Cabling Problem

[mmurley]

I live in a split level.

The 'bottom floor' is on a slab. The 'middle floor' is over a crawl space. I have access to the 'top floor' attic, but no practical access the 'middle floor' attic.

My cable modem and home network 'center' (Acer H340 WHS and a Dell acting as my WMC HTPC / DVR - we watch TV over WMC using a cable card device) is in my office on the 'top floor' at one end of the house. I have a 16 port gigabit switch there, with ethernet through the wall to the master bedroom and another through the exterior wall that runs along the outside of the house to the crawlspace door (in the back) , then through the crawl space to the living room (far end of the house, enclosed arport on a slab) for a wirelss access point, Roku, Asus O!Play streaming box an WMC extender.

So, I want to add another run to the kitchen (wich is right above the crawl space where the long cable run comes in) to put a WMC extender there, but I don't want to do another cable run outside and the attic would take a lot of work (basicly have to cut a new access into the 'middle floor' attic).

I've thought of two options.

1. (a) Cut the ethernet cable in the crawl space (b) put jacks on the ends, and put my spare 5-port gigabit unmanaged switch in the crawl space (which stays relatively cool in the summer) and (c) run the kitchen run up at the base of the kitchen exerior wall.

2. (a) Come off the 8-port gigabit switch in the living room and (b) run a ethernet cable back through the same hole the existing ethernet run comes out back through the crawl space and (c) run the kitchen run up at the base of the kitchen exerior wall.

The downside of 2 is that because the living room is on a slab and it's 'interior wall' with the kitchen used to be an exterior brick wall, the CATV and ethernet for that room come up in the corner of the kitchen by the living room door and are then run along the wall around the corner - so I'd have three visible cables where I have two now.

The downside of 1 is that (a) the switch is in the dry crawlspace (there's dust if I get under there and stir it up) and 9b) the wall wart cord would have to run from the kitchen through the hole the kitchen ethernet would come up through.

BTW, I tired powerline (which I've used in the past) - My old Netgear 200 Mbps adapters got about 11 Mbps at that location and then I tried some new TP-Link AV200s, which initially got 65 Mpbs, then dropped to 49 after I "updated" the firmware (which was good enough) and then 11 (which isn't).

I attached my network diagram if that helps.

 

[CaptainSTX]

To eliminate the downside of option 1 you could purchase a switch that could be powered using POE. This would eliminate having to run a wall wart power cord to the switch.

 

[mmurley]

To eliminate the downside of option 1 you could purchase a switch that could be powered using POE. This would eliminate having to run a wall wart power cord to the switch.

That's an interesting solution but it would add the cost of a PoE injector and a new PoE switch (and even a 5-port PoE gigabit switch is expensive when I already have a 5-port gigabit waiting to be use).

The big question I have with option 1 is a switch going to be okay in that environment?

 

[CaptainSTX]

The POE switches for 100Mbps can be had for less than $50 in the USA. A Gigabyte switch costs $75. Not sure if the POE injector is included in those prices. I don't know how harsh your environment would be. You can always use silicone caulk around the RJ-45 connections to prevent corrosion, tape over the unused RJ-45 jacks and perhaps cover the vents with some type of cloth or foam for filtration against dust.

Check the manufactures specs as to temperature and humidity and compare to what you think your environment is.

 

[azazel1024]

The worse that happens is your 5-port $10-15 switch dies. Generally, unless it is a condensing environment, you should be good. Not all equipment is made the same, by ANY means, but I've been using a TP-Link 841n in my garage as an outdoor AP for about a year now in temperatures from 20F to 102F and humidity ranges from 30% to 95% just fine.

It is generally only when your get condensation/dew on things do you have a problem, that or temperatures get well over 100F (especially if the gear also sits in the sun) or temperatures get well below the teens that you have issues. Since it'll be running, the bottom of the temp range can easily be extended 15-20F (you just don't necessarily want to turn it on below its operating temperature).

Dust is not a serious issue unless it is persistent and moving all the time.

I'd also go with POE injectors to power the switch. You can get a set for pretty cheap.

 

[sarakhan]

sign post

What I need to achieve:
I need to put a server near my set-top box, which needs to be a part of my 192.168.1.x LAN. I cannot put a new cable there, I can only use the cable, which is currently utilized by the IPTV.

 

[htismaqe]

What I need to achieve:
I need to put a server near my set-top box, which needs to be a part of my 192.168.1.x LAN. I cannot put a new cable there, I can only use the cable, which is currently utilized by the IPTV.

Is the IPTV on the same LAN as all of your other devices or is it on a separate physical segment or VLAN?