Cat cables question

[notsaulgoodman]

Hi everyone,

I have CAT cables all throughout my house, but they don't work directly from the wall. The technician told me that I have to buy a hub and connect it to the router.

If someone could please explain for a non-tech person, in simple terms, what do I need to buy, where to buy it, and how do I need to connect stuff? (This all has me very confused).

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

 

[Newtonius]

So there are 2 ends to every cat cable, one that comes out the wall for you to plug in your computer equipment i.e. computer, consoles, laptop, tv, etc. and the other to a network room or whatever room you put your network equipment in i.e. wifi router, modem, etc. Whoever ran these cables in the walls most likely left all the network ends of each cable in this network room while the other ends go to various rooms throughout your home. On the network end you will need a SWITCH to connect all the ends of those cables to, or as they guy said a hub. You will then need one spare port on that hub to connect it to a wifi router and that wifi router connects to a modem. This should be given to you from your internet service provider, or you can buy one for yourself.

The connection from user to network should look like this:

PC -> PORT IN WALL -> CABLE IN WALL -> NETWORK ROOM -> CABLE IN NETWORK END -> SWITCH -> WIFI ROUTER -> MODEM -> INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

 

[notsaulgoodman]

So there are 2 ends to every cat cable, one that comes out the wall for you to plug in your computer equipment i.e. computer, consoles, laptop, tv, etc. and the other to a network room or whatever room you put your network equipment in i.e. wifi router, modem, etc. Whoever ran these cables in the walls most likely left all the network ends of each cable in this network room while the other ends go to various rooms throughout your home. On the network end you will need a SWITCH to connect all the ends of those cables to, or as they guy said a hub. You will then need one spare port on that hub to connect it to a wifi router and that wifi router connects to a modem. This should be given to you from your internet service provider, or you can buy one for yourself.

The connection from user to network should look like this:

PC -> PORT IN WALL -> CABLE IN WALL -> NETWORK ROOM -> CABLE IN NETWORK END -> SWITCH -> WIFI ROUTER -> MODEM -> INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

Thanks for your response. The technician also told me this
"at your hub location (picture attached) I can place a network switch that will connect to your service provider modem and any cat6 wires connected at that source will relay Ethernet".

Since I'm not tech-savvy, this is kind of confusing. It's a new house, and I'm waiting as I want to be prepared before the ISP comes.

This is also the image he attached: https://i.postimg.cc/8zJV5pjR/06-F73-D01-0-C80-448-A-98-D5-2-E4955863985.jpg

 

[Newtonius]

Thanks for your response. The technician also told me this
"at your hub location (picture attached) I can place a network switch that will connect to your service provider modem and any cat6 wires connected at that source will relay Ethernet".

Since I'm not tech-savvy, this is kind of confusing. It's a new house, and I'm waiting as I want to be prepared before the ISP comes.

This is also the image he attached: https://i.postimg.cc/8zJV5pjR/06-F73-D01-0-C80-448-A-98-D5-2-E4955863985.jpg

Yeah you need a technician to terminate those cable ends or you can do it yourself if you have the equipment (it's low voltage so even a kid can do it if he had the tools). If your ISP is providing the modem, then all you'll need to do is get a router and a switch with enough ports for all those cables and 1 more so you can connect it to said router. That should be it. I'm presuming the cables on the other ends (the ends in the bedrooms and such) are already terminated, but I guess your technician can tell you that.

P.S Terminate means to install that ethernet head you see on an ethernet cable that you can buy at any electronics store. In the pic you can see it's just all cables, there's no head to the cable. A technician terminates an RJ45 to those cable ends.

 

[bill001g]

Would have been nice if they did just a little more work and at least put the ends on the cables.

If you are going to complete it yourself I would recommend you go with a patch panel just because it is a little easier to get the wires correct. Crimping ends on cables takes some practice and you need a crimp tool.

This is one example of a patch panel. These are designed to match the holes in back of most panels. Many of these have a very cheap plastic punch down tool with them. A real punch down tool is not real expensive.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-1x6-Cat5E-Voice-and-Data-Expansion-Board-47603-C5/100062860

After that you need a number of short ethernet cables and you would connect them to a small switch that you also place in the cabnet. You will need power to run the switch.

Many people put the ISP router in this cabinet but it all depends where the wires from the ISP come into the house. When you get that far come back and ask many people can give you the various options of how hook the router to the switch and still get good wifi coverage.

 

[notsaulgoodman]

Yeah you need a technician to terminate those cable ends or you can do it yourself if you have the equipment (it's low voltage so even a kid can do it if he had the tools). If your ISP is providing the modem, then all you'll need to do is get a router and a switch with enough ports for all those cables and 1 more so you can connect it to said router. That should be it. I'm presuming the cables on the other ends (the ends in the bedrooms and such) are already terminated, but I guess your technician can tell you that.

Gotcha, this helps a lot. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this and for all of your help, it really cleared things up. Thank you once again!

 

[notsaulgoodman]

Would have been nice if they did just a little more work and at least put the ends on the cables.

If you are going to complete it yourself I would recommend you go with a patch panel just because it is a little easier to get the wires correct. Crimping ends on cables takes some practice and you need a crimp tool.

This is one example of a patch panel. These are designed to match the holes in back of most panels. Many of these have a very cheap plastic punch down tool with them. A real punch down tool is not real expensive.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-1x6-Cat5E-Voice-and-Data-Expansion-Board-47603-C5/100062860

After that you need a number of short ethernet cables and you would connect them to a small switch that you also place in the cabnet. You will need power to run the switch.

Many people put the ISP router in this cabinet but it all depends where the wires from the ISP come into the house. When you get that far come back and ask many people can give you the various options of how hook the router to the switch and still get good wifi coverage.

I see. Thank you for explaining this, it helped me understand this a lot better.

Thank you so much for your time.

 

[kanewolf]

Any time you have in-wall cabling, I recommend you get an inexpensive cable tester like this -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CI9NRM/ It makes troubleshooting MUCH easier. That unit has a "remote" you can use in a different room while looking at the tester.

 

[notsaulgoodman]

Any time you have in-wall cabling, I recommend you get an inexpensive cable tester like this -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CI9NRM/ It makes troubleshooting MUCH easier. That unit has a "remote" you can use in a different room while looking at the tester.

That looks really useful, definitely going to look into it some more. Thank you so much for your response and help.

 

[robert600]

If someone could please explain for a non-tech person, in simple terms, what do I need to buy, where to buy it, and how do I need to connect stuff? (This all has me very confused).

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

There's quite a bundle of cat6 cables in the photo there. It's probably worth mentioning that some of them may be secondary, redundant, back-up wires (to be used if and when the primary wire fails somehow). If that is the case, you wouldn't need as large a switch as the number of cables suggests you might. Who knows, the installer might have backed up every run of wire. Are the cables labeled at what you call 'the hub end'?