New house - Wiring rooms - CAT5e vs CAT6 vs CAT7?

GTiPUG

GTiPUG

GTiPUG

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In the process of buying a house. It's a reasonably new build (5 years old) and currently only has a master phone socket, no ethernet. I'm planning on getting a contractor in to wire the place with ethernet, from the downstairs master socket up to each of the three bedrooms. One of those bedrooms will be a home office, so I absolutely want ethernet connectivity. WiFi is alright, but cabled is the one for me.

Now, can anyone advise on whether CAT7 is worth it over CAT6? I've seen all the theoretical stuff in research online, but it'd be nice to get personal feedback and insights into others' experience.

Any tips? Any regrets?
 
In a house for normal usage (ie to get wired internet to PCs in locations away from the main location) Cat5e is still more than enough. Cat7 is definitely not required and Cat6a is probably overkill for most home users as well so to compromise and if you can get it for a decent price I would go Cat6, just remember if you think you want two sockets in a location, run at least 3 points to that location.
 
pepp77 said:
In a house for normal usage (ie to get wired internet to PCs in locations away from the main location) Cat5e is still more than enough. Cat7 is definitely not required and Cat6a is probably overkill for most home users as well so to compromise and if you can get it for a decent price I would go Cat6, just remember if you think you want two sockets in a location, run at least 3 points to that location.
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Ah okay, yeah that's what I figured. Read quite a bit about CAT7 being a ploy for 'innovation' by the cabling industry to try and boost sales. Seem to be right.

pepp77 said:
just remember if you think you want two sockets in a location, run at least 3 points to that location.
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Why's that? You can probably tell I'm distinctly unfamiliar with home cabling at this point...
 
Cat5e is more than enough but if your wanting to future proof it go for cat6 now, double points throughout and I'd be tempted to put a 4 port behind where your tv and av stuff will go in the room.

One network point near your router if your not having the socket moved and then that one and the rest to terminate in your home office going into a switch.
 
You want and need two sockets and are using the two sockets and one breaks for some reason then you are left with one working, run 3 and if one breaks you have a spare all ready to go to give you time to fix the broken one without it affecting anything.

My ethernet home setup is currently.

Master socket-->router--> router to switch for kit in that area and router to cat5e structured cabling socket to take ethernet to upstairs where I have another switch to run the equipment in that location (I have two points here both going up, but only use the one, as it was easier to run both at the time and not have to run a second one at a later date if it becomes required). Then upstairs I have another two sockets with cables running up into the attic (servers and Nas's stored up there), but again only one is actually in use.

Finally I have a third cable running from the upstairs location to a further room (only ran one here as the hole would only just allow one cable through, let alone two, otherwise I would have run two again).
 
Glanza said:
4 port behind where your tv and av stuff will go in the room.
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Edit: For some reason this got removed. What's a 4 port?

The master socket sits below the TV, which is where I'll have a cabinet. Router and modem will sit on this cabinet and eth will go out into the wall hopefully.

This is what I came out with in terms of design:

1h6AY2t.png

Red is for master socket, where modem and router will sit atop cabinet. TV will "float" above, using the same cut in the plaster to route cables. Each blue is an access point.

Upstairs will have office in Bedroom 2 but I'd also like spare connectivity in Bedroom 3. Bedroom 1 is the master and will likely have a TV to stare at.

pepp77 said:
You want and need two sockets and are using the two sockets and one breaks for some reason then you are left with one working, run 3 and if one breaks you have a spare all ready to go to give you time to fix the broken one without it affecting anything.

My ethernet home setup is currently.

Master socket-->router--> router to switch for kit in that area and router to cat5e structured cabling socket to take ethernet to upstairs where I have another switch to run the equipment in that location (I have two points here both going up, but only use the one, as it was easier to run both at the time and not have to run a second one at a later date if it becomes required). Then upstairs I have another two sockets with cables running up into the attic (servers and Nas's stored up there), but again only one is actually in use.

Finally I have a third cable running from the upstairs location to a further room (only ran one here as the hole would only just allow one cable through, let alone two, otherwise I would have run two again).
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I see what you're saying. So if I need 2, place extra 1 for resiliency? I'll have the contractor do this, seems extremely wise.

I'd love to eventually have the same in my loft, with NAS etc all running up to there hidden away. Is it worth getting that cabling put in as well at this point so that I'm ready to go for the future?
 
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The biggest cost of running cables is the labor cost, getting someone to run an extra couple of cables when asked whilst already on site is negligible compared to getting them to come back just for those extra runs at a later date.
 
pepp77 said:
The biggest cost of running cables is the labor cost, getting someone to run an extra couple of cables when asked whilst already on site is negligible compared to getting them to come back just for those extra runs at a later date.
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Yeah, fair point. That's what I figured. May as well go whole hog I guess, although first I need to check there's power and data connectivity in the loft.

Someone above mentioned a "4 port", what's that?
 
GTiPUG said:
I'd love to eventually have the same in my loft, with NAS etc all running up to there hidden away. Is it worth getting that cabling put in as well at this point so that I'm ready to go for the future?
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A loft isn't a good place to put a NAS, you get wide temperature fluctuations and that is bad for hard drives.
 
pcfarrar said:
A loft isn't a good place to put a NAS, you get wide temperature fluctuations and that is bad for hard drives.
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Good point... I thought about that a few minutes after posting. I'd also have to cut ducts into the roof to regulate temperature, install fans etc. Probably best avoided.

I'll put the NAS and UPS in a cabinet in the main office near a window.
 
GTiPUG said:
Someone above mentioned a "4 port", what's that?
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I assume they mean a 5 port switch. 1 port being used for the cable to the router, the leftover 4 being used for TV and other stuff.

Last time I checked cat6a was not that more expensive compared to 5e, so might as well go for that. However, 5e is more flexible and may be easier to work with depending on how you want the contractor to run the cables around the house (eg if there's too many tight turnings).
 
Orcvader said:
I assume they mean a 5 port switch. 1 port being used for the cable to the router, the leftover 4 being used for TV and other stuff.

Last time I checked cat6a was not that more expensive compared to 5e, so might as well go for that. However, 5e is more flexible and may be easier to work with depending on how you want the contractor to run the cables around the house (eg if there's too many tight turnings).
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Ah okay, gotcha. That makes sense. I'll definitely be installing a switch immediately after router as well as in the main office upstairs, so that's covered.

Oh really? I didn't even consider flexibility. I've read 6a is better shielded as well. Does this matter? I'll let the installers know I want 6a.

Do you think it'd be cheaper to buy my own reel of cable or have them supply?
 
It's because of the shielding I found that causes the 6a cable to be a lot stiffer. So I usually just use it for longer distances, and then 5e for shorter distances where I need to bend the cable quite a bit.

Looking at your diagram, for gigabit speeds at those distances shielding won't matter that much, but for future proof sake (eg 10gb) it may be required.

As for pricing, it really depends on the contractor.
 
Orcvader said:
It's because of the shielding I found that causes the 6a cable to be a lot stiffer. So I usually just use it for longer distances, and then 5e for shorter distances where I need to bend the cable quite a bit.

Looking at your diagram, for gigabit speeds at those distances shielding won't matter that much, but for future proof sake (eg 10gb) it may be required.

As for pricing, it really depends on the contractor.
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Hm okay, that's definitely worth noting then. I'll go for CAT5e out of the switches and CAT6a between router and upstairs ports.

Yeah, fair point. I'll double check with them.
 
All of you cables are going to short in networking terms. All well within what Cat6 will support for 10GbE.

Obviously get quotes but Cat6a is going to cost more in materials and time, and you'll probably never see any benefit.
 
bremen1874 said:
All of you cables are going to short in networking terms. All well within what Cat6 will support for 10GbE.

Obviously get quotes but Cat6a is going to cost more in materials and time, and you'll probably never see any benefit.
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So not worth the extra cost/hassle? I guess 10Gbps is going to be relevant for a long time, so no need to try and exceed it, especially with distances of say 20m.
 
pcfarrar said:
A loft isn't a good place to put a NAS, you get wide temperature fluctuations and that is bad for hard drives.
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Mine has been up there a couple of years now, server with several HDDs and a NAS with a few more HDDS. I have a small fan that runs on a timer during the day pointing at them to keep airflow moving, but never had any issues with temps being outside decent operational ranges.
 
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