Is it smart to run cables in your home network?
Is it smart to run cables in your home network?
Hello, I've finally taken the time to set up my home network properly. The main challenge is that my house is made of concrete and bricks, making it hard to conceal cables inside walls. My choices seem to be: drilling through plaster to reach the bricks and hiding cables before re-plastering (expensive and time-consuming); using conduits inside the house (not really feasible due to appearance issues); or running cables outside. I’m leaning toward option 3, but I’m worried about it. If I use outdoor Cat.6a cables with plastic conduits for protection, will this work? Or is this just a risky plan?
So while there is potential for someone to splice into your cables from the outside and perform a little bit of a man in the middle or packet sniffing on you the likely hood of someone doing that is so incredibly small. I would recommend if possible either running the cables up into the ceiling and through a attic or through the floor, and subfloor and to a crawlspace beneath the house.
As long as you receive the proper cables, all choices are acceptable.
Earlier in the 2000s I installed a Cat 5 (100 Mb/s) indoor cable outside for my neighbor’s home. It was secured with zip ties to a clothesline that stretched about 80 meters and sat roughly three meters above the ground. We admitted it wasn’t ideal, but we went for the cheapest option. We relied on it heavily for around four years until broadband arrived in the area. That brought in VPN software like Hamachi, which our friends and neighbors started using widely. The cable lasted about seven years, mainly handling file transfers after the fourth year when gaming and voice calls moved online. Eventually we removed it because it was annoying—its plastic casing began peeling from sun exposure and weather. In short, if that setup stayed functional that long, opting for a more robust outdoor cable with better protection would have been a smart move. TL;DR Yes, it worked out.
I'm cautious about using induction from lightning while running cables outside. I remember my modem was damaged when it hit the overhead phone line years back—just a nearby strike, not a direct hit. A properly grounded cable might have helped, but a direct impact remains a risk. Many people still run cables outdoors for similar reasons, so it's important to be aware it's less safe than indoors. If possible, UV protection and grounding the shield would make it safer.