[SOLVED] New house build. Ideas on setting up ethernet network

[jcpearlman]

My house is going to be built in October and I'm looking for advise on what I should do for setting up my ports for a cat6a ethernet network. I'm a storage engineer and pretty familiar with networking but could use some advise. I'm building a 2 story house with a basement.

Upstairs will have 3 bedrooms (master bedroom will have a tv) , game room (partial office space)

Downstairs will have living room with a smart TV, playstation, soundbar and den (for my workspace).

basement will be a home movie theatre, bar area and a workout room.

I've been reading these forums (and others) and recommended cat6a for 1gb network, but I have no idea how many cables I need and where to put them.

Upstairs :
2 ports for the master bedroom. One for the TV and one for hard connection to the network for my laptop.

1-2 connections for the game room,
1 connection for second bedroom,

downstairs:
2 ethernet behind the TV
1 for smart tv
1 for the playstation
(not sure what I might do for a media center or what I'd need)

1 cat6a in the kitchen

basement:
1 cat6a on the ceiling for ethernet enabled projector.
not sure what other wiring I might need/want for audio connections (suggestions??)
wall mount for media center hardware (any type of connections there for easy access for media setup??)

1 connection at the bar in case I want "smart" access to some kind of device.

I'm also considering setting up my home to do audio in all rooms and be able to control it from a control station or mobile device.

any suggestions, comments would be helpful.

one last thing, I swear..
this cat6a is going to all be run to the basement. Should I install conduits panel? I was going to put in a patch panel to a switch for cable management. as for what I should use for my switch, routing and modem and rack mount, I'm not sure.

I'm also eventually going to setup a NAS as well as a server eventually in the basement so if there's anything there I should consider, please help.

 

[failboat]

Would recommend picking a place to run everything too that's secure. Buy all the networking stuff, patch panel, cable, keystones, etc. Have the builder run it for you if needed. It is good to run conduit and have a few places to pull line through.

cat6a cmr UTP UL listed 23awg on monoprice is good. Get the same rated keystones and patch panel from them.

Do more runs than you need or just put dual/quad jacks in. plan runs for wifi access points on the ceilings. unifi switch+AP is nice setup. think about places you might want CCTV for security cameras.

With everything centralized and on POE you can keep up everything up with a UPS in your server room. You can have a network panel installed on the wall or a 4 post 22U approx. rack mount for stuff. if it's secured it's fine to run your ethernet to a patch panel inside it.

 

[jcpearlman]

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into it. They said they would run cat6a for $45 a line. That should include all parts/labor (but I'd have to check). They're going to run it to a central location in one room to the basement utility room. I was going to install a rack mount (probably 22u) on the wall. Good idea with the wifi acces points on the ceiling. I'll check out that switch as well.

 

[kanewolf]

As @failboat recommends, bring all your cabling to a central location that has power and cooling available. This is called "home run" wiring. Are you able to run low voltage cabling during construction or do you have to pay to have cabling run? If you have ANY say so in the low voltage wiring, then use structured cabling. That is a bundle of RG6 and ethernet cables built as a unit. It minimizes the number of cable runs required because you get multiple cables in a single pull.

Think about places you might want a camera. Those locations should get an ethernet cable. That would include the soffits for outdoor cameras. If you will have a pool area, think about a cable to add an outdoor WIFI access point to cover the backyard/pool. "Smoke detector" style WIFI sources in the house are very good. That requires cabling to the ceilings for those devices. Think about where the utilities come in, you want a couple RG6 and ethernet cables going there also.

On a two story house think about adding some low voltage conduit to allow you to pull cable from the first floor to the second floor.

Your home run area should have UPS protection for your network. It may also be the location of your security system.

 

[jcpearlman]

I'm going to have to check about the structured cabling. Since it's bundled with Cat6,RG6 and fiber optic --should I only get one per room? I'd like to run cat6a in different areas and then can have star wiring in the bedroom, living room and basement.

I'm definitely going to have cameras outside and set them up myself. As for upstairs, I'm probably just going to have them run cabling to upstairs.

I'm also, going to have my UPS for my network. I've been doing engineering for long enough to know but I appreciate the advice.

Also, thanks a lot for all the helpful information!

 

[kanewolf]

I'm going to have to check about the structured cabling. Since it's bundled with Cat6,RG6 and fiber optic --should I only get one per room? I'd like to run cat6a in different areas and then can have star wiring in the bedroom, living room and basement.

I'm definitely going to have cameras outside and set them up myself. As for upstairs, I'm probably just going to have them run cabling to upstairs.

I'm also, going to have my UPS for my network. I've been doing engineering for long enough to know but I appreciate the advice.

Also, thanks a lot for all the helpful information!

You can get structured cabling without fiber. Just two RG6 and two cat6a. One of those per room should be fine.

 

[jsmithepa]

Don't forget the AV wirings. I like me a dedicated 120V to my AV rack.

 

[failboat]

$45 a run seems high with the walls not being up. I'd see if you can buy the cable and see what his price is. They might buy the cheapest cat6a they can find rather than something good.

If you can get in there before the walls are up you might be able to do some runs yourself. The hard part is dealing with drywall.

 

[bill001g]

You may save some money if you have them run "smurf tube" it is a flexible conduit. You can then run whatever you need after the fact and terminate it all yourself. Since it takes no special skills other than drilling holes they should not charge as much to run conduit. 1/2in is about 25 cents a foot when you buy large rolls. If you plan to run a more than 2 or 3 cables through it you may want 3/4 inch.

 

[jcpearlman]

thanks for the info. I agree that the price is a little high. I have to check to see what work I can do myself. Good idea with the tubing. I plan on running multiple wires through different parts of the house.

 

[Miamiblue]

thanks for the info. I agree that the price is a little high. I have to check to see what work I can do myself. Good idea with the tubing. I plan on running multiple wires through different parts of the house.

I hope you get this, i just created the account to see how things worked out for you. Was it $45, how much did it cost you in the end. What is the final setup/design? And any suggestions i'm about to start a build?