I want to wire my house with ethernet (Tivo and Xbox on wireless are OK but not great), but I want to learn how to do it myself. Here are some notes and links.
- How to make your own Ethernet patch cord – This one describes the wiring. And here’s another wiring tutorial. And another.
- Installing a Home Network Part 2 -This one describes how to do the actual jack installation.
- Here’s an example of a home network with a parts list.
- A FAQ with a nice set of DO’s and DONT’s.
- Wolfgang Rupprecht’s experience wiring a california home (through the ceiling instead of under the house). Relevant to my ranch-style house. He also redid his phone wiring which I won’t need to do. Going through the same faceplates as the TV cable sounds interesting though.
I’ll update this with my experiences as I make some progress.
technorati tags: geek, ethernet, networking, cabling
Hey there, thanks for linking to GeeksAreSexy š
Btw, before wiring your house, I would wait for the new 802.11N wireless standard to come out.. Not sure wiring the entire house is really worth it now considering all the new emerging technologies, encryption protocols, etc..
Cheer!
Kiltak
[Geeks Are Sexy] Tech. News
Welcome, excellent information.
Thanks for the idea on 802.11n. I still have a B š and I’ve been waiting so I can skip a generation. I will definitely wire behind the TV (I don’t want interference when watching video) and the home office (I like my servers as fast as possible). I may hold off on the bedrooms where the use would be lighter.
By the way, on one of the guides above the installation has the cable modem on the basement next to the patch panel. I personally think this is a mistake (I would put my patch panel in the attic instead, and I try never to go up there). A better idea would be to have the modem in the office and have a jack to act as the “uplink” to the patch panel instead, then have the router next to the uplink upstairs.
But I guess every situation is different.
Hackerdude!
Patch panels are made to be accessible so you can walk up to them and re-connect a patch cable to any other port that’s there. Putting it in the attic not only exposes it to extreme heat and cold it’s not designed for but also reduces a patch panel to a splice. Also, on the whole subject matter – wireless is great IN ADDITION to a properly designed cabling system in the house. There is a number of uses (such as video or audio transmission for example) that your wireless network will not handle unless proper media converters are supplied with significant impact on the network’s performance.
Do yourself a favor DO NOT put a patch panel in the attic. After your third visit there you’ll be sorry š
Good luck!
Thank you cablingdude!
Maybe the washing machine room then, up above the cupboard – the area is small but it’s out of sight (yet easy to get to using a chair) and as climate controlled as the rest of the house.
I did get a new wireless router, and it helps but of course not as much as it should – video and audio would still need to be over the line. My most pressing need at the moment is delivering ethernet jacks to the back of the entertainment center in the living room (where TiVo, XBox and friends are). But I figured I only want to go route cable once and do it well, so rather put together a plan and do all rooms. š