Home network architecture question

[jordydragon5]

Hey all,

So my house is really old and it doesn't really have any cables. we've been doing it all wireless for the last few years. So now it's time to setup a wired network, i would like to know if what i made is correct and if this would work good enough. my internet speed is 150 mbit/s. i made a diagram for this:

 

[Darkbreeze]

I think I'd put the wireless router on the 1st floor or ground floor so that it is presenting a better signal to those on the ground floor where most of your visitors and guests might need a signal that it would being two floors away. In that way it would still be available to both the ground and main floors and will not affect the placement of the switch as you can generally run on to the switch from the wireless router so long as you go with a model that has both wireless and wired connections and I would highly recommend that you look at models incorporating both Mu-Mimo and Beamforming technology.

 

[jordydragon5]

the modem/router on ground floor also has wifi capabilities, we had another one just laying around, so why not use it. and the house is made of wood for the most part so i think in the attic would be a good place for it. But what do you think about the diagram, is it okay to have a long cable going from the modem to the switch in the attic, and from there wires to the 1st floor?

 

[shmoochie]

I would be worried about a weak wifi signal on the ground floor if you have the wifi router in the attic. That is a lot of physical interference. Also, resetting it would be a pain up there.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Having two wireless routers in the same house COULD potentially create problems so make sure if you are going to do it that way they are set to channels far enough away from each other on the numerical scale that they don't tend to create interference.

What Makes Wireless Networks Interfere With Each Other?

If two or more wireless network are placed close to one another, then they can interfere with each other if:

They use the same operating frequency (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz). The 802.11g and 802.11b standards use the 2.4 GHz operating frequency, 802.11n can operate both at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz while 802.11a can operate only at 5 GHz.
They use the same channel or neighboring channels which overlap. A wireless router can send the wireless signal using a set channel, from 1 to 11 or 13 (depending on the router model and where it is sold). To make sure there is a smaller likelihood of overlapping with other channels, you should choose channel 1, 6 or 11 (or 13 if available for your router). By default, most routers are set to use channel 6, thus the reason for conflicts.

As far as the distance I think if it is less than 328 feet you are fine.

 

[jeremyj_83]

The length of the cable inside the house won't be an issue as I highly doubt that cable would need to be 100m in length. What you will have to do is make sure the cables you get are rated for going in-wall and use fully copper wires. However, instead of doing all of this cabling have you thought of using power-line adapters? https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/everything-you-need-to-know-about-powerline-networking/4/ It could offer you exactly what you want from wired Ethernet, without having to go and wire the house.

 

[jordydragon5]

Alright thank you guys for your input! i will make sure they don't conflict with each other. and the distance to the attic from my modem is like 20 meters so it's fine

 

[Darkbreeze]

Looks good to me. Good luck.

 

[failboat]

If you're going to run it might as well run 1 wire per and maybe some extra. I think it's ideal to have your modem, router, switch, any servers right in the same place. If the attic isn't conditioned it's going to make your equipment not last as long. Ceiling mounted APs are great. 1000ft cat6a cmr utp 23awg full copper UL listed on monoprice is around $180 with shipping.

If you want to add in a NAS in the future or anything like that having everything with it's own switch port is nice.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That IS a consideration as well. A lot of attics get awfully hot in the summer and can be a problem for some equipment if you don't have one that is thermally regulated with an exhaust fan. Might be better to locate the switch in a closet or one of the rooms on the main floor and run out to the other rooms from there.