[SOLVED] Need advices about network cabling my new house

[AndBaggio]

Hello everyone, I'm new here but I think I found the right forum for this kind of help.

So I basically just bought a new house and since I have to do different cabling work for tv cabling and electricity cabling I thought I might as well put in some network cabling so that I can have my new smart TVs, my xbox, my pcs, my laptop, my NAS external hard drive, my printer, that are in different rooms of the house, all cabled and networked. Either cabled or wifi (the ones that can connect wirelessly).

I will have a new internet provider so at the moment I don't have the model of the modem.

What should I do and put for all these things? A friend told me to put the RJ45 plugs in the rooms and have the cables directly out where I will put a switch.

I usually have a router with 4 ins and the internet connection to it. I'm no expert about these things and I would like to learn the basics so that I can figure out something good for my new house.

I will probably have 5 things cabled in the main room where the internet modem will be, 2 other things in one room, 3 other things in another room. Plus I would like to be able to have a good wifi connection through out the house.

Let me know what should I do and what would be better for this kind of solution. Thanks

 

[bill001g]

I would run at least 1 ethernet cable to every room. Since there is not a lot of extra cost you could run 2 cables to some rooms. If someone would need old style phone lines ever they could use 1 for phone and the other for data. Not sure about coax used to be standard but modern tv runs over internet now. You might want to run some just in case.

In general you run all the cable back to some central location and connect them to a switch. You would then have the ISP run the cable from the internet into this box. You would place a router in this box and connect it to the switch. The switch is purely used to have more than the 4 ports active a router alone would provide.

In the remote rooms if you need more ethernet ports you would place a small switch. Wifi all depends on how good the signal from the central location is. Many times these are put into metal cabnets that mount into the wall or you put the central location in the garage. In those cases the wifi coverage is poor. All you do is put a AP or a cheap router running as a AP into the remote rooms and connect them to the ethernet jack. If you really wanted to you could put a AP in every room so each room has maximum wifi coverage.

 

[AndBaggio]

I would run at least 1 ethernet cable to every room. Since there is not a lot of extra cost you could run 2 cables to some rooms. If someone would need old style phone lines ever they could use 1 for phone and the other for data. Not sure about coax used to be standard but modern tv runs over internet now. You might want to run some just in case.

In general you run all the cable back to some central location and connect them to a switch. You would then have the ISP run the cable from the internet into this box. You would place a router in this box and connect it to the switch. The switch is purely used to have more than the 4 ports active a router alone would provide.

In the remote rooms if you need more ethernet ports you would place a small switch. Wifi all depends on how good the signal from the central location is. Many times these are put into metal cabnets that mount into the wall or you put the central location in the garage. In those cases the wifi coverage is poor. All you do is put a AP or a cheap router running as a AP into the remote rooms and connect them to the ethernet jack. If you really wanted to you could put a AP in every room so each room has maximum wifi coverage.

Thank you very much for the details.

Do I need to program any of these? The switch connected to the router does it need any configurations? Or I can just connect everything and then connect the ISP modem to the router?

 

[bill001g]

You want simple unmanged switches. They can't be configured even if you wanted to. The path always goes ISP---modem--router--switch---?more switch/end devices.

Generally you know when you need specialized switches. For example say you need POE power to run outdoor security cameras or you needed a separate network for some reason then you need vlan support.

 

[kanewolf]

I will recommend that you pull ethernet cable to the soffits for cameras or an outdoor WIFI access point to cover the backyard/pool/patio. Pull an ethernet cable near the breaker box. You might want to monitor your electrical usage. On each floor, put on in the ceiling of high usage rooms for WIFI access points. Living room, master bedroom (or hallway outside bedrooms). With quality WIFI access points, you can run 3 or 4 in a house without issues. You just turn DOWN the transmit power on each one to minimize interference. Then manually assign the WIFI channels to each one to minimize interference.

 

[AndBaggio]

I will recommend that you pull ethernet cable to the soffits for cameras or an outdoor WIFI access point to cover the backyard/pool/patio. Pull an ethernet cable near the breaker box. You might want to monitor your electrical usage. On each floor, put on in the ceiling of high usage rooms for WIFI access points. Living room, master bedroom (or hallway outside bedrooms). With quality WIFI access points, you can run 3 or 4 in a house without issues. You just turn DOWN the transmit power on each one to minimize interference. Then manually assign the WIFI channels to each one to minimize interference.

Thanks for the tips! Is there a good manual to read about networking the house and stuff like that.

The house is not that big so I think that for wifi access I would only need one wifi access point on the first floor and one in the living room since the modem and switches will be in my office / kid's room.

Thanks for the tip about the external wifi and for the cameras. Hope it doesn't cost that much but it's true that a security system is always a good thing even if it's expensive.

 

[Ralston18]

Something to read for starting purposes:

https://www.lifewire.com/home-network-diagrams-4064053

Then google as necessary for more information and details.

Sometimes you can learn more by reading the User Guides/Manuals for the network devices you are considering. Manufacturer Forums and FAQs may prove useful. Look for both what is said and for what is not said.

Sketch out a plan: using the floor plan of the house should prove quite helpful.

Then post additional questions and concerns as necessary.

 

[kanewolf]

Thanks for the tips! Is there a good manual to read about networking the house and stuff like that.

The house is not that big so I think that for wifi access I would only need one wifi access point on the first floor and one in the living room since the modem and switches will be in my office / kid's room.

Thanks for the tip about the external wifi and for the cameras. Hope it doesn't cost that much but it's true that a security system is always a good thing even if it's expensive.

If you are running ethernet cables, don't skimp. I have a 1900 sqft house with three WIFI sources. One in garage (covers kitchen), one in the living room and one in a bedroom. They all have the same SSID and if I do a firmware upgrade, devices just move to another AP. That is how commercial installations work.
Don't assume that a bad-assed WIFI will cover a lot. Maybe it can, but the transmit power on phones and other client devices is much lower. THEY can't get a good signal back to the WIFI source. Multiple WIFI access points prevents that problem.