New Construction Townhome

Wiring the House for Ethernet

The biggest part of setting up our home network was wiring the house for ethernet. There were two basic phases: running the wire through the walls, and then terminating/testing each wire to make sure it was set up correctly. We hired a family friend who is an electrician to run the wires, and then terminated/tested them ourselves. We installed a total of 34 lines across 4 different floors, all coming into the closet under the staircase.

Cat6 Basement

Running the wires proved to be a bigger challenge than expected due to the fact that all of our walls were filled with insulation. A number of access holes had to be cut in the drywall in order to access everything. Four separate boxes of Cat 6 ethernet cable were used, so that multiple lines could be run to the same location at once. The free end from each spool was taped into a small bundle and a long metal wire with a hook was run from the target location (say, the bedroom), through the walls, and into the basement where it was attached to the end of the cat 6 bundle. Then the wire was pulled back up through the walls, bringing the cat 6 cable along with it.

Cat6 wall
Wires coming into our home office. The orange ring gives the faceplate something to screw into.

Each location in our house got either 2 or 4 wires, depending on how many devices we planned to put in that area. For every location in the house we needed either two or four RJ45 keystone jacks (one for each wire) and a faceplate with an appropriate number of holes. Keystone jacks are available in two basic formats: the standard kind which require a punch-down tool to terminate the wires and a “tool free” type which includes little caps which punch the wires down automatically. I personally prefer the standard jacks.

Cat6 Keystone
The near side of this jack (white) has been punched down, the far side is still waiting to be done. Each strand of the blue cat 6 cable goes into its own slot on the jack. Color codes on the side tell you where to put each wire. Monoprice included a handy little holder (black) to place the jack in while punching it down.
The two keystone jacks have been pushed into the faceplate, which is waiting to be screwed into the wall.

The opposite ends of the cables, which are bundled in the basement closet, get a slightly different treatment. Instead of going into individual jacks, they’re terminated in a patch panel. We used two 24 port patch panels, placing 16 connections on one and 18 on the other. We’ll be mounting these in our server rack, but if you’re going for a minimalist build there are inexpensive wall-mount brackets.

Cat6 PanelEmpty
Two patch panels, one face up and one face down. The black thing on the right is a rack-mount power strip.

Each wire was marked with a small letter or number at both ends. To keep everything in order and save my sanity, I used masking tape to temporarily keep the wires in alphabetical/numerical order.

Cat6 Sorted

Cat6 PanelBeck
18 cables have been punched down into the back of the patch panel.

Each jack in the patch panel is then patched into one of our network switches (which are each in turn plugged into the router) with a 6″ cable. Why not just go directly from the wall to the network switch? The patch panel gives you flexibility to change the network around later by moving the 6″ patch cables rather than tangling up the spaghetti coming out of the walls. Additionally, punching the wires down into the back of the patch panel is considerably faster than crimping a male RJ-45 connector onto the end of each drop.

Patch Cables

I briefly considered crimping my own patch cables from the leftover cat 6 cable, but then I remembered that crimping cable ends sucks and a 6″ patch cable costs all of $0.55. The photo above shows half our network cables, the other half are mounted on the back of the rack. I still need to install stress relief for the blue the cables and mount the router + modem nicely somewhere.

The server and switches are all connected to the LAN ports on the router. Our cable modem connection goes into the WAN port. Now the server and anything else on the LAN can see the outside world.

Overall it was a pretty massive project: it took three people a week to get all the wires in place and then another day and a half for my dad and I to button it all up. The next step is to configure the router for the advanced management options we want, as well as configure the wireless access points to provide “seamless” coverage throughout the house. The media server also needs considerable set up, right now it’s just a fresh Linux box with a giant hard drive. I’ll cover the software side of things in part 3 of Our Over-engineered Home Network.

This is part 2 of 3 posts about our home network.
Part 1: Our Overkill Home Network
Part 3: Coming soon 

515 thoughts on “Wiring the House for Ethernet”

  1. Please wait alpha rush pro trial
    For perspective, Cutcliffe had the video cut so that the 2009 play would run, followed by the simulated version. They timed each throw, from the point of Manning’s intent of throwing at a receiver to when the receiver hauled it in. As the plays progressed, Manning was putting some balls in the receivers’ hands quicker than he had in 2009.

  2. I’d like to open a business account caduet 5/20 mg
    UPI licenses content directly to print outlets, online media and institutions of all types. In addition, UPI’s distribution partners provide our content to thousands of businesses, policy groups and academic institutions worldwide. Our audience consists of millions of decision-makers who depend on UPI’s insightful and analytical stories to make better business or policy decisions.

  3. I’m on a course at the moment amoxicillin dose before dental work Mr Kerry said a new path toward “reasonable compromise” in the Mideast has emerged, and that Mr Indyk was “realistic” about the difficulties facing the Israelis and Palestinians and U.S. negotiators in the resumption of the long-stalled talks.

  4. Will I get travelling expenses? cheap kamagra oral jelly In that case, Kerline Denizard, a 36-year-old home health aide, was stabbed seven times in the throat as she left her home on 221st St. in Queens Village shortly before 5 a.m. She, too, survived, and is in critical but stable condition, authorities said.

  5. I’m in my first year at university arcoxia 90 mg preo ultrafarma “When he’s healthy and he’s at the top of our lineup, he creates a completely different dynamic than anyone else here,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “He’s a threat on the basepaths and as a hitter. We’re fortunate his injury was not more severe.”

  6. I like it a lot jamaican stone for sale in india This plan may get republicans ahead in the short term, when residents of red states are astounded by the high insurance rates. In the long run, though, it will backfire when they realize that residents of blue states are paying absurdly lower rates. Ultimately they will realize that they are pawns in a political game, being sacrificed by their own governors to prove a point.

  7. Excellent work, Nice Design healthplus50.com scam No group immediately claimed responsibility for either ofthe bombings, but such attacks are the hallmark of SunniIslamist al Qaeda, which views Shi’ites as non-believers and hasbeen regaining momentum this year.

  8. Three years centros blau clinic Severstal, United Metallurgical Company (OMK) and ChelPipe are among the Russian pipemakers vyingfor the offshore contract alongside some small European firms,Indian steel producer Tata Steel and Japan’s NipponSteel & Sumitomo Metal Corp.

  9. I’m about to run out of credit prescriptionpharmacy.co But the fact remains that he chose to get help from Biogenesis owner Anthony Bosch, and everyone in baseball knows what that means: The Bronx is not burning, but A-Rod has torched most of the bridges that would get him back there.

  10. Canada>Canada cialis price comparison canada
    Jackson Jr. asked on Monday that the judge recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that he serve his time at a federal prison in Montgomery, Alabama, because it would allow him to be nearer to his wife and children who live in Washington D.C. The judge said Wednesday she would make that recommendation.

  11. Sorry, I ran out of credit mrsa bactrim clindamycin “The big issue is that caffeine consumption correlates very strongly with how nauseous you are. A lot of pregnant women are very sick, especially early on – the women who are sicker tend to drink less coffee.

  12. this is be cool 8) metabothin reviews “This is a transitional year for him,” a spokeswoman said. “He’s going to take this year to focus on his charity work, his royal engagements and particularly his work in the field of conservation.”

  13. Hello good day nexium canada mail order To cheering and applause from union autoworkers in Liberty, the Democrat tore into Congress, demanding that it fund the government and raise the debt ceiling without touching his signature accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act. “We’re not some banana republic,” he told more than 1,000 at the new Ford stamping plant near Claycomo. “This is not a deadbeat nation. We don’t run out on our tab.”

  14. Could you give me some smaller notes? motilium over the counter usa The campaign signs she is accused of stealing urge a “yes” vote on an opposing measure, Initiative 591, which would bar the state from expanding background checks unless the federal government does so first.

  15. Children with disabilities famvir generico costo In 2009, Exxon Mobil Corp. said it would invest $600 million to develop algae-derived biofuels within a decade. It has already invested more than $100 million but has failed to produce economically viable results after four years’ work.

  16. A packet of envelopes jobs pharmacy technician trainee
    “The president’s failure to suspend aid to the Egyptian military is a strategic error that undercuts those objectives and weakens U.S. credibility, after repeated calls by the U.S. administration for Egyptian authorities to avoid bloodshed have been disregarded,” members of the Working Group on Egypt said in a statement.

  17. Yes, I love it! pure integrative pharmacy surrey Kishane Karim Almendarez, 29, allegedly trashed the Enoteca Drago restaurant on North Canon Dr. in Beverly Hills. After leaving the restaurant through the back door, Almendarez was tackled in the street by a group of cops, who were forced to Taser him.

  18. Insufficient funds virectin in india As soon as the moon is sighted, Muslims in Pakistan fill the streets to celebrate Eid: a three- or four-day holiday of visiting family, exchanging presents and partaking in gluttony. It’s one of the few times in Karachi when an overwhelmingly happy energy pervades the city. Everyone’s wearing new clothes and new shoes, and lights have been strung up, Christmas-style, around mosques and homes.

  19. I read a lot portal.mediq.nl Oscar-winning triple threat Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard has not only played Spider-Man’s love interest, but has also attracted the eye of M. Night Shyamalan, who has cast her in two of his films.

  20. Remove card losartan cozaar merck
    In New York, the exchange is not able to transfer data tosome insurers instantaneously, as planned, one carrier toldReuters. Instead, the data will be sent in batches once a day orso. The glitch will not affect customers, but it raisesquestions that New York might have other IT problems.

  21. How many are there in a book? how do i get a prescription for paxil Speaking in Melbourne Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister, said: “This underlines the need for policy changes in Australia on asylum seeker’s policy which sends a very clear message to people smugglers to stop sending people by boat to Australia. We are seeing too many drownings, we are seeing too many sinkings, too many innocent people being lost at sea”

  22. Is this a temporary or permanent position? danddmedical.com This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don’t just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.

  23. When do you want me to start? growmax canada
    Google isn’t completely safeguarded, of course, from the commission ruling that a formal decision to place sanctions on the ad giant should be applied if Almunia and his officials fail to be satisfied with the company’s offer. A Statement of Objections could still be issued that could lead to Google facing a fine of up to 10 per cent of its annual worldwide turnover.

  24. Hello good day femigra funziona “Any benefit to Tsarnaev of knowing more about the precise ‘nature and extent’ of his brother’s involvement does not outweigh the potential harm of exposing details of an ongoing investigation into an extremely serious crime, especially at this stage of the proceedings,” prosecutors wrote.

  25. How do you do? beconase spray kaufen “If I was to learn something [from Don King]I could learn how to manipulate my fighters and take advantage of them and tell them lies and tell them I love them and the white man hates them and we’re brothers and everyone’s against us,” Tyson said. “And at the end of the day I can have all their money in my pocket and they’d be walking on the street and be feeling sad for themselves and do attempted suicide and use cocaine and overdose just like I did. But like I said before, I forgave him, and whatever I did to him I hope he forgives me. I don’t have any hard feelings toward him and if he wants to work with us I would love to. If sometimes I see Don and I might want to hit him it’s because I loved Don before and he took advantage of me and that’s how come I feel that way.”

  26. How long have you lived here? sporanox alcohol With a legal stand-off emerging between HIQA and the HSE over the findings of the Portlaoise probe, a leading expert has said the hospital’s rate of unexpected infant deaths in recent years is well within current norms

  27. It’s serious medicines.org.uk “We believe that people should not drink alcohol more heavily in the belief that alcohol is a protective factor against cognitive decline. Current advice is that smokers should stop or cut down, and people should avoid heavy alcohol drinking.

  28. Have you read any good books lately? drugstorenews.com ce
    But Wenzhou’s property controls were always tougher thanthose of other Chinese cities, which barred only third-homepurchases. So, its latest measure brings it in line with itspeers, including Beijing and Shanghai.

  29. Where are you calling from? cheapest crestor 20 mg Pester said TSB would focus on a local banking model,”supporting economic growth in the communities it serves”. Itwill become Britain’s 8th biggest retail bank with 4.5 millioncustomers and a 4.3 percent share of the current account market.

  30. I’ve got a part-time job cytotec 200 mg side effects Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (“Gulf Keystone” or the “Company”) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Company is registered in Bermuda with further offices in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Algiers, Algeria and London, UK. The Company was incorporated in 2001 in Bermuda and listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 (stock quote GKP).

  31. Insert your card cvs pharmacy costa mesa baker Pratt Feeders’ Bohn said Zilmax costs roughly $20 per head,while Optaflexx runs $8 to $10. He found that Zilmax adds about$15 to $30 in revenue per animal versus $10 to $12 forOptaflexx, because Zilmax puts more meat on the carcass.

  32. How long have you lived here? micardis dosage 20 mg The Matagrano incident remains a black eye for the Department of Correction. On the date of his alleged visit to the jail, Matagrano parked in a reserved spot using a bogus placard and flashed a badge. It is unclear where he got the placard or why he was admitted with a fake badge.

  33. I’d like to cancel this standing order getting high on trazodone Rates of bipolar disorder — in which people may cycle back and forth between depression and mania — are similar between men and women. But rates of many other conditions vary by gender, Kramer says. Autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are much more common among men, for example, while eating disorders are more common among women.

  34. A company car sildenafil 100mg prijs “Closing ceremonies always manages to bring it home for me,” Lynn wrote after her San Francisco walk in 2012. ” I am reminded annually of how very lucky I am. I walk into closing ceremonies, holding the hands of someone who may have just gotten diagnosed, just completed treatment, just made the 5-year mark, or just been told there’s no more doctors can do for them. It is humbling, heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time.”

  35. I’ll text you later lasix use in heart failure Financial industry lobbyists and people inside the agencyhave been furiously speculating who would succeed him, and theNew York Times reported on Thursday that President Barack Obamawas vetting Massad as a candidate.

  36. We went to university together testofen malaysia The chronic conditions most reported for adults sent to the hospital with flu include heart disease (37 percent), metabolic disorders such as diabetes (36 percent), chronic lung diseases (26 percent) and asthma (21 percent). For children, the most frequent conditions (obesity not included) include asthma (20 percent), brain and nervous system disorders (13 percent) and chronic lung diseases other than asthma (6.3 percent).

  37. We’re at university together test x180 germany Another theory, though, was that the amount of nitrogen could have been higher in the ancient atmosphere. This would have amplified the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide and would have allowed the Earth to remain ice-free. In order to test this theory, the scientists analyzed tiny samples of air trapped in water bubbles of quartz.

  38. A law firm sertraline maximum dose uk While Brazil is one of several countries named as targets in the documents, the revelations have been especially controversial here because of a long-standing distrust of U.S. spy agencies’ activities in Latin America and a report that Rousseff’s own communications were compromised.

  39. I came here to study revatio australia
    “They’re now behaving the way they should, fighting andthinking differently,” she said. “Things don’t changeovernight… But I think the 1020 is going to be the spark toget customers to pay attention to Nokia.”

  40. Not available at the moment banza chickpea pasta amazon Also supporting the currency were two auctions oftraditional currency swaps, derivatives that emulate aninjection of dollars in the futures market, and a third auctionof spot dollars through repurchase agreements.

Comments are closed.