Rewiring House and installing IT equipment tips..

psd99

psd99

psd99

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7 Sep 2008
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Hi all,

I am looking to get my house fully re-wired. Obviously this would primary be the electrical wires, sockets lights plugs etc. I will get an electrician to do this part.

I am also thinking of running additional wires myself such as:


- Cat 5e for a wired network
- Wired Cameras
- Wired alarm
- Coaxial Cable.


What I am a little bit stuck about is the networking situation. I am thinking of having a wired network using a 8 port networking switch and hooking it up to my router.

What I am worried about is the placing of such device, i/e where do I put it in a standard 3 bed semi? Can it go under the stairs? Or does this equipment need air?

Also I am thinking of putting my camera control box in the same place next to the switch - is this advisable?

Has anyone on here done something like this project in the past? Any tips would be greatly appreciated along with pics.

Thanks,
psd99.
 
Yes, in my previous house I ran all the CAT5e wiring to under the stairs, where I had my patch panel, switch, router, Virgin Media modem (and incoming VM cable from street), as well as camera NVR. It's a little cramped in there, but once it's setup, there should be no need to touch it.

An alternative location would be the garage.
 
Garage is too far

I've not installed patch panels before. I was thinking about just running the cables straight into the switch lol

you got any pics? did you use a rack?
 
I have done the networking side of things in the ground floor of my house. We were getting a new floor put in so too the time to put cables under the joists.

Location: I went with under the stairs.
- Central
- Out the way
- Generally unusable space.

Design:
- 6U 19" Network Cabinet Rack 600*450mm (£45)
- 24 port CAT6 patch panel (£12)
- TP-LINK TL-SG1024DE 24 Port Gigabit Easy Smart Switch (£67)
- GIGATRUE CAT6 PVC GREY 305M + some 0.5m patch cables (£98)
- Dual CAT6 faceplates (minimum of 1 plate per room)
- TRENDnet Punch Down Tool with 110 and Krone Blade (£20)

Got the electricians to run the network cables while they were doing other work. Most electricians get very worried as they don't know network stuff or very excited about how much they can over charge. Keep them calm and tell them they only need to pull a cable (nice and cheap) you can do the rest of the connecting / punching yourself. Make sure the leave extra length and you can cut it back as you need. They tend to make a mess of the ends pulling them so could be damaged cable you don't want to be using.

I don't have any pictures of the punch work but after the 1st one it is easy. Just take your time.

I also thought about running straight to switch but for the extra £20 it is well worth putting in the patch panel to keep things tidy, up to standard, future flexibility, etc.

Pics:

Box with cables running into it
fsDJa82l.jpg

Box tidy up (patch panel & switch)
monxOl6l.jpg

Another cupboard (main tv on other side of this wall)
Kon1xORl.jpg
 
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psd99 said:
Doesn't networking equipment require some type of cooling?
Click to expand...

Not at the scale you are looking at. If youre installing a server that kicks out a lot of heat or some other equipment such as a CCTV NVR etc in a small cupboard then it may get hot but from a few threads on here people have just installed a vent into the door to extract the heat.
 
Mark M said:
Not at the scale you are looking at. If youre installing a server that kicks out a lot of heat or some other equipment such as a CCTV NVR etc in a small cupboard then it may get hot but from a few threads on here people have just installed a vent into the door to extract the heat.
Click to expand...

yep that's a good shout
vent in the door I like it

I will prob need lots of power sockets in there too.
 
psd99 said:
What I am a little bit stuck about is the networking situation. I am thinking of having a wired network using a 8 port networking switch and hooking it up to my router.
Click to expand...

If you're going to do it, do it properly. You'll want four ports behind the TV (TV, console / HTPC, DVR, optical drive) and at least two points in each of the other rooms. Plus the attic. A rule of thumb is to have two network points wherever there's a power point.

And get the electrician to do it at the same time as she does the power points.

BTW get her to put in power points that have USB chargers.
 
This is my install. I have my rack in my garage.



The photo was taken before I put my Drobo NAS in it. My rack is a 12u 600x500mm with a 24 port patch panel connecting to a 24port HP Procurve GB Switch and my ASUS RT-AC66U router sitting on top. My Fibre broadband from Plusnet connects from my BT Master Socket and vDSL modem in my living room to the router.

I have a minimum of 2x CAT6 points beside power points and 4x CAT6 points beside TV's and in my Home Office.
 
topgun06 said:
Out of interest, how have you installed that to the wall? Screws? Bolts? I see you have a plywood panel... Explain :)
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure myself as it was a joiner friend who put it up for me. I think the plywood is used to give the rack a firmer fix rather than simply screwing it directly into the wall.
 
I imagine the plywood will be screwed between 2 joists to give a solid fixing point then the box is bolted to the plywood.

Rather than trying to support the box with plasterboard fittings alone.
 
Been contemplating a server cabinet myself. Couple of questions for those with experience of them:

1. My patch panel is already wired up. Is it possible to put this into the cabinet without having to rewire it (i.e. are the cable holes usually cut out at the edge, or do the cables need to be fed through the holes?).

2. How would you normally attach non rack mountable switches? Use a shelf?
 
Seems the right thread to ask as I'm in a similar position. Is the loft a recommended place to have a micro server and cabinet? Getting a new build next month and I have three options to put the cabinet:

1) Cupboard in kitchen that would be classed as under the stairs (noise issues?)
2) Walk-in cupboard/store in master bedroom (noise issues?)
3) In the loft (ventilation issues?)

Noise issues is mostly the switch I've managed to get hold of fairly cheap is a POE one (it is a gigabyte one at least) with fans on it that are quite loud. Roof has gone on this weekend and I'm just waiting on a price from builders to have the work done. I told them I'd have it in the loft but if that's a bad idea I can look at alternatives.
 
I also have a 3 bed semi. Placed my comms cab in the attic and ran shielded Cat6 cable down into each room.

Could do with a small cable tidy up tbh :p

Not the best photo, but you get the idea lol

IMG_0171.jpg
 
fezster said:
Been contemplating a server cabinet myself. Couple of questions for those with experience of them:

1. My patch panel is already wired up. Is it possible to put this into the cabinet without having to rewire it (i.e. are the cable holes usually cut out at the edge, or do the cables need to be fed through the holes?).

2. How would you normally attach non rack mountable switches? Use a shelf?
Click to expand...

Most comms cabinets have removable side/top/bottom panels. If you already have a lets say, 24 port patch panel which is already terminated you could slide it up through and screw it in place.
 
SC0TTRS said:
Most comms cabinets have removable side/top/bottom panels. If you already have a lets say, 24 port patch panel which is already terminated you could slide it up through and screw it in place.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Any recommended cabinets / place to buy? Seen some on ebay which look to be good value, but not really sure what differentiates them.
 
Humm yes. When I was looking to get mine I kinda got the impression that a 6U cabinet is a 6U cabinet and that it didn't matter too much which you bought.
 
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