Question Home network solution

[Maxximus03]

Hello, all. I have been struggling with my home internet for a while due to the builder's poor design choice of not putting in any ethernet outlets anywhere on the second floor of my home. The only connection available upstairs is coaxial. That's great and all, but I have AT&T fiber, not cable. There are three Cat5e outlets downstairs. For a while, I was limited to WiFi upstairs. I decided to run some Cat6 drops throughout the house and set it up to have one going from the AT&T modem/gateway to the network panel box in the master's bedroom closet upstairs and then dropped two cables from the attic into the room we use as an office, replacing the existing coaxial outlet with dual ethernet ports. In the network panel, I hooked the line from the modem to a multi-port unmanaged switch that the two lines running into the office are also plugged into.

What I am trying to do at this point: replace the switch in the network panel with a basic router (and disable the WiFi broadcast from it so that the only wireless network in the house is from the AT&T gateway) and then place the switch in the office to be able to have a hardwire connection for more than just two devices (so I am not limited to only the dual port outlet). Since the AT&T modem is a gateway/router as well, I am trying to figure out which settings I need to change on that as well as on the router I will be using to ensure that things work correctly and there are no issues with IP addresses being issued to all devices, connecting to the Internet, etc. I am no stranger to building computers, but when it comes the intricacies of networking, I am not confident at all. Any input you may have to help me figure this out will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[kanewolf]

Hello, all. I have been struggling with my home internet for a while due to the builder's poor design choice of not putting in any ethernet outlets anywhere on the second floor of my home. The only connection available upstairs is coaxial. That's great and all, but I have AT&T fiber, not cable. There are three Cat5e outlets downstairs. For a while, I was limited to WiFi upstairs. I decided to run some Cat6 drops throughout the house and set it up to have one going from the AT&T modem/gateway to the network panel box in the master's bedroom closet upstairs and then dropped two cables from the attic into the room we use as an office, replacing the existing coaxial outlet with dual ethernet ports. In the network panel, I hooked the line from the modem to a multi-port unmanaged switch that the two lines running into the office are also plugged into.

What I am trying to do at this point: replace the switch in the network panel with a basic router (and disable the WiFi broadcast from it so that the only wireless network in the house is from the AT&T gateway) and then place the switch in the office to be able to have a hardwire connection for more than just two devices (so I am not limited to only the dual port outlet). Since the AT&T modem is a gateway/router as well, I am trying to figure out which settings I need to change on that as well as on the router I will be using to ensure that things work correctly and there are no issues with IP addresses being issued to all devices, connecting to the Internet, etc. I am no stranger to building computers, but when it comes the intricacies of networking, I am not confident at all. Any input you may have to help me figure this out will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

If you can find a place that has ethernet and coax near each other, then you should try MoCA which is ethernet over coax. You plug one adapter into your router or a cable to router and into your coax system. You put a second adapter on the second floor and the coax (hopefully) provides you a gigabit network.
Since I don't know exactly what your coax system looks like, I can't say for sure it will work.

 

[bill001g]

You likely are going to have big issue moving the att box unless you plan to run some kind of fiber between the location the fiber comes into the house to the closet.

If your only concern is to get more ports in a remote room just buy a 5 port switch. You can basically have as many switches as you want on a network.

If you do not have good wifi coverage you can plug a AP into any of the ethernet jacks in the remote rooms. You can also use a router as a AP and get the extra ethernet ports you want as well as a second wifi signal instead of a small switch.

As mentioned above you could have just used MoCA deviecs rather than run ethernet. Running actual ethernet cables is always the best option if you can actually accomplish it. Many times houses are built in a way you can not get new wires into some areas.

 

[Maxximus03]

You likely are going to have big issue moving the att box unless you plan to run some kind of fiber between the location the fiber comes into the house to the closet.

If your only concern is to get more ports in a remote room just buy a 5 port switch. You can basically have as many switches as you want on a network.

If you do not have good wifi coverage you can plug a AP into any of the ethernet jacks in the remote rooms. You can also use a router as a AP and get the extra ethernet ports you want as well as a second wifi signal instead of a small switch.

As mentioned above you could have just used MoCA deviecs rather than run ethernet. Running actual ethernet cables is always the best option if you can actually accomplish it. Many times houses are built in a way you can not get new wires into some areas.

Thank you for your replies, kanewolf and bill001g. I think I need to add some clarification to my original post. As far as running the Cat6 ethernet cables, I have already done that. I currently have a line going from the AT&T modem/router inside the wall to the network panel in the closet upstairs. I took out the coaxial outlet in the office and replaced it with a dual ethernet outlet, to which I connected two additional Cat6 lines that I dropped down the inside of the wall from the attic. The line running from the modem/router and the lines going into the office are connected to an unmanaged switch in the network box/panel in the upstairs bedroom closet. The new outlet/ports were tested and I am getting 920 down on a gig service (compared to sub 300 on WiFi before).

I only have the two ethernet ports in the office now, but want to be able to hardwire additional devices. After some basic researching, I came to the conclusion that I cannot simply connect an ethernet cable to the new office outlet, connect the other end to another switch, and then plug in as many devices as I want into the switch (I read that connecting a switch to a switch is a no go). It appears that if I want to expand the number of ethernet ports I have available in the office, I need to replace the unmanaged switch I have in the network panel with a router and then have that router powering the lines I have running to the office outlet, which will then be connected to a switch for the end point for devices. ATT modem/router -->network panel (connected to router I intend to install instead of the current switch)-->router connected to the two lines I have going to the office outlet--> cable plugged into one of the outlets and then to a multi-port switch--> devices. Am I on the right track there? Please correct me if I am not understanding something. If I could plug a switch into a switch and call it good, that would be super easy and I will gladly do that. But, if I do need the router between the ATT modem and switch given my current physical setup of lines/outlets, what settings do I need to enable/disable/change in the ATT router and the router I plan to install to ensure that things function as they should with no issues with IP assignment/resolution etc.? Thank you again for your input.

 

[bill001g]

What you found is completely false. You can pretty much as many switches chained as you want... there is some limit but it hundreds if not thousands.

The only concern would be in network you exceeding the 1gbit connection between switches. Since the internet is also 1gbit it doesn't matter. It would be more if you had some NAS or something in your house. If the 1gbit is ever a issue 2.5 and even 10gbit unmanged switches have come down a lot in price.

 

[Maxximus03]

What you found is completely false. You can pretty much as many switches chained as you want... there is some limit but it hundreds if not thousands.

The only concern would be in network you exceeding the 1gbit connection between switches. Since the internet is also 1gbit it doesn't matter. It would be more if you had some NAS or something in your house. If the 1gbit is ever a issue 2.5 and even 10gbit unmanged switches have come down a lot in price.

Wow! That's awesome news. Thank you! I was scared of connecting two switches in a chain. I will give that a try. It is definitely the preferred method as I would not want to get another router for this whole setup. I will give this a try and report back. I assume it's all plug and play and pretty id10t proof as far as plugging in the cables any specific way goes.

 

[bill001g]

The thing that won't work is if were to plug both cable going to the remote room into both switches.

Worst case you get a loop and your entire network goes down. Lately even very very cheap switches detect this issue and block one of the 2 connections, in effect you only have 1 cable.

 

[Maxximus03]

The thing that won't work is if were to plug both cable going to the remote room into both switches.

Worst case you get a loop and your entire network goes down. Lately even very very cheap switches detect this issue and block one of the 2 connections, in effect you only have 1 cable.

I'm sorry, I am a bit slow. I am trying to visualize the scenario you just mentioned. I have switch A in the network panel. Switch A is fed by the AT&T gateway downstairs. The two lines that terminate in the office room outlet are connected to Switch A. If I plug an ethernet cable into one of the two ports on that outlet and the other end into switch B, that will cause issues?

 

[bill001g]

Should not have confused you. It will work fine with just a single cable going from the wall to switch b

 

[Maxximus03]

Should not have confused you. It will work fine with just a single cable going from the wall to switch b

No worries. Thank you. I will pick up another switch later today and give it a shot.