I take it you mean that your router is located near the BT master and you are using cat 5 cable from this to the switch in the garage

Spot on

In reply to a post by shtu:

Did you read the automatedhome guides I pointed you towards yet?

Yes, and that's what's lead me to a number of other websites and suppliers and hence my further questions - just looking for answers and reassurance really.

In reply to a post by shtu:

You mention 4 rooms. Assuming you only want one location in each room to have a wall outlet, I would put two RJ45 outlets into each faceplate and run the cable now - if you buy two reels it is literally no extra work, and what you want to avoid at all costs is winding up with a series of mini-switches everywhere 5 years from now because you can't be bothered crawling about in the attic, again.

Given the little extra work for that, that's what I plan to do.

In reply to a post by shtu:

With that, 4 rooms x 2 RJ45 = 8 rj45 at your core. Add it up and you'll find a patch panel is probably break-even already, and as a typical 1U patch panel has 24 outlets on it, you have room to expand to additional rooms without having to redo the core later.

Yes, and if I add any more cables (planning to create a kitchen/diner) then I've plenty of capacity

In reply to a post by shtu:

just had a rummage on ebay, 24-port 19" panels can be had from £15 new, £20ish for brand-name ones. That's cheaper than 4 faceplates, 4 backboxes, and 8 RJ45 modules, before you even consider the faffage.

Yes, I've found that out, so loads of free ports for less money! Great!

Thanks for al your feedback, been most helpful

I notice that most patch panels I've seen have rear IDC connections, which means that attaching the cat5e cables will be awkward. Are there such things as patch panels that take rear RJ45s rather than relying on IDCs, after all it's much easier to terminate a cable with an RJ45 connector rather then with the IDC connectors in a patch panel, and it's also surely more robust?

Or (just thought) does that negate the need for a patch panel?

You can get RJ45 coupler patch panels, never used one and don't really see the point for infrastructure wiring, ok for keeping server rack's etc tidy.

You get a better termination using IDC connectors, quite alot of the RJ45 plugs sold are for stranded cable not for solid core, though you can get them, use the wrong type of plug and you eventually end up with dodgy connections.

No, not at all. You use one of these and it takes a minute or so. You need to use this at the wall outlet anyway.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Network-BT-Punch-Down-Push-IDC...

Trust me, much, much easier than putting RJ45s onto solid cable (which they aren't really meant for, they are for stranded patch cable).

UTP is all you will need

Double up the cable from each location and use double face plates as you will sooner or later find you need an extra one.

Use a patch panel not face plates - neater and less room. You can get 8, 12, 16 and 24. So with 4 locations (double) you will need 8 (minimum) so a 16 or 24 way should be used.


And, if you buy a switch which can be free standing or rack mounted the you can free stand it on a shelf but create a small bracket to allow the patch to be fitted above.

Edited by MHC (Sat 09-Oct-10 08:20:26)

IDCs are much easier to use and much better than RJ45s ... what is your success rate in making RJ45 connectors? and how quickly can you do it? IDCs are quick and simple and if they do not work you just punch down again whereas an RJ45 is cut off, fiddled about with and remade (not reused).

Okay, so I need a patch panel and I'll be doubling up on the cat5 solid core terminating at two-gang faceplates to each room (living room, office, master bedroom and second bedroom). Is solid core cat5 also known as cat5 infrastructure cable?

Correct me where wrong, but I understand that solid core (as opposed to multi-strand core) cat5 has better performance over distance and is used from patch panel to faceplate. Patch cables for connecting from patch panel to device (switch, PC, etc) are made from multi-strand core cable which is more flexible and less prone to damage through bending (unlike solid-core).

I'll also invest in a cable management system to route the cat5 into the patch panel to make it tidy and manageable. I've seen 1U or 2U racks with a left-hand hinged bracket for mounting the patch panel which I guess makes punching down the cables easier, but they're expensive.

Can anyone recommend a 16 port or 24 port patch panel and a rack in which to mount it?

What I did with my home network was get the best cable I could (Managed to get a 305m roll of CAT6a (Yes thats right - 10-Gigabit CAT6a) cable and used that as my backbone). You won't need CAT6a yet but I would go for CAT6 if you can to save having to redo the whole process over again in the foreseeable future.

As for the wall outlets - why not pop down to your local toolstation to get some of these: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Electrical/Data+Tele...

and look under the 'You might also like' section.

If you are going to be wiring up 4 rooms with 2 outlets in each room plus the router you will need 9 ports (Usually switches don't come in 9 ports. It's mostly 5, 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48 ports).

IF you are going gigabit, you should get one of these: http://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop/index.pl?ori... and one of these http://www.porthale.co.uk/products.asp?partno=TL-SG1...

and use a 1m patch cable to join them together. That will save you having to fork out lots of money getting a 12/16 port switch which will cost a fortune.

I hope this helps

Edited by chris6273 (Sun 10-Oct-10 00:16:57)

http://www.comms-express.com/

I've seen the "Excel" brand stuff before now and it seems decent enough.