Please help me understand my network. Where should the modem go?

[linkjg]

I moved into a house with a network panel in the hall closet. I do not know enough about network equipment to understand the setup. It has a Commscope box with cable lines attached to it. There is also a phone module on the top left (RJ31X), though there are no phone jacks in the house (can someone explain the purpose of this module?). I have what looks like 7 blue CAT ethernet cables that correspond to the ethernet jacks in various rooms of the house, and 1 free black cable line that is not connected to anything. And, some other cables on the left tied up that I'm not sure what they are for.

What I own is a ARRIS modem DOCSIS 3.0 Residential Gateway with 802.11n/ 4 GigaPort Router/ 2-Voice Lines Certified with Comcast (TG862G-CT). My home phone is connected to the modem. The modem is activated in one of the bedrooms (cable screwed into cable connection on the wall).

I would like to use the network outlets in this home for faster internet / download speeds in various rooms.

After looking at the network panel, would I screw in my modem to the available black cable line? Then, I could connect some of the blue CAT cables to the back of the modem or buy a switch to attach more? Would this make the ethernet jacks in the rooms work? Otherwise, I'm not sure where the modem needs to be placed for this to work correctly. And if I put my modem in the network panel, I guess I'll have to move my phone into the closet as it is connected to the modem.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Link to my network panel pic https://ibb.co/kR7vH9

 

[jsmithepa]

CABLE ----> PASSIVE/2 SPLITTER(1) ----> ARRIS [WAN], (2) ----> COMMSCOPE SPLITTER [for TVs]


[WAN] ARRIS [VOIP PHONE] ---> Room
[WAN] ARRIS [LAN PORTS] ----> Rooms, for Internet.

If u need more than 4 LAN ports then:

ARRIS [LAN PORT] ---> Ethernet Switch ----> Rooms, for Internet.


Phone jack for LAND line and/or DSL.

 

[linkjg]

CABLE ----> PASSIVE/2 SPLITTER(1) ----> ARRIS [WAN], (2) ----> COMMSCOPE SPLITTER [for TVs]


[WAN] ARRIS [VOIP PHONE] ---> Room
[WAN] ARRIS [LAN PORTS] ----> Rooms, for Internet.

If u need more than 4 LAN ports then:

ARRIS [LAN PORT] ---> Ethernet Switch ----> Rooms, for Internet.


Phone jack for LAND line and/or DSL.

jsmithepa, thank you for your response. Can you or someone reading this answer these questions?

1) From your diagram, I think you confirmed that the modem DOES need to be moved where the network cables are. I don't understand "splitter". Would this be a cable splitter? So the IN would be installed on the modem and the OUTs would be the black cable AND the Commscope box (not sure where the second connection would be?)

2) I don't understand the purpose of the Commscope box or if I need to do anything to it. For the cable modem, would I use the free black line? And what is a Commscope box for in my situation? Do I need a splitter if I don't want to use its features? Or do I have to or else the TV cable won't work?

3) I think you are confirming that I need a LAND line to properly utilize the phone module. Since I don't have a LAND line established or any phone jacks in this entire house, I guess it has no purpose in my situation?

4) The ARRIS modem appears multiple times in your diagram. I only have 1 cable modem. Do I need multiple modems to get this to work? Is that what the (2) means in your diagram?

5) I think you are confirming that the phone DOES need to be in the closet with the modem since that's where it connects. That's fine.

Sorry for all the questions. I really appreciate your help with this.

 

[failboat]

When was the service put in?
Was it transferred over to you or something?

The ISP usually brings the stuff online for you.

modem->router->switch(in room with all the cables)->clients, aps, etc

 

[linkjg]

When was the service put in?
Was it transferred over to you or something?

The ISP usually brings the stuff online for you.

modem->router->switch(in room with all the cables)->clients, aps, etc

Thanks failboat. I don't think the company (Comcast) knew about the network. The internet modem was installed in the office. If I move the modem to the closet, I will need to contact them to reactivate it at that area. Thank you for your diagram. The room with all of the cables... do you mean the hall closet? So I don't need a splitter? I'm trying to understand what I have and what is not needed.

Is the black cord what I attach to the modem/router?

Link to my network panel pic https://ibb.co/kR7vH9

Another pic: https://ibb.co/doeT5U

 

[jsmithepa]

1. Incoming Cable to 2-way Splitter, half of the signal used for TV, the other half for Internet.
2. Commscope is a Multiway Active Splitter for all of your TVs.
3. LAND currently unused, no purpose.
4. One Arris, has MULTIPLE Outs.
5. This is your JUNCTION, this is where most everything will be.

 

[linkjg]

1. Incoming Cable to 2-way Splitter, half of the signal used for TV, the other half for Internet.

Thanks! So would the IN on the splitter be connected to the modem and the OUTs on the splitter would be connected to the black cable AND ?

Another pic of the panel, if that helps https://ibb.co/doeT5U It looks like the black cable is attached to a VOIP area on the commscope.

Would I unscrew the white cable (currently attached to a power outlet at the bottom) and use that one and the black one as the OUTS?

Link to Commscope that I have. I don't have the Power INSERTER/splitter shown in the picture. Is that what I need? I do own a splitter as pictured here.

Also, someone mentioned in the Amazon comments for the Commscope that they used a MoCA filter. Do I need that? Would that be beneficial to have?

 

[failboat]

When was the service put in?
Was it transferred over to you or something?

The ISP usually brings the stuff online for you.

modem->router->switch(in room with all the cables)->clients, aps, etc

Thanks failboat. I don't think the company (Comcast) knew about the network. The internet modem was installed in the office. If I move the modem to the closet, I will need to contact them to reactivate it at that area. Thank you for your diagram. The room with all of the cables... do you mean the hall closet? So I don't need a splitter? I'm trying to understand what I have and what is not needed.

Is the black cord what I attach to the modem/router?

Link to my network panel pic https://ibb.co/kR7vH9

Another pic: https://ibb.co/doeT5U

the router's lan needs to go into the switch inside the cable room.
you can keep the router next to the modem to get wifi from that area and more lan ports or put the router in the panel room.
buy a newer model 1G unmanaged switch. Don't get too many more ports than you need. newer models use less power and are fanless.

ISP should give you advice on connecting tv. did they run anymore cables for that or did they tell you to split it and plug into a receiver or straight into the tv? ideally you want one coming in that can connect to the splitter you have.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy-Efficient_Ethernet

 

[linkjg]

the router's lan needs to go into the switch inside the cable room.
you can keep the router next to the modem to get wifi from that area and more lan ports or put the router in the panel room.

The "router lan"... is this the ARRIS modem/router? The ARRIS modem/router is the same device. I understand that the ARRIS modem/router should go in the hall closet, but I am unsure how to hook it up to a splitter (and what splitter it should be) for the TV/Internet. See previous response to jsmithepa...

ISP should give you advice on connecting tv. did they run anymore cables for that or did they tell you to split it and plug into a receiver or straight into the tv? ideally you want one coming in that can connect to the splitter you have.

Currently the TV and internet work in this house. In the office, the modem/router is connected to the cable jack. So, the TV cable jack is used for internet in that room. No TV in the office. In the other rooms, the cable jack is attached to a TV. Comcast did not run the network cables. What I have noticed is that if I unplug the Commscope in the network closet, the Internet stops working (and probably TV too). So I think I just need to know how to connect my modem/router to the Commscope. Then, I can connect at least 4 ethernet cables to the modem/router to activate the ethernet jacks in certain rooms.

Thanks for advice about the switch! I do have one of the newer models.

Can you or someone please let me know what splitter to use and how it should be connected to the Commscope?