Need some help...now what??

[mar2k]

Hi guys, bear with me. Networking is not my best tech skill. I have a few questions regarding network topography and equipment. I have been using powerline networking for a while but seized an opportunity to add some CAT 5E cabling to the home, hopefully the start of something better.

I have a 3 story home (basement, main level, and upstairs level). There has never been a clear path from the attic to the basement to pull wires. An opportunity presented itself last week during some remodeling work where the chimney chase walls were opened up and I asked the electrician doing other work if he would be willing to pull network cables from the basement up through the chimney chase all the way up to the attic. The idea being that I could hopefully drop ethernet cables into 3 upstairs rooms with a possibility of doing 2 more upstairs later on. On the main level, one cable pulled up from the basement to the TV area on this level, and then a couple of ports in my unfinished basement where I tinker with computers and have a home server. He did not have time to run everything where I wanted it but I knew this would be the only time I could ever do this cable pull from the top to bottom level, a backbone I guess you would call it. It was really difficult but he got it done.

This is where I need help and advice. I now have a bundle of four CAT 5E cables sitting in my basement and my attic. These are just raw uncut cables on both ends. I asked why four cables instead of one and the answer was something to the effect of he was trained to always pull multiple on a difficult wire pull like this for both backup and future use. I am confused as to what I should do next. Should there be a panel as a junction point in both the basement and attic or in one or the other? Some kind of switch? The attic really needs a passive solution, nothing powered up there as I'm in Georgia and its deadly hot up there in the summer. Should only one cable be attached or all four? For the runs to the individual locations what are these connected to on each end. The idea here is to have a single home LAN where I can plug a router/modem into any one of the ports and every port can see it. Sorry but I'm a little confused as to my next step and what to say I want done when the time comes.

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Jeroen1000]

Hi Mark,

IF I understand correctly, all your cables start from the basement? You have 4 cables going from the basement to the attic, and 1 cable from the basement going to the mid level?

Is this correct?

Well, one approach could be that you place a switch on every level.

The basement switch would then be your central point from which a cable goes to the attic switch. A second cable would then go from the basement switch to the mid level switch. So at this point, the basement switch would have 2 ports occupied, and the mid level and attic switches would both have 1 port occupied.
It would not matter to which switch you connect your router, all devices would find each other and the router. If you want to go a step further, you could buy managed switches to create a more complex lan if needed in the future.

Now, if you do not want to put a switch in the attic, you would only be able to connect 4 devices up there (as you have 4 cables). All 4 cables would then plug into the basement switch on one end, and in a device on the attic on the other end.
But, if you cut one or more of the cables in the attic too short or whatever (damage them) you might get in trouble. So I would urge you to keep at least 1 spare cable.

I kept my post short intentionally, so ask away if you have questions

 

[mar2k]

Thanks for the response. Let me see if I understand better. I think based on what I am learning the bottom line is I need a home run from the basement to each of the wall ports I would want on the top level of the home. So if he had only run one cable my plans would have been seriously watered down.

I was under the false impression that a single run could be 'split' at a panel/junction in the attic and then each of the rooms needing a port upstairs would have runs on the other side of this panel with the single run feeding in up from the basement. This would require a switch I take it (which I don't want being hot in the attic). You bring up a good point though: I haven't studied the length of wires left in the attic so if there isn't enough to run to the rooms and drop them, can a punch panel/pass through of some kind be used to extend the cable length and maintain the signal, and is this how it should be done if there isn't enough cable in the attic to go to each room? I am hoping this isn't an issue.

So in the basement this is where I will locate the switch/router/modem and I will connect the wires coming down from the attic to a patch panel and then run a short cable from each port to a switch in the basement. Running cables in the basement to the panel and up to the main level (one level up) to any ports on that level will be easy compared to getting the runs to the attic since the basement is unfinished, but every port on these two lower levels also needs a dedicated line. Does this sound correct? Just want to make sure I am getting this. Thanks!!

 

[Jeroen1000]

Thanks for the response. Let me see if I understand better. I think based on what I am learning the bottom line is I need a home run from the basement to each of the wall ports I would want on the top level of the home. So if he had only run one cable my plans would have been seriously watered down.

Yes, Pretty much if the cable needs to go into the dry wall. I'm not native English, but with a wall port, you mean that the Ethernet port is cleanly embedded into the wall like a power socket? I was unaware that you were referring to such scenario.
So each of the 4 cables is ALREADY in the wall and end up in a different room upstairs then? That is a serious game changer.

So this is what you want upstairs: http://www.wilgje.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/n2jm.jpg I mean the box there, not the cable mess lol.

I was under the false impression that a single run could be 'split' at a panel/junction in the attic and then each of the rooms needing a port upstairs would have runs on the other side of this panel with the single run feeding in up from the basement. [...]

What is usually done (I have not attempted this myself). Is that one end of the cable is in the wall terminates in the box in my picture (you can obviously plug in a device like a computer and stuff in the box).

Now the other end can just terminate in a switch in the basement. BUT since the cable is in the wall, we don't want to damage it by unplugging it often: we want to avoid a rerun of the cable because of possible damage

So a patch panel is placed in the basement where the cable terminates at the BACK. like this http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j00MBwaYicCrHbZ/Cat5e-Patch-Panel.jpg
Then you plug in a (new) cable at the FRONT side of this panel (notice the ethernet ports at the front) and plug it into your switch. The patch panel is the central 'hub' that collects all your wall embedded cables at the back (it is a bit overkill for just 4 though). .


And yes, a single run can be split if it ends up in an active devices like a switch. But if you want to split it upstairs in your attic, you would require the switch there. So, you run a cable between the switch in the basement, and the one in the attic. From that switch in the attic you can 'split' until you drop.

This one would allow 23 splits http://www.te.com/products/lanelectronics/images/24 Port New Switch.jpg

But for this scenario, you would never need 4 cables between the basement and the attic. One would do.
I hope you understand that then the cables embedded into the wall would have to resurface (@ attic) upstairs in a switch (or patch panel if you want). Then from there you could take a single run down to the basement.

So in the basement this is where I will locate the switch/router/modem and I will connect the wires coming down from the attic to a patch panel and then run a short cable from each port to a switch in the basement.

Yes. Correct. the Patch panel is not really required as I said above (but I like it better with a panel though). The short cable run will depend on how far this panel is located from your other gear.

Running cables in the basement to the panel and up to the main level (one level up) to any ports on that level will be easy compared to getting the runs to the attic since the basement is unfinished, but every port on these two lower levels also needs a dedicated line. Does this sound correct? Just want to make sure I am getting this. Thanks!!

I think you got it. This is how switches interconnect:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h3Sixj-e4...v8fQ/s320/Simple+3-Switch+Topology-787436.jpg

and you can attach computers to each of them. But you may only need one of them in the basement for the entire home (seeing all your cables meet up at 1 point). So buy one with enough ports OR buy 2 (or 3 lol) and interconnect them in the basement like in the picture.

If you buy 1, I would recommend a managed switch if you want to do more fun stuff in the future.

Good luck!