Home Networking

exiled_red

I have recently installed Cat5e cable in my house. If you just want to use the Cat5e cables for Ethernet connections then you can connect RJ45 plugs onto the end of the cables and connect them to an Ethernet switch. Unmanaged would be best as it is just plug and play which is what you say you want.


If you are wanting to use the Cat5e cable for other stuff I would set up patch panels and use patch leads between the patch panel and the switch or other devices. This is the route that I have gone down, because I want my network to be flexible (although this is more expensive). As well as Ethernet connections to computers, smart TVs etc. I use the cables to carry video using HDMI over Cat5e, telephone points - I can make any point a telephone connection and I use doorbell and intercom point over the Cat5e, none of these can go through the network switch so patch panels made sense. I use world of data 19" patch panels to fit in my rack, these were about £17 for a 24 port one when I bought it. I went with these because they had decent reviews and it seems fine to me. I think that they do smaller wall mountable patch panels as well if you don't want to use a rack.


As I am using the network for multiple things I am housing other hardware nearby so it made sense to get a 19" rack cabinet for it and get patch panels and an Ethernet switch that were rack mountable. If you are looking at 19" rack stuff the height is measured in standard units (1U, 2U, 3U etc) but you also need to consider the depth of stuff that goes in, you need a cabinet that is deeper that the largest piece of equipment you want to have plus space in front and behind it to run cables. I have a wall mountable 6U x 550mm x 450mm rack from a company called racky rax because the guys who installed the cabling got it for me.

were

Hope you installed and wired double points as the cost is not that much greater. If one point breaks there is always a second.

The big advantage if the double points is that if you put to adapters on each end of the wire you can run a phone extension.

onomatopoeia99

Inner_Zone wrote: »

Puzzled why you think you need a patch panel, a 24 port switch will have 24 ports. Do why add another 23 / 24 cables to duplicate it? And without the extra cables a cabinet is probably also superfluous.

I would always punch down structured single core cable into a patch panel rather than crimp it. Yes that means a patch panel and small cabinet which will cost fifty quid or so but it's IMO a much neater and more robust solution.

gr1340

Umm, "Cat5e", "future-proofed".

Why not go 6a/7 if you want to future proof?

Debbie_Savard

Kewl kids are running Fibre Channel

onomatopoeia99

gr1340 wrote: »

Umm, "Cat5e", "future-proofed".

Why not go 6a/7 if you want to future proof?

Cat5e will handle gigabit over the sort of lengths talked about in a domestic setting, how fast do you want?

exiled_red

As Onomatopoeia99 says cat5e is fast enough for domestic use. Also above Cat5e also requires greater care when installing, more rigorous testing and is more difficult to work with, so to get installed properly is more expensive. Reading up on this and speaking to people before installing stuff at home, it seems a lot of people who have Cat6 or above hardware haven't got it installed properly so it doesn't meet the appropriate standards so is effectively cat5e anyway.