[SOLVED] Setting up Modem, Network Switch, and Router

[ShadowDragon25]

Hello, I live in the UK. My wifi keeps cutting out. I have done some research. I’m looking at doing something similar to this. Except without the patch panel and have the wires not necessarily in the walls, due to the face we rent. It needs to be temporary.

View: https://youtu.be/00UTYN9j0FE

The router I already have is the Netgear Nighthawk XR500. But this doesn't have a modem in it. So we use the one our ISP provided which sucks.
For the modem I am looking at the DrayTek Vigor 130 ADSL/VDSL2 Modem. Would appreciate input to see if anyone has any other modem suggestions.
The network switch I am looking at is, TP-Link TL SG1024. This then allows easy future use if we have more devices we need to connect. Again looking for advice if a different network switch would be better.
Then would look at buying cat6 ethernet in bulk to run the cables and custom make them. Does anyone have any advice as to where to buy this and which type I would need?
Just a reminder I live in the UK and all the products need to be easily available for me.

 

[bill001g]

I would not buy another modem. If you main problem is the wifi just turn the wifi radios off in the ISP modem/router and use your netgear as a AP. DSL is rather slow so the ISP router is likely powerful enough to handle the traffic.

Your wifi may not be better. It is unlikely the ISP router is defective. Much more likely the problem is the end device does not have enough power to talk back to the router. You could leave the wifi turned in the router and then place the new router running as a AP in a remote room to increase the coverage.

I do not know where to get wire in the UK. I would recommend the local hardware store actually. The cost to ship cable seems to offset the extra cost you see at a local store. They can buy pallets of it and pay less shippng per box.

You do not need cat6 cable cat5e will be fine. If you can get cat6 cable for cheaper that is fine but it give no advantage over cat5e both run at gigabit speeds.

Key to the cable is it is pure copper (no CCA) and it have wire size 22-24 (no flat or thin cable). This another reason to buy locally, very few vendors sell the fake cable and most times the return policy is much better.

I would buy a cable testing tool also. It takes a lot of practice to get cable correct and with as many as you plan to build you likely will get a few that are not correct.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Thanks for this. I have tried turning the ISP router into modem mode and it has freaked out. So I turned off the wireless and conencted my Netgear router and that sent a better signal but we were still having problems. So we went back to just the ISPs router and still have problems. I have two extenders both Netgear Nighthawk extenders. This is why I am looking to replace the ISP Modem. I would currently only be running 5 cables. But want the 24 ports for future use if we ever had more than 5 devices needed to be plugged in. Thanks for the advice about the ethernet cables.

 

[bill001g]

If would never run a extender/repeater unless you have no other options. Since you plan to run cable just convert the extenders into AP mode and turn off the repeater function. Repeaters cause the wifi signal to be degraded, there design means they interfere with main router as well as other repeaters. it is already bad enough with all the neighbors wifi signals.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Ok thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated.

 

[robert600]

I don't know about modems but the switch looks fine. You'll find that 1000Mbps led handy especially since you're making your own cables. If you're looking to save a little money ... Cat 5e cable would work fine ... it's more supple too so easier to work with. Since you're not using a patch panel ... I'm thinking you're going to terminate the wires directly with RJ45 connector plugs? Note that these are much harder to connect properly than keystone jacks so ... be sure to order extra as I can pretty much guaranty you'll mess a few of them up ... give yourself a few extra feet of cable on each end. It's very easy to mess up on one wire and end up with 100 speed rather than 1000 ... that's where that 1000 Mbps led on the switch will be handy. I like the little rubber boot things ... if you order different colors you can color code your cables easily. Just remember to slip them over the cable BEFORE you crimp the terminal lol.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Amazing thanks for the tip. I was looking at getting the rubber things in multi-colour anyway. I didn't think about colour coding. That is a great idea.

 

[robert600]

Since you're bound to have extra wire and jacks ... you may as well as make up a Xover cable while you have the tools etc. out ... always handy to have one on hand ... just be sure to clearly mark it as Xover.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

What is a Xover cable for?

 

[bill001g]

Likely a cross over cable but it would be extremely rare to need it on new equipment. It was only used on 10/100 connection but most port support auto mdix so it is no longer needed. It is best to not use cross cables because gigabit ports sometime will get confused by them and the port will drop to 100mbps.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Thanks everyone for the help. I am a bit confused about the difference between solid core and stranded core ethernet cables. Can you use solid core to plug straight into a device? For example from the network switch into my PCs ethernet port.

 

[bill001g]

The only real reason for stranded cables is because they are more flexible. I forget the details but stranded cable is not rated to go the same distance as solid. It is really only meant to be used to patch between a patch panel and end equipment.

Using solid cable is actually better. I guess it is mostly a personal preference. You can tell by feel that the stranded cable is much easier to say coil up neatly. Almost all my cable is solid because it was cheaper. Since you need a different plug to crimp onto stranded cable the few stranded cable I had got put in the trash when they failed.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Ok thanks. So I can run solid cable straight into a device? I have read that it can break easier compared to stranded is this the case?

 

[bill001g]

Not likely unless you constantly mess with your cables. I have never broken the cable itself, the plastic tabs on the ends are another story.

 

[ShadowDragon25]

Great thanks for this. Really helpful. I'm new to this home networking stuff.