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Question

Best Home Network Setup for a Currently being built house

May 12, 2017 1:33PM PDT

Hi. I consider myself fairly compentent for figuring things out but I thought I would ask for some help and input in this case.

I am building a house, 2 storys plus a walk out. I have a cat6 jack in the ceiling in the center of each floor for a future wap. I have about 60 cat6 lines ran to all the rooms in the house for wired stuff as well as every box having conduit for future "stuff".

My question is, what is the best setup for modem, wap, switch, etc? Not entirely worried about money, but also not trying to just spend money to spend it. Also would like input of how to organize/contain the wires/switchs etc. Network boxes?

Thanks in advance!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Remember the goal is best. Not less.
May 12, 2017 1:53PM PDT
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Answer
Multiple switches
May 12, 2017 9:03PM PDT

I want to congratulate you on the wisdom of using wired Ethernet wherever possible. Odds are, you'll never have devices connected simultaneously to all 60 Ethernet jacks installed in the house -- but just the same, you'll want them all "live" for immediate, easy connections. That means they all have to connect to switches which, in turn connect to the home's router(s).

I'm assuming you're bringing all the Ethernet runs to a wire closet or other central point. This is where you'll want the router, obviously, and Ethernet switches. I'm going to recommend you get three, 24-port switches; one port on each switch will connect to a LAN port on the router's built-in switch, leaving you a total of 69 available ports on the switches plus whatever additional ports aren't being used on the router itself. (It's always good to have spares!)

Whether you are installing into a wire closet, a cabinet or just a spot on a storeroom/basement wall, be sure to provide plenty of electrical outlets to power the router, switches and anything else you're considering locating there -- plus perhaps a couple of extra duplex outlets, again using the "spares are good" philosophy. I'd recommend locating in a naturally cool place, and providing adequate ventilation -- if installing in a closet or cabinet, consider a fan-and-filter air intake. You might also consider using this area to store spare Ethernet cables (you'll always know where to find them), along with a spool of Cat6 cable, connectors and a crimping tool for making custom-length connecting cables. Don't forget to install a good light source, so you can see everything without having to search for a flashlight. Label every cable coming into the wire closet (or whatever) during installation, so you'll be able to locate "living room, north wall, TV" when you need to troubleshoot a problem. Finally, if it isn't already too late, make sure that the electrical and Ethernet wiring aren't bundled together and running parallel; the pros prefer to have them travel separately, and cross each other at right angles when they must approach each other.

Oh yes -- you did remember to have electrical outlets installed in the ceiling near the Ethernet jacks for the WAPs, didn't you? (Of course you did. But little things like that can become major annoyances if you forget.)

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Answer
I'm going with Bob here
May 13, 2017 2:38PM PDT

Your proposed setup is larger than the average business setup and should be dealt with by the experts.
Sure you could do it all yourself but with the aid of someone like Cisco you will be sure that everything is done correctly.
Oh, and if you did actually forget to put a power outlet in the ceiling, no problem, just use WAPs powered by Power over Ethernet (POE) using switches that supply that.
Cisco provide a range of POE capable switches

P

Post was last edited on May 26, 2017 9:40 AM PDT