Planned Home Network [Cabling]

Talk about setting up your home network.
jec6613

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#21

Post by jec6613 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 3:40 am

A basic cablevision connection is at least 15 Mbps down, their next tiers are 50 Mbps and 101 Mbps, so those are the numbers you should aim for.

When I was on 50 I routinely got 55-60, and at 101 I routinely get 135+ downstream, and now usually see 50+ upstream. Speeds in my case are better through the router than directly connected, but only slightly and I'd say within a margin of error if they weren't so consistently 1-2 Mbps better.

ruff_hi

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#22

Post by ruff_hi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:21 am

Down speed direct ... 18.5, up was 5.2
Down speed via internal network ... 18.5, up was 5.4

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Crash2009

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#23

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:18 am

I just checked mine too. Same here, like you said, slower during prime time last night. I was about 30 % lower than my package.

This morning, direct to the modem the download was a hair better +.62

Going through normally, switch-router-modem, upload was a hair better +.13

No sense splitting hairs, might as well say, for me, no or not much difference.

ruff_hi

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#24

Post by ruff_hi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:32 am

Below are my initial plans for wiring my study - any and all comments welcome.

Remember that I have three time horizons which I am trying to incorporate ...
  1. short term - don't do any wiring change
  2. medium term - run Cat6 to bedroom and upstairs
  3. long term - relocate network equipment to shelf under stairs (in cupboard in study)
Image

Notes and current thinking on the diagram ...
  • the orange area is the current location of the network hardware
  • the dotted purple line is the range of my current hard wiring (patch cables that service laptops)
  • the red lines are new, proposed cat6 wires along skirting board
    • the end marked 'A' will have a junction using a single surface mount box
      I'll then run a patch up to a switch that will service the items requiring hard wiring at the desk
    • the end marked 'B' will have a junction using a multiple surface mount box
      (Yes ... I am making my own patch panel)
      Once those red wires are in place, I can fulfill the medium term requirement by running a patch from the desk port to the bedroom port
      Or a switch if I need to output to multiple ports
  • for the long term solution, the red wire running from A to B will 'reverse' direction,
    taking internet access from B to A instead of the medium term setup (A to B and beyond)

End A
Image

End B
Image

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Crash2009

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#25

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 1:44 pm

I guess we all have our own version of "quick and dirty".
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QuickAndDirty.JPG

ruff_hi

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#26

Post by ruff_hi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:02 pm

CCA? No thanks. And I was after white anyway :).

I'm not 100% sure what you are saying?

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Crash2009

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#27

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:25 pm

I thought you said you were going to do some quick and dirty wire somewhere.

jec6613

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#28

Post by jec6613 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:28 pm

For End B, why don't you get a nice CAT6 Patch Panel, instead? It's the proper answer for a wiring closet, and cleans things up a lot, and isn't expensive (I think $20 for 12 ports or so).

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#29

Post by ruff_hi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:57 pm

Crash2009 wrote:I thought you said you were going to do some quick and dirty wire somewhere.
I think I said 'Q&D' somewhere too. By that, I mean that I am not going to put the wires in the wall. It still has to look neat, tidy, semi-professional (and by that I mean ... if a professional installer sees it, I don't want them bending over laughing) and, most importantly, has to pass the WAF test.
jec6613 wrote:For End B, why don't you get a nice CAT6 Patch Panel, instead? It's the proper answer for a wiring closet, and cleans things up a lot, and isn't expensive (I think $20 for 12 ports or so).
I posted the above at another game related site (but they are smart people from various backgrounds) and someone suggested the same thing (Intellinet-12-Port-Wall-mount-Patch).

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#30

Post by jec6613 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:53 pm

jec6613 wrote:For End B, why don't you get a nice CAT6 Patch Panel, instead? It's the proper answer for a wiring closet, and cleans things up a lot, and isn't expensive (I think $20 for 12 ports or so).
I posted the above at another game related site (but they are smart people from various backgrounds) and someone suggested the same thing (Intellinet-12-Port-Wall-mount-Patch).
My background is IT, and we're a small shop, so I live and breathe this stuff. Plus, I have something worse than a WAF to deal with, which is easy, I have the MAF (Mother Acceptance Factor), because despite living 800 miles away I still have to take care of all of her stuff. :)

You'll want the patch panel, and a decent service loop. Since it's an under-stairs closet, the door itself can hide everything, but be sure to dress your wires nicely. Also, you'll eventually want to bring all of your wiring there (CATV, POTS and Ethernet) so plan on enough space for all of that, then double the amount of space you think you need when spacing things, to allow for growth.

Finally, since you're still on the 15 Mbps plan, call Cablevision and have them put you onto Boost Plus, it's pretty cheap and if you're streaming, the difference between 15 Mbps and 50 Mbps is fantastic, plus you're on the lesser used DOCSIS 3 loop (the 15 Mbps people are on the DOCSIS 2 loops, which get congested).

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#31

Post by sbaeder » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:04 pm

this is exactly the issue I was referring to...While the router "works", older ones - even one as new as yours - may be the limiting factor. And for internal TV routing, going to a Gig switch (even if built into the router) is a good upgrade

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#32

Post by jec6613 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:24 pm

sbaeder wrote:this is exactly the issue I was referring to...While the router "works", older ones - even one as new as yours - may be the limiting factor. And for internal TV routing, going to a Gig switch (even if built into the router) is a good upgrade
This is one of several reasons I have an SRX5308 - it's several years old and still not close to being the bottleneck. Also, it has only two jobs: router, and VPN endpoint for the site to site links, and it's way oversized for that.

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#33

Post by ruff_hi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:03 pm

jec6613 wrote:You'll want the patch panel, and a decent service loop.
What is a service loop? Is that excess cable just in case? As per ...
Image
Finally, since you're still on the 15 Mbps plan, call Cablevision and have them put you onto Boost Plus, it's pretty cheap and if you're streaming, the difference between 15 Mbps and 50 Mbps is fantastic, plus you're on the lesser used DOCSIS 3 loop (the 15 Mbps people are on the DOCSIS 2 loops, which get congested).
I think the extra cost is $5 per month. I'll spend some of the savings from returning 2xCable box, 2xremote on that.

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#34

Post by jec6613 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:35 pm

That's exactly what a service loop is, excess cable just so if you need to move something, you can.

jjwatmyself

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#35

Post by jjwatmyself » Fri Nov 07, 2014 10:21 am

jec6613 wrote:That's exactly what a service loop is, excess cable just so if you need to move something, you can.
Done right, service loops also help solve the problem when water follows a cable. The water drips off them instead of following the cable and getting to your equipment.

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#36

Post by ruff_hi » Sun Nov 16, 2014 12:44 am

And so it starts ... my house networking is under way. I've installed the patch panel in the cupboard. Next steps will be to run some cable around to it and make some of the ports active. The patch panel is attached to the bottom of the shelf. The switch will sit on top of the shelf. The other equipment that will end up living there (wireless access point, sonos bridge) will sit on or beside the switch. Everything else (cable modem, vonage, etc) will be going in the basement ... but I have to install a plywood panel and tidy up the coax cables coming into the house. I'll post pics of that too.

Image

Image

Image

Image

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#37

Post by ruff_hi » Thu Nov 20, 2014 6:10 pm

I've recently updated my website with a Computer section. This section will cover all things associated with my home network, workstation, experiments with WMC and Ceton extenders, etc. At the moment, it only contains a network discussion and planning.

The wife is away for three weeks starting Monday so I am planning on destroying the house putting in my ethernet cabling system. This should generate a ton of funny pictures.

CBO

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#38

Post by CBO » Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:08 pm

I have a similar setup in my house. My network equipment is in a closet that is under a staircase. I have few questions/suggestions about your setup.
Why are you terminating your coax and your Ethernet in two separate location? Is that just where the cable company dumped the coax?

Do you plan on having anything other than Ethernet in that closet? If so think about cooling. That an issue I have come up against.

My camera on this phone is not functioning I would post some pics to give you some ideas since I think we will have a similar setup. I will try to use my wife's and get them up here.

I love seeing people tech up thier homes so thanks for sharing! Best of luck and keep the pics comming please.

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#39

Post by ruff_hi » Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:34 pm

CBO wrote:I have a similar setup in my house. My network equipment is in a closet that is under a staircase. I have few questions/suggestions about your setup.
Why are you terminating your coax and your Ethernet in two separate location? Is that just where the cable company dumped the coax?
The coax comes into the house in the basement. I also have a bunch of coax that runs through out the house - that all starts in the basement. I is a mess ... but I tidied that up last weekend.

One of the coax goes up to my study where I split it, one out going to my InviniTV inside my PC for WMC recording, etc and the other going to the cable modem. From there, I have Ethernet that goes all of 8 feet with the rest of the computer network being wireless.

I've looking at junking the cable TV boxes and replace them both with Ceton echos. Hence the desire to Ethernet the balance of the house (or where the TVs are / will be / might be).
CBO wrote:Do you plan on having anything other than Ethernet in that closet?
No. Just Ethernet.
CBO wrote:If so think about cooling. That an issue I have come up against.
I have been thinking about that issue. The shelf (see pics above) doesn't have much room above it. That said - I believe that the false ceiling is just covering more 'under stair' stuff ... so I could remove that and give the hot air slightly more room. the other option is that I actually have two cupboards side by side - with the 2nd one having a very large open area at the top. If I put a fan in the HUB cupboard, I could dump a lot of hot air into the side one.
CBO wrote:My camera on this phone is not functioning I would post some pics to give you some ideas since I think we will have a similar setup. I will try to use my wife's and get them up here.

I love seeing people tech up thier homes so thanks for sharing! Best of luck and keep the pics comming please.
I would value(!) photos a lot. And I will keep writing about my computer adventures.
CBO wrote:Why are you terminating your coax and your Ethernet in two separate location?
Coming back to this question ... the short answer is, I don't know. I could put the Ethernet host in the basement with the coax Hub. Then I would have to run all of my Ethernet cables there. That isn't a bad thing ... just something that I haven't really thought through. I am planning on putting a rather chunky conduit from the basement to the HUB under the stairs ... so I could still use the under the stairs as a jumping off point. If I do move the Ethernet hub to the basement, I will be putting it all in a cabinet of some sort ... and also (maybe maybe) putting a future project down there too (NAS).

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#40

Post by CBO » Mon Nov 24, 2014 5:40 pm

Here are some pics


Closet and Temps
Image
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Pardon the cable management

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