Question Networking Advice: Connecting House and Garage via Ethernet (and Starlink)

[preatomic_bean]

Hello, everyone. In advance, I appreciate anyone who makes it through my novella and gives me any insight here. I'm a relative novice when it comes to networking, and in this case specifically, I'm swimming in unfamiliar waters (running Ethernet outdoors and having multiple Wifi + Ethernet routers).

First, to describe the setting: I just moved to a rural area in Maine with no broadband connectivity options and otherwise no hardwired internet aside from DSL. Cell data on Verizon around the property goes from nill to around 5Mbps down, whereas T-Mobile edges slightly ahead with a more consistent ~15Mbps down, 3 up (so, slower than DSL). I work remotely full-time so I had to bite the bullet and buy a Starlink dish, which is sitting on the ground in my driveway until I get this problem figured out (and wait for Sapce X to send the Ethernet Adapter).

My home office is in the back of the detached garage, which is around 60' from the closest corner of the house. Currently, the wifi coverage is good in my office (but not great) and only covers about a third of the house. The router is in the front corner of the garage (by office is in the opposite corner), positioned where I'm trying to split the difference so my family can at least stand in the kitchen when they need to google things, but is closer to my office so that I don't have to fight signal loss thru walls.

Now, what I've been planning and would like insight into: I've scanned the property for obstructions to the dish and landed on mounting itto the north-facing peak of the house's roof. I will likely achieve this with a ridge-line mounting kit (basically a metal frame that sits on the peak of the roof and can be weighed down) because I don't want to put any holes in the roof. If not that, then I'll use a standard side-mounted pole mount and lag it into the side of the house just under the roof. This puts the Starlink router in the house, because I'm limited by the length of the cable from dish to router and it isn't long enough to bring the router into the garage. I've ordered an Ethernet Adapter so that I can bypass the SL router and roll my own setup, which I think is going to look like this:

• 2 wifi routers (one for house, one for office)
• a couple Ethernet (CAT6) cables: one short and one over 100' long

The Cat6 in the house doesn't have to be very long and I probably already have what I need for that, since I moved with my old network stuff. This cable just needs to connect the SL Ethernet Adapter to the house router. I wish the SL router included a few Eth ports and didn't require it be put into "bypass mode" to add physical connections, but that's why I need to connect a router to it. Once the Eth Adapter is plugged into the SL router, it has to be bypassed in order for the Adapter to receive a signal. Anyway, so far, so good.

Here's what I'm unsure of: I need to then run a very long Cat6 cable from the house router back outside, up to the peak of the roof, across the driveway to the garage, into the garage and along the ceiling, thru the wall of my office where I'm hoping to install an Eth outlet (or one on either side of the wall). Then, I'll plug my office router into that jack where I'll be able to either plug my computer into it, or connect to it's Wifi network. For this very long cable, I have a couple of questions (and a later question about using Mesh as an alternative altogether):

1. Is there a special cable I need to use for this outdoor aerial run? I'm worried about weather and tension. The cable needs to be robust enough to stay operable in wet weather, but also sub-freezing temperatures. It also needs to be tight enough that is out of the way for cars, trucks, vans, etc in the driveway, but I don't want it so tight that it will rip. Also, due to the tension, I'm not sure a typical household Cat6 cable is going to cut the mustard. I've considered a braid-wrapped cable as it might be a more robust shell, but it would also allow water into the wrap which could freeze, expand, become brittle, and snap. What I've read so far about running Ethernet outside recommends digging a trench, sheathing it in PVC, and running the whole thing underground. Underground isn't an option because I'm renting and the landlord doesn't want the yard ripped up. (Other modifications are OK as long as they provide value, such as installing the Eth jack in the office.)
2. How long of a distance can I expect the signal to travel before degradation occurs? I read an article that suggests Cat6 can deliver 1Gbps over 100m, but my connection is no where near that fast. So if I end up running more than 100m (maybe unlikely) should I expect that capacity to be halved? Quartered? Starlink has so far (past three weeks) capped under 200Mbps.
3. With all the physical connections (from the SL adapter to router 1, router 1 to 2, possibly some wall jacks), should I expect signal loss?
4. Wifi Mesh systems have been suggested as a potential solution to simplify this problem, but the closest corner of the garage to that of the house is over 30' away. If I were to put two of the nodes in those corners, should I expect a strong enough signal to extend out to at least one more node per building?

Thanks again for reading, and any advice is appreciated. I will likely post a few diagrams in a follow-up reply, still working on those.

 

[kanewolf]

Hello, everyone. In advance, I appreciate anyone who makes it through my novella and gives me any insight here. I'm a relative novice when it comes to networking, and in this case specifically, I'm swimming in unfamiliar waters (running Ethernet outdoors and having multiple Wifi + Ethernet routers).

First, to describe the setting: I just moved to a rural area in Maine with no broadband connectivity options and otherwise no hardwired internet aside from DSL. Cell data on Verizon around the property goes from nill to around 5Mbps down, whereas T-Mobile edges slightly ahead with a more consistent ~15Mbps down, 3 up (so, slower than DSL). I work remotely full-time so I had to bite the bullet and buy a Starlink dish, which is sitting on the ground in my driveway until I get this problem figured out (and wait for Sapce X to send the Ethernet Adapter).

My home office is in the back of the detached garage, which is around 60' from the closest corner of the house. Currently, the wifi coverage is good in my office (but not great) and only covers about a third of the house. The router is in the front corner of the garage (by office is in the opposite corner), positioned where I'm trying to split the difference so my family can at least stand in the kitchen when they need to google things, but is closer to my office so that I don't have to fight signal loss thru walls.

Now, what I've been planning and would like insight into: I've scanned the property for obstructions to the dish and landed on mounting itto the north-facing peak of the house's roof. I will likely achieve this with a ridge-line mounting kit (basically a metal frame that sits on the peak of the roof and can be weighed down) because I don't want to put any holes in the roof. If not that, then I'll use a standard side-mounted pole mount and lag it into the side of the house just under the roof. This puts the Starlink router in the house, because I'm limited by the length of the cable from dish to router and it isn't long enough to bring the router into the garage. I've ordered an Ethernet Adapter so that I can bypass the SL router and roll my own setup, which I think is going to look like this:

• 2 wifi routers (one for house, one for office)
• a couple Ethernet (CAT6) cables: one short and one over 100' long

The Cat6 in the house doesn't have to be very long and I probably already have what I need for that, since I moved with my old network stuff. This cable just needs to connect the SL Ethernet Adapter to the house router. I wish the SL router included a few Eth ports and didn't require it be put into "bypass mode" to add physical connections, but that's why I need to connect a router to it. Once the Eth Adapter is plugged into the SL router, it has to be bypassed in order for the Adapter to receive a signal. Anyway, so far, so good.

Here's what I'm unsure of: I need to then run a very long Cat6 cable from the house router back outside, up to the peak of the roof, across the driveway to the garage, into the garage and along the ceiling, thru the wall of my office where I'm hoping to install an Eth outlet (or one on either side of the wall). Then, I'll plug my office router into that jack where I'll be able to either plug my computer into it, or connect to it's Wifi network. For this very long cable, I have a couple of questions (and a later question about using Mesh as an alternative altogether):

1. Is there a special cable I need to use for this outdoor aerial run? I'm worried about weather and tension. The cable needs to be robust enough to stay operable in wet weather, but also sub-freezing temperatures. It also needs to be tight enough that is out of the way for cars, trucks, vans, etc in the driveway, but I don't want it so tight that it will rip. Also, due to the tension, I'm not sure a typical household Cat6 cable is going to cut the mustard. I've considered a braid-wrapped cable as it might be a more robust shell, but it would also allow water into the wrap which could freeze, expand, become brittle, and snap. What I've read so far about running Ethernet outside recommends digging a trench, sheathing it in PVC, and running the whole thing underground. Underground isn't an option because I'm renting and the landlord doesn't want the yard ripped up. (Other modifications are OK as long as they provide value, such as installing the Eth jack in the office.)
2. How long of a distance can I expect the signal to travel before degradation occurs? I read an article that suggests Cat6 can deliver 1Gbps over 100m, but my connection is no where near that fast. So if I end up running more than 100m (maybe unlikely) should I expect that capacity to be halved? Quartered? Starlink has so far (past three weeks) capped under 200Mbps.
3. With all the physical connections (from the SL adapter to router 1, router 1 to 2, possibly some wall jacks), should I expect signal loss?
4. Wifi Mesh systems have been suggested as a potential solution to simplify this problem, but the closest corner of the garage to that of the house is over 30' away. If I were to put two of the nodes in those corners, should I expect a strong enough signal to extend out to at least one more node per building?

Thanks again for reading, and any advice is appreciated. I will likely post a few diagrams in a follow-up reply, still working on those.

1. There are two basic "outdoor" ethernet cables. UV protected and direct burial. If you are going to run your ethernet cable in the air, I would recommend adding a stainless steel support cable that actually holds the weight and tension. You could then either zip tie to the cable or twine the ethernet around the support cable. BUT, rather than run an aerial cable, have you looked at wireless point-to-point hardware? A good example is the Ubiquiti nanostation 5AC units. You have one on the outside of the house and one on the garage. They bridge the gap with a dedicated radio link.
2. 100m is the recommended limit for all ethernet cable segments. The wireless recommendation above does not have a distance limit.
3. No. New electrical signals are created at each powered device.
4. WIFI mesh is a poor substitute for the point-to-point recommended above.

 

[bill001g]

I would try the outdoor ethernet cable first. 100 meters is a long way. It is not likely you would exceed it but it does not run slower at longer distance it just does not function at all. You I guess could run fiber the cost are much less than a few years ago. There is other technology that lets you run ethernet over longer distance but it is like a form of private DSL so it is not very fast.

Point to point wireless you might get your 200mbps it depends on the units you buy. The ones that can run say 1gbit are extremely expensive.

...a added thought. You can use normal indoor cable outdoors as long as you do let it sit in standing water or touch the soil. The sun will though kill the plastic in couple years, maybe less if it gets lots of direct sun. Years ago before they sold outdoor cable I used to use normal house paint on the cables to give them UV protection.

 

[preatomic_bean]

1. There are two basic "outdoor" ethernet cables. UV protected and direct burial. If you are going to run your ethernet cable in the air, I would recommend adding a stainless steel support cable that actually holds the weight and tension. You could then either zip tie to the cable or twine the ethernet around the support cable. BUT, rather than run an aerial cable, have you looked at wireless point-to-point hardware? A good example is the Ubiquiti nanostation 5AC units. You have one on the outside of the house and one on the garage. They bridge the gap with a dedicated radio link.
2. 100m is the recommended limit for all ethernet cable segments. The wireless recommendation above does not have a distance limit.
3. No. New electrical signals are created at each powered device.
4. WIFI mesh is a poor substitute for the point-to-point recommended above.

I hadn't thought about using a wireless point-to-point system, but I'm going to research that now. And great suggestion about using a support cable! Thanks!

 

[preatomic_bean]

I would try the outdoor ethernet cable first. 100 meters is a long way. It is not likely you would exceed it but it does not run slower at longer distance it just does not function at all. You I guess could run fiber the cost are much less than a few years ago. There is other technology that lets you run ethernet over longer distance but it is like a form of private DSL so it is not very fast.

Point to point wireless you might get your 200mbps it depends on the units you buy. The ones that can run say 1gbit are extremely expensive.

...a added thought. You can use normal indoor cable outdoors as long as you do let it sit in standing water or touch the soil. The sun will though kill the plastic in couple years, maybe less if it gets lots of direct sun. Years ago before they sold outdoor cable I used to use normal house paint on the cables to give them UV protection.

I only just now started looking into wireless ptp, but it seems that will add much more expense to the project. And with Starlink having already cost me around $700, doubling that with wireless ptp to beam the connection just under 50' away isn't very appealing. Kind of shooting a cannonball at a mosquito on that one.

Thanks for the tip about the UV damage! I'll make sure to get the appropriate protection in place there. No issue with standing water or soil, either, since this will be anchored from house to garage roof peaks and then enter the structures through water- (and critter-) proof conduits.