When pulling wire for a XT Router\Node back haul....is 5 cable sufficient…and....

[davekstl]

My current hardware is a ZenWifiXT8 (a router and a node) plus an RT-AX3000 dual band node. All is connected on a wireless backhaul. I have over 6,000 sq ft of living space, 3,000 on the first floor, 3,000 in a finished basement, plus at least a 2,000 sq. ft. garage, all requiring Wi-Fi for about 45 devices at this time..
I have a lot of Cat5 Cable. I have a router over 50 feet from a dual band node which is using currently a Wi-Fi Backhaul for the connection. I want to pull cable to this and a couple of other devices. This will be long term. The whole house is finished and it is going to be pricey to pull wire.
I want to place a switch in the router room, then another switch in the basement area to reduce the wires, so 2 switches.
Do the 2 switches work against me? The devices would be after the second switch. The router room has printers, computers, and NAS drives.
Is there any benefit in pulling a double wire to each switch? Does that improve throughput?
I have an NAS that has 2 Ethernet ports, does a second ethernet connection improve throughput?
My plan is to use 1 GB unmanaged switches, does this negate any perceived value in the project?
Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful.
Dave

 

[ColinTaylor]

Cat 5 cable hasn't been produced for about 20 years. I assume you actually have Cat 5e cable?

 

[davekstl]

No it may that old. I have no issues in getting current cable...but what cable?
Dave

 

[ColinTaylor]

All Cat 5e cables and above will support gigabit speeds over your 50 foot (15 meters) distance.

https://www.universalnetworks.co.uk/resources/faqs/copper/

 

[davekstl]

Will the Switches have a negative impact and is there any advantage in pulling 2 wires from the router to the switches?
Thanks for the info.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Using unmanaged switches as you described (if I understand you correctly) should not present a problem and would be a fairly typical configuration.

There's no point running two cables between the switches unless you wanted one left unplugged as some sort of 'spare' should the main cable get damaged. You couldn't have both cables plugged into the switches at the same time, unless you were using managed switches that supported link aggregation.

The same applies to your NAS - to use both of its Ethernet connections you'd have plug them into another device that supports link aggregation (assuming your NAS also supports link aggregation).

 

[davekstl]

Thanks, very helpful.
Dave