4 ethernet cables through outside wall

scarletjim

I've been planning for months to put security cameras on the outside of my house, na dhave recently discovered 'POE' - Power Over Ethernet, which are devices that don't need any separate power feed, but use spare pins in the ethernet cable to provide both power and network functionality. Question is, what is the best way to channel the 4 ethernet cables I need through the wall from inside my house to outside? I am guessing there are several possibilities:

1. Drill a big enough hole to put all 4 through in some kind of PVC conduit. (But will they 'interfere' with each other if bundled together?)

2. Drill 4 separate holes for each (seems a bit silly if I can avoid it).

3. Put some kind of junction box in the wall with female ethernet connectors on both sides. The advantage here woud be that if a cable got damaged (probably an outside one), it could just be disconnected and replaced without messing about with the hole in the wall. But does such a box exist? What would it be called? Would it fit well? (As presumably everyone's external wall is a different width...

Or maybe I'm missing something and none of these are right answer... ???

Thanks in advance for any advice on the matter.

phoenix_w

scarletjim wrote: »

1. Drill a big enough hole to put all 4 through in some kind of PVC conduit. (But will they 'interfere' with each other if bundled together?)

They won't interfere. Look in any server room or datacentre, you'll see tens/hundreds of UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cables bundled together.

scarletjim wrote: »

3. Put some kind of junction box in the wall with female ethernet connectors on both sides. The advantage here woud be that if a cable got damaged (probably an outside one), it could just be disconnected and replaced without messing about with the hole in the wall. But does such a box exist? What would it be called? Would it fit well? (As presumably everyone's external wall is a different width...

Really wouldn't worry about it. If you have the cable in conduit, if you need to pull through a replacement cable just tie the new to the old cable and then pull it through the wall. UTP cable is dirt cheap and having a patch panel on the exterior just adds extra risk in my eyes (whether it's someone disconnecting your camera to steal access to your network, or just being somewhere for water ingress).

scarletjim

Excellent news - thanks for the advice.

fezster

I recently did just this. I used a drill bit big enough to allow all four cable to be pulled through. If you have a cavity wall, my advice is to use something similar to a coat hanger to tape the cables to and guide them through. Make sure when you drill your hole it is slightly sloping downwards from the inside to the outside, to stop water ingress. After you've finished, use some sealant around the cables and hole to stop any water or insects getting in.

phil24_7

Also make sure that any cables penetrating the external wall loop downwards first before they head up the outside (forming a u shape), this means any water running down the cable will drip off rather than run towards the hole.

scarletjim

Really useful tips - thanks guys.

phil24_7

I would personally choose locally powered (probably from the lighting circuit) HD cameras with all cabling run inside (into the loft and down through internal walls if possible) and leave the DVR to power itself and connect to the network.

You will have more options and they will be cheaper. Upgrades, replacements or repairs will be cheaper and easier too.

Regards
Phil

fezster

PoE is very convenient. I have my NVR in the garage, and my house was already wired up with CAT6. This meant I could have a PoE switch (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LMXBOG8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage) on the other side of the house, which powers 4 of my cameras, and uses a single cat6 connection to my NVR.

EDIT - to clarify, 4 cat5e cables from cameras to switch, using PoE. Then a single cat5e camera to my wall socket, which is running to my NVR in the garage.

brightontraveller

phil24_7 wrote: »

Also make sure that any cables penetrating the external wall loop downwards first before they head up the outside (forming a u shape), this means any water running down the cable will drip off rather than run towards the hole.

Although looping external cables is fine Its more important that hole drilled should be downward (higher in the house than outside) that way any moisture etc in brickwork doesn’t use cable as route to enter home?

phil24_7

Belt and braces...do both!

scarletjim

fezster wrote: »

PoE is very convenient. I have my NVR in the garage, and my house was already wired up with CAT6. This meant I could have a PoE switch (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LMXBOG8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage) on the other side of the house, which powers 4 of my cameras, and uses a single cat6 connection to my NVR.

EDIT - to clarify, 4 cat5e cables from cameras to switch, using PoE. Then a single cat5e camera to my wall socket, which is running to my NVR in the garage.

Having done a bit of research this afternoon, I'm wondering whether the cams actually have to connect directly to the NVR, or whether it will find them as long as they connect to my network. That would open up other possibilities, as I could then use a Powerline adaptor in my garage to have a camera on the outside of that too, and still have it visible to the NVR via my home network. So I'd want my NVR in my house, connected to the router by ethernet, 2 or 3 cams on the outside of my house connected to the NVR by ethernet through a hole in the wall, and 1 more cam on the garage connected to the network via ethernet provided by a Powerline adaptor, but hopefully still visible to (and controllable by) my NVR.

Is this ok or am I missing something? (Is this all about dynamic v static IP addresses, or is that irrelevant?