Setting Up New Bungalow Home Network

[dapoodle]

Hi all, I've been doing lots of reading and gathering of information the last few days trying to see the best way of setting up a new bungalow I'm in the process of purchasing.

It's quite large over 3000 square feet so I've been trying to work out the best way to provide full connectivity throughout. I am in the early stages but hoping to get some advice on the direction before going into too much detail if I'm on the wrong path.

I am looking to put in at least 14 ethernet access points to various faceplates dotted throughout, and then potentially 12 POE devices such as cameras and AP's for full WIFI coverage.

All walls are solid inside the bungalow so I am looking to put WIFI AP's in pretty much all rooms, hence the larger number of POE devices.

I'm planning on putting everything in the loft space and monitor the temps especially in the summer months.

A few thoughts I have been mulling over that would be great to hear anyone's feedback or experience.

1) Should I split the POE and non POE connections across two different switches, one POE and one non ? Daisy chain switches OK any issues bottlenecks etc

2) Should I use Cat6 or Cat6a cabling purely for future proofing - all devices will work well over Cat 5e, but as all new cabling will be laid use the opportunity to do it.

3) I am looking at rack mounting a keystone patch panel, switch (ideally fanless as I want noise kept to a minimum) and the standard ISP modem/router in the same rack.

If anyone has any recommendations for any of the components that would be great as I've literally scanned 100s of different ones looking at Amazon reviews and other reviews, a lot are US based so I was hoping for more of a UK opinion with link to UK suppliers.

Switch recommendation
Patch panel recommendation (if keystone any preference on jacks, some are wider some are angled some are lite - does it make a difference which ones I go for)
Rack recommendation

I'm looking at setting up an NVR and using HiKvision POE cams as the CCTV solution.

Thanks

 

[dapoodle]

Thanks for the reply

Couple of thoughts...

Is there any reason I shouldn't use the ISPs integrated hub/router direct into the switch...is there any benefit to having a separate modem and router..

Pardon my naivety but I was assuming I could have my master socket sit in the loft, connect the BT hub to the master socket then run port 1 from the hub into the switch.

I've been looking at unmanaged switches as managed or smart seems overkill...what made you select managed as the price diff can be quite vast..

Thanks again

 

[dapoodle]

Thanks for all the replies so far everyone much appreciated, some great information that has helped me in the right direction.

I think I will look for an unmanaged 24 port POE switch initially as this will cover the 14 wall ports along with the access points and the NVR will cover the camera POEs

Would it be wise running the CCTV in a DMZ as external access to the cameras could expose my home network I'm assuming ? Would it be easiest to have a the NVR on a separate switch ? or could I set this up using a managed single switch ?

 

[dapoodle]

Which camera system are you going with? Most of the Chinese ones use P2P where they stream your video through an insecure Chinese server but it’s effectively a VPN and even if they penetrated port 38767 all they’ll see is your CCTV because it’s a fully self-contained ecosystem. So no, I wouldn’t bother.

Thanks for the reply

I'm going with a Hikvision poe cameras connected to an NVR so its all local network.

 

[dapoodle]

So a Hikvision NVR/NVR App is P2P and I wouldn’t bother.

Thankyou

 

[dapoodle]

Whenever we install a new system we are generally constrained by the CDM regs and we have to make sure that whatever we install in the loft will not be a hazard. So I have extensive evidence including temperature logger results, reports from manufacturers and risk assessments to show that there is no hazard from installing electronic communications and surveillance equipment in the loft space of a domestic dwelling. We do install a fire/smoke detector because there is a risk that if a fire did occur it might not be immediately obvious to the occupants of the dwelling. And we can sell another sensor on the install. Every single one of the manufacturer reports state that in the incredibly unlikely event an electrical failure in the device caused an electrical fire, the extent of the fire would be limited to any flammable materials within the device. ie. some dust. And the only major source of dust in a domestic dwelling is people and animals and they dint tend to spend a lot of time in the attic so contrary to what most people believe, modern loft spaces are not dusty. What they are, VERY often, is full of cardboard boxes and plastic bags of old clothes and flammable junk. But you don’t hear people warning about loft fires.

Another challenge that is often posed by the anti-loft advocates is the temperature. Thankfully, modern house design means there is insulation under the tiles or slates that prevents a lot of heat penetration and my health and safety colleague assures me that if heat build-up really was an issue then there would be thousands of deaths a year from people over-heating in loft conversions and town houses. The average temperature year-round in a UK loft is 14.8C with peaks of around 38C and troughs just above zero. The open soffits on most UK dwellings causes air movement in the loft space so theffects of heat build-up are limited. Yes, it ‘feels’ really hot up there because we evaporate most of our heat away which is why a breeze feels cool or cold and our bodies are calibrated to really scream hot when we’re in an environment hotter than core body temperature. But it’s not really that hot up there. All of the equipment I recommend has a safe working maximum ambient temperature of 40C. That’s REALLY hot. Hotter than you get in a UK loft. And that’s the ‘safe’ maximum. They run on usually way over 60C but we work to 40 in our risk assessments.

So if you feel uncomfortable about having the equipment in the loft, that’s OK, and the bulk of the evidence shows it is safe anyway.

Very good explanation much appreciated !

 

[dapoodle]

I wouldn't have a switch or router in the loft space as mentioned above. Would also suggest keeping to 5e cabling as well.

Would you go Cat5e based on ease of us, and not really being utilised to capacity with any devices currently in the home ? Are there any major flaws future proofing an install except the cable being a little harder to terminate ? I've seen a lot of videos on terminating different cables and with the keystone jacks it doesn't seem too difficult. I know standards have to be followed but in essence it seems reasonably simple to do.

I have just purchased the property and I would hope to stay there for at least the next 20 to 30 years. I'm having builders in knocking down walls, plastering all the rooms so the runs will be created already, mostly simple straight up into the loft from each faceplate and across to a patch panel.

 

[dapoodle]

Just remember that electrical equipment in the loft is a fire risk.



Different switches.



Take the opportunity to do it right first time.



You might consider having everything mounted flat on the wall to save space



I had a narrow escape. I had a server in my loft and insects got in. Fortunately I was at home at the time.


.

Thanks for the reply, I've since decided to place the rack in a walk in cupboard so will run some trunking down the wall inside and terminate them all there to avoid any unknowns that could happen with a loft install.

Why would you use a different switch for the POE ?

Just confirming you would use Cat6a when you reference doing it right the first time ?

 

[dapoodle]

All walls are solid inside the bungalow so I am looking to put WIFI AP's in pretty much all rooms, hence the larger number of POE devices.

Is this really required I would strongly tell you not to do this. You will be very surprised, I'd be happy to send you a theoretical heatmap survey if you send me some building plans over PM, you will encounter massive 2.4GHz co-channel interference doing this.

Thanks for the reply

Can I just clarify your point that having too many APs i.e one in each room would cause interference between the signals of each AP so I should only have them where the signals don't cross too strongly ?

Thanks for the switch recommendations I've been looking at both of those you mention - is there any need for a managed or smart switch ? I'm leaning towards 'no' but if there's any major benefits to a home install happy to go managed.