Need assistance with setting up a new home networking cable?
Need assistance with setting up a new home networking cable?
Hello everyone, I'm helping build a new house and will be handling the internet and networking setup. I'm really new to this stuff, so I'd appreciate your guidance. Based on what I saw in the pictures:
1. Running all cables from the third floor to each floor via a patch panel seems better.
2. Using a switch instead of a single cable might improve performance.
3. My concern is whether my network will slow down if many devices connect at once.
4. Any suggestions for a better setup would be great! Thanks so much!
If you have space in the walls, have 2-4 cables to each wall socket. I think 2 could be enough, as you can always connect a network switch under your desk if you need more than 1 cable near your desk. You can put switches at the wall, but then you have to deal with the hassle of powering the switches - you could power the switch using Power over ethernet with power from the switch in the attic, but this means you'll now have a switch connected to a switch connected to a router connected to the modem/device that comes from your ISP. Cat6a can do 10gbps easily, Cat6 can also do 10g up to around 40 meters (standard says more, I'm conservative) You may want to add a cable that goes somewhere behind where you think you're gonna have a TV for the TV (to play movies from a NAS, or from Internet etc), for a game console (if you're gonna have any) etc etc ...
I would include a patch panel on the upper floor as well, just to simplify usage. For the second choice, I’ll restrict total bandwidth according to the maximum capacity of one cable. Using switch panels like option 1 allows each connection to have full bandwidth without sharing. However, with gigabit speeds you’ll need to optimize performance significantly. This is clear—though it adds more effort—I think option 1 offers better bandwidth and control. It can work, but you’ll have to manage many tasks at once. Only necessary if you have a very large number of devices. The router should handle the heavy lifting, so choose a reliable one. It might require more work overall, but ensuring every room has at least one Ethernet port (possibly more depending on location) makes sense. Place central Wi-Fi points and use patch panels for fixed cabling. As @mariushm mentioned, since you’re handling all the cabling now, verifying that your equipment supports 10Gbps could be advantageous. With 10Gbps hardware becoming more affordable, you could connect switches using such lines and still achieve full bandwidth for all devices. If you anticipate high traffic on a 1Gb cable, switching to 10Gb might be worthwhile.
Start with smart planning and keep all wiring organized in conduits. It won’t stay current any longer than the building itself needs to be updated. Beyond that, either lay cables or extra conduit around nearly every part of the house—your future self will appreciate it. As for routing decisions, it depends on the house size: - Whenever possible, direct everything to the fuse panel area. - If that’s impractical or expensive, gather all components per floor (or by section) and run several cables or conduits from there to the main panel. A rough estimate is one cable per every eight cables traveling from subpanels elsewhere. Think about what you’ll need in the walls now, then adjust later for any surprises. My parents’ home had plenty of extra conduit for whatever came next, and those extra lines have proven useful over two decades.
Set up two Cat6a cables per room. Connect each end to keystone jacks embedded in wall plates. Use a punchdown tool for termination and employ a fish tape or similar device to pull the wires. Include a pull string with the runs for future adjustments. Install plates featuring four keystone holes for convenience. Apply low-voltage mounting rings to simplify attaching plates to drywall. At the switch location, connect the runs to a patch panel. Clearly label each keystone end with its corresponding port number on both the plate and the cable. Connect your switch to the patch panel using standard patch cables. While a bottleneck might appear if several devices share one Gigabit link back to the main line, it's rare. Pulling home runs for every device in each room is excessive unless you have many. As long as all components are Cat6-rated, you should be able to handle 2.5Gb or 10Gb through these connections, with two cables available. If more than two devices need networking in a room, place the lower-bandwidth equipment (cameras, APs, streaming boxes, IP phones, etc.) on a switch.
Sorry for the delayed response. Things have been busy lately. Thanks for all the ideas and feedback. I plan to start with a small-scale setup using just a short run of cabling, and I’ll incorporate your suggestions later. Appreciate the help again!