Networking and Patch Panel questions....

chaddythebear

I am renovating my house and have run cat5e cable from most rooms to my attic where i am going to connect them all to my router that i got from sky. I have a telephone point there and a socket, now here's where i'm lost, i bought a patch panel with 16 connections, i thought i would just connect all the cables into it using my telephone connecting tool then there would be one connection to my router, that's where i'm lost, there doesn't seem to be a point where it would connect to my router, it has 16 rj45 outlets, one for each input! I'm lost, i need help in connecting all my cat5 leads to my router, how do i do it???
One other thing that i'm confussed about is if i buy cat5e faceplates and they say idc termination, does that just mean the connection from the pc to the faceplate, or is that how the cable from the attic connects to the faceplate?
Please help, the link to the faceplate is http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=AV1767103
does this do ok? Do i need any other things as well as this faceplate?

Will appreciate any advice
thanks

evilgoose

Your patch panel just terminates the drops down to your sockets. You need to get a 16 or 24 port switch, then some short patch cables to connect from the patch panel to the switch. You connect your router to the switch as well, depending on your router you may need to use the uplink port on the switch.

Yes its how the cbale from the attic connects to the rear of the wall plate, I should think that your punch down tool which you've used on the patch panel should be ok for your wall plates also.

I'd say you'll need the following:-

A 10/100/1000 Switch
patch cables (connect patch panel to router)
fly leads (connect pc to wall socket)

If you can make the cables yourself it'd be cheaper than buying, belkin cables are good but very expensive.

chaddythebear

Going to be dearer than i thought!

Is this the kind of thing your talking about http://cpc.farnell.com/CS09478/computer-products/product.us0?sku=unbranded-hub-916s

and these cables ok http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=AV1612703

thanks

totalsolutions

with loaner on this.

omen666

chaddythebear wrote: »

Going to be dearer than i thought!

Is this the kind of thing your talking about http://cpc.farnell.com/CS09478/computer-products/product.us0?sku=unbranded-hub-916s

and these cables ok http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=AV1612703

thanks

Yes, spot on but agree on using a switch instead, no need for the patch panel

chaddythebear

One of these?

Does that mean i need to buy rj45 ends and crimp them on?

Is that easy done?

I'm a confused networking amatuer!!!

omen666

You could buy your own Cat5 cable and crimp on the RJ45's with a crimping tool or just buy some already made.

exup

Starting at each room where you have your ethernet socket - it is easiest to wire up the cat5e to the same standard - usually most RJ45 sockets will have the coding printed on them for the ethernet standard TIA 568 A or B standard, for when you punch down into them.

If you were making up one of your own CAT5e patch cables you would stick to the same standard at both ends either A or B - it doesnt matter which.

(If you were making a cross over cable then you would mix - crimping one RJ45 with 568A and the other with 568B)

So with all your patch panels and RJ45's make sure you stick to one standard for simplicity sake.

Whether you use a large patch panel or switch in the attic is up to you, but the connection that comes into the house will first have to go into the router.
Most home networks dont have just simple "routers" though - they have a combined router with switch - usually 4 ports.

How many rooms have you got with wires going up to the attic? then you can work out better what sort of equipment you want up there

chaddythebear

All in all i recon i will have about 10 cables, kinda have to do it now or never as its concrete floors and brick walls with a skim coat of plaster, so i'm probably going a bit ott but just incase i change the use of the rooms.

Thanks for all advice, think i'll be going down the switch path, only thing i'll have to do is buy a crimp tool and some ends and the switch

exup

only problem with a switch is - how are you going to terminate the cables that go into the attic? Are you just going to have 10 cables lying around ready to plug into a switch?
If I was doing it myself I would probably use a switch - but I would still have the patch panel on the wall . labelled with the room each socket was connected to. This way you will always have that fixed patch panel and no leads kicking around to get trod on or snagged. Then I would just run short leads from the patch panel to the router / switch unit.

shadowdragon

I know your pretty commited now, but whats wrong with wireless?