it? Money is tight, so I need to make savings where I can.

- Last time I used lovely tool-less metal keystone modules, which I managed to pick up from work for a grand total of nothing. Unfortunately I can't do that this time so will have to buy some, and if I am using them to terminate at both ends I will need at least 24. They seem to be around £5-£7 each. Is there a better alternative? I'd much rather tool-less as there would be a lot of punching down otherwise. I also see some plastic ones which look to work in a similar way. I've not got a great deal of experience so I'm hoping someone who's done this a lot could advise.

As always I'm wanting to do the best job I can, for the least money. Doubt if direct links to products can be posted here but if anyone can nudge me in the right direction it would be much appreciated.

Cheers!
 
- Assynia make nice patch panels

- Never seen a patch panel which wasn't rack mounted, you can buy very cheap wall mount rack brackets (look up dcdi)

- Why CAT6A? I would recommend 5e unless you need to do 10 gbit over 45 metres or faster speeds in your lifetime in the house
 
ov_sjo said:
- Assynia make nice patch panels

- Never seen a patch panel which wasn't rack mounted, you can buy very cheap wall mount rack brackets (look up dcdi)

- Why CAT6A? I would recommend 5e unless you need to do 10 gbit over 45 metres or faster speeds in your lifetime in the house
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Thanks, I'll have a look. What do you think about the idea of just terminating with normal modules mounted in socket backboxes though?

Only reason for cat6a is future proofing, this new home is (hopefully) for life and who knows what will be standard in 10 or 20 year's time.
 
Based on my recent experience:

- Use Cat6. Cat6A is way more expensive, is supposedly a pain in the arse to work with (e.g. requires a larger bend radius) and offers nothing over Cat6 unless, as ov_sjo says, you're wanting 10GbE over more than 45 metres.
- Get a wall bracket and a proper rack-mounted patch panel. There are plenty of cheap ones out there and they take up minimal space - I got a "DataCel 3u 19" Mounting Bracket" for under £20. Fits both my patch panel and switch with 2U spare.
- I did look at toolless modules but they are a waaaaay more expensive option than getting a patch panel and face plates that have them built-in. Yes punching down is a bit annoying but you only have to do it once. I did 2 bad punch-downs on my first module and none for the other 20 or so, and I'd never done it before. An Ethernet cable checker and a good quality punch-down tool are a must though!
 
Thanks, I was hoping I could pick up a box of the toolless ones from the auction site or something but there's nothing reasonably priced, so I guess I'll be punching down :(

Re the wall bracket, how exactly does that work then? Have you got any pics of yours?
 
This is roughly what the brackets look like, they do vary:

DABRACKET2%20HINGED%20WALL%20MOUNT%20BRCKT.jpg



There's nothing majorly wrong with your idea of terminal into keystone jacks in wall boxes.. but you may as well just terminate the structured cabling with RJ45's and go straight into your switch if you don't think you'll ever really need to change it.

DragonQ - btw 45m @ 10gig requires CAT5e, 55m = CAT6, 100m = CAT6A.
 
Thanks again, I can always rely on the OCUK forums to answer my stupid questions. That last bracket looks different to the one I googled for based on Dragon's advice, and I can understand how that one works, cheers :)
 
danswan said:
Thanks again, I can always rely on the OCUK forums to answer my stupid questions. That last bracket looks different to the one I googled for based on Dragon's advice, and I can understand how that one works, cheers :)
Click to expand...

The one in the pic looks like a hinged bracket very useful if you need to access the rear of the patch panel again for whatever reason
 
One is on the way - not exactly the same as that but similar. Getting prepared but won't be doing it until mid-October probably.

I'll see about getting some pics once it's all done, thanks all :)
 
Make sure you have enough ports...I've just bought a 24 port patch panel and a 24 port switch. Then realised I still had 2 rooms to cable up and I was at 23 cables without my router/smartthings/Hue/sonos
 
You obviously need enough ports on the patch panels.

You don't need to have every patch panel port connected to a switch port. Patching every port in, even the extras that are only there just in case, is potentially just a waste of money.
 
Managed fine with 12 in my old house, my switch is 16 port and getting 24 port panel, should be plenty. 4 ports by the telly where 2 are needed, then 2 in each bedroom where there's only one plugged in normally.
 
bremen1874 said:
You obviously need enough ports on the patch panels.

You don't need to have every patch panel port connected to a switch port. Patching every port in, even the extras that are only there just in case, is potentially just a waste of money.
Click to expand...

Oh.. panic over.....:D

Cheers. I assumed 1 in 1 out.

Like they say "A little bit of knowledge can be dangerous":D
 
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