Networking help, not specific to UnRaid


jebusfreek666

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I am not sure if this is something I can post here or not, but I was hoping for some help and everyone on here seems to be very knowledgeable and willing to help. I am completely lost when it comes to networking.

 

I am looking to setup a LAN in my house. There are no Ethernet cables at all at the moment, and will be starting from scratch. Here is my main goals.

 

1. Setup a LAN to hardwire all of my plex clients and my server to reduce the load on my wifi (preferably gigabit). There will be the server and at least 4 clients, possibly adding on other things but only gigabit devices. As I understand it, every device has to be gigabit ready or it will drag down the whole network.

 

2. Possibly setting up a second LAN just for my non-gigabit devices (xbox 360, old computer, printer, etc.)

 

3.  I would like to have the ability to plug in multiple laptops and have old-school LAN parties, but I do not want this to drag down my "plex network".

 

I currently have just one router (asus rt-u68), no switches, and no Ethernet cabling.

 

What do I need to purchase to make at least #1 happen? (I am assuming just an unmanaged gigabit switch)

 

Any suggestion on cabling to get? I know I need at least cat5e, but is there any reason to/not to step up to cat6, cat6a, cat7?

 

What would it take to do  #2 and #3 above, or is this possible?

 

Again, I know this is not UnRaid specific and appreaciate any help you guys can offer.

 

 

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Cat5e is good enough. Figure out where you plan on to you put your switch and server, then figure out all the points in the house where you want the cable run to. May even want to run a few cat5 to the same room. Get an idea of how you are going to route all the cables thru the walls and the house. Guesstimate the amount of cable you'll need, can buy 1000ft cat5 in a box, read the various reviews on the brands and go with something that looks good. Get a good set of crimpers, a punch down tool, some wall plates, a bag of rg45 connectors. Depending on how many cables you end up with, may want to get a small patch panel as well. For sure check out some youtube vids to get an idea of how to crimp the wires.

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Devices of multiple speed types can exist on the same network, so no need to create separate networks for gig and non gig equipment. You could setup separate vlans (virtual networks) on the switch to split traffic if you really needed it, but I wouldn’t expect a few laptops running saturating your network to the point Plex stops working. 

 

You will need a switch of some kind with an appropriate amount of outlets/ports. You can get a basic switch, which you plug your devices into and job done, or more advanced switch where you have a gui that can manage the config of the switch to setup vlans etc. You could also have a Poe switch (power over Ethernet) and wire in some wireless access points which should provide better WiFi coverage than a consumer router can. 

 

how many outlets do you think you will need in the house? How many wired devices do you want connected to the network?

 

the general concept is decide on a central point to mount the switch, using cat5/6 cable, take runs of cables from this location out to each of your rooms, and terminate them in an rj45 outlet

 

at the switch end, it’s advisable to connect all the ends to a patch panel, and then run short cables from the patch panel to the switch to connect all your devices

 

your switch then needs to be connected to your router so all the devices on the network can get to the internet

 

Cat 7 probably overkill for home, so it’s cat5 or cat6. 

 

To to meet their specifications,  all parts of the cat system need to be in spec, so cat6 cable, cat6 outlets etc etc. Cat 6 is a little less forgiving in its install quality, bends in cables can’t be as great as with cat5; but in theory, not many people certify their install ensure it meets the cat standard, so go with whichever. Cat 6 is probably the one to go for if buying stuff new, if you had cat5 cable kicking around, I’d use that as for your purpose I don’t think you’d need anything more. 

 

Youll need some some tools to terminate the cables too

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9 hours ago, rorton said:

Devices of multiple speed types can exist on the same network, so no need to create separate networks for gig and non gig equipment. You could setup separate vlans (virtual networks) on the switch to split traffic if you really needed it, but I wouldn’t expect a few laptops running saturating your network to the point Plex stops working. 

 

how many outlets do you think you will need in the house? How many wired devices do you want connected to the network?

 

at the switch end, it’s advisable to connect all the ends to a patch panel, and then run short cables from the patch panel to the switch to connect all your devices

 

I was under the impression that the network would only operate at the speed of the slowest connection to it, so it was advisable to only put gigabit connections on it to maintain that speed. Your saying that is not correct?

 

I would only "need" between 4-8, but I figure more is better and would rather not need one down the line and not have it. So I am looking at doing 4 in each bedroom (3 bedrooms), 4-8 in the living room, and 4-8 in the dining room. So a possibility of 20-28.

 

Good idea on the patch panel. Never even considered that. It will definitely make for a cleaner install!

 

2 hours ago, trurl said:

A LAN cable tester is handy if you are making your own connections. They can be pretty inexpensive. I got this one on Amazon: http://a.co/4Zd1jly

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely pick one up. That could save a huge headache in the long run!

 

9 hours ago, korith said:

Cat5e is good enough. Figure out where you plan on to you put your switch and server, then figure out all the points in the house where you want the cable run to. May even want to run a few cat5 to the same room. Get an idea of how you are going to route all the cables thru the walls and the house. Guesstimate the amount of cable you'll need, can buy 1000ft cat5 in a box, read the various reviews on the brands and go with something that looks good. Get a good set of crimpers, a punch down tool, some wall plates, a bag of rg45 connectors. Depending on how many cables you end up with, may want to get a small patch panel as well. For sure check out some youtube vids to get an idea of how to crimp the wires.

 

I had never even heard of a punch down tool before, so that was a great suggestion!

 

Does anyone have a suggestion on brands of cabling I should look to for better quality, or ones to avoid? Or what switches are better or worse? I am sure the connecters are pretty standard.

 

Thank you all for the help! I love this community! You have all made this a great learning experience for me as I figure all this stuff out.

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36 minutes ago, jebusfreek666 said:

 

I was under the impression that the network would only operate at the speed of the slowest connection to it, so it was advisable to only put gigabit connections on it to maintain that speed. Your saying that is not correct?

 

Between a gig client and 100 client the speed is reduced to 100 during the data/packet transfer.  Gig to gig is for the most part unaffected same as 100 to 100.  A gig server and a gig and 100 client transferring data to/from at same time will affect the gig somewhat due to flow control.

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24 minutes ago, unevent said:

 

Between a gig client and 100 client the speed is reduced to 100 during the data/packet transfer.  Gig to gig is for the most part unaffected same as 100 to 100.  A gig server and a gig and 100 client transferring data to/from at same time will affect the gig somewhat due to flow control.

 

good point, your only as fast as the slowest part of the connection, but the 2 speeds can exist on the same network, and if you have a gig server, and 5 x 100mb clients all pulling from the gig server, each will get there 100 (or there abouts). if your server is gig, your PC is gig, they will talk gig, and if your xbox is 100 and connected to the same switch, it will only talk 100, but it won't slow down your PC to server traffic

 

Its not like you plug in 1 100mb client, and then everything that is talking gig > gig all of a sudden stops talking gig - they are are separate conversations

 

Which country are you in? 

 

For cable, make sure you get 100% Copper - you can get cheaper 'CCA' (Copper clad aluminium) and its crap, so steer clear of that, and get pure copper cable. 

 

In uk, i use belden, or excel cable. Remember that for cable runs terminating in a patch panel at 1 end, and a port at the other, you need 'solid' core cable, and then you use stranded core cable for the patches, PC to port, and patch panel to switch. 

 

tester was a good call, cheep, but will tell you all your pins are correct - there is a standard of wiring, so make sure you follow the colours at both ends, i favour 568B

 - it just means your colours match at both ends, but they go in a specific order to reduce interference. Its not wise just to make up which colour does where as its an inherent part of the cabling. id prob suggest buying your patch cables (from PC to port, and patch panel to switch) they are inexpensive, and you really want to make them with stranded patch cable, not solid cable, can be tricky if your not used to making them. 

 

Switch wise, something like Netgear, TP Link, Dlink are all inexpensive brands with a decent reputation, just make sure you get one that all ports are gig - each port will reduce down depending on the speed of the device you connect - most PC's etc are gig these days, smaller things like raspberry pi's and such like, only talk at 100mb

 

Good call on 'over cabling rooms' best to put as many in as you can while your doing it, putting 1 or 4 into the same room is the same effort really, i put around 40 outlets in our 3 bed house, and use at least 25 of them.

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, rorton said:

Which country are you in? 

 

In uk, i use belden, or excel cable. Remember that for cable runs terminating in a patch panel at 1 end, and a port at the other, you need 'solid' core cable, and then you use stranded core cable for the patches, PC to port, and patch panel to switch. 

 

I live in the US. I had heard that Honeywell genesis was good, but I don't know anything about it.

 

Thank you for this info about solid core vs. stranded core. Until you said this, I didn't even know there were 2 different kinds. But, no knowing there is different kinds, wouldn't you get better connections with solid core for both uses? I am assuming the only real downside would be that the solid core allows for less flex in the cable?

 

Edit: I found this and it seems well reviewed and is ok in price: https://www.amazon.com/1000ft-Ethernet-Unshielded-Twisted-trueCABLE/dp/B01JAVL5OE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519254786&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=truecable+cat6+riser&psc=1

Edited by jebusfreek666
more info
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solid vs stranded - yep, exactly right, if you use solid for patch cables, it doesn't take many bends for it to snap, so it needs to be stranded for the patch cables.

 

Solid is specifically for fixed installs where it never moves (a bit like having copper cable in your house, in the UK, we have solid copper cable for mains, and then flex on appliances) i thought US had stranded (or a few strands) of cable in mains cable?

 

You clip/cable-tie/cable manage the solid cable all the way from the patch panel to your outlets, that will never move - and then stranded patch cables. 

 

anyway, i digress!

 

 

thats cat 6 you have linked to, are you going cat 6,its a little bit more difficult to install,

 

for cat5:

https://www.amazon.com/1000ft-Ethernet-Unshielded-Twisted-trueCABLE/dp/B01JAVJNIO/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1519257762&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=cat5e+cable&psc=1

 

switch - something like this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unmanaged-Rackmount-Lifetime-TL-SG1024/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519257809&sr=1-4&keywords=24port+gigabit+switch&dpID=31CWez0TYZL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

looks like you can get a kit of tools here with the tester, punch down tool, crimper

 

https://www.amazon.com/Zoostliss-Portable-Ethernet-Crimping-Detector/dp/B01JR50X5K/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519258002&sr=1-11&keywords=punch+down+tool

 

then you will need patch panel(s) rj45 outlets - and will you put the switch and patch panel into some kind of cabinet? 

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11 minutes ago, rorton said:

You clip/cable-tie/cable manage the solid cable all the way from the patch panel to your outlets, that will never move - and then stranded patch cables. 

 

As I am retro fitting the house, and would prefer not to open the walls for the entire run, is it possible to leave these free hanging? I would attach them to the stud near where the outlet will be. I am assuming this is generally frowned upon? My house is 2 story + basement, and it is looking more and more like I will be setting all this up to terminate in the basement.

 

14 minutes ago, rorton said:

thats cat 6 you have linked to, are you going cat 6,its a little bit more difficult to install,

 

 I was leaning towards cat6 just to add a bit of "future proofing", so I do not have to re-do this in the future if I decide to upgrade for the next big thing.

 

15 minutes ago, rorton said:

looks like you can get a kit of tools here with the tester, punch down tool, crimper

 

Judging by the reviews, the crimper is pretty crappy in that kit. I will probably get something a little better reviewed. Besides, I can't imagine it would be that much more expensive to get higher quality tools.

 

17 minutes ago, rorton said:

then you will need patch panel(s) rj45 outlets - and will you put the switch and patch panel into some kind of cabinet? 

 

I am just starting to look into this, but I think I will do some kind of wall mounted rack setup. Since it will possibly be in the basement, I do not want it on the floor and would prefer a bit of clearance below it. I may have to get some kind of shelf too for the server itself. Should have just went with a rack server when I was building, but I ended up with a tower case (Define R5).

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4 minutes ago, jebusfreek666 said:

I was leaning towards cat6 just to add a bit of "future proofing", so I do not have to re-do this in the future if I decide to upgrade for the next big thing.

And that's the smart way to go. Better to install Cat6 or Cat6E since it's a one-time cost to draw the cables. No new installations should really use Cat5.

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Cat6 sounds like a good idea then, just read up about the radius of bends etc that you shouldn’t exceed. 

Can you use some kind of trunking down the walls, and then a surface mount outlet 

 

kit it was just an idea of what you’ll need. Admit I didn’t read the reviews :)

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, jebusfreek666 said:

I am just starting to look into this, but I think I will do some kind of wall mounted rack setup. Since it will possibly be in the basement, I do not want it on the floor and would prefer a bit of clearance below it. I may have to get some kind of shelf too for the server itself.

I would recommend hanging a half sheet of 3/4" cheap plywood on the wall studs or use concrete anchors, paint it if you wish, then you can use wood screws, screw in cable guides, angle brackets, etc, the sky's the limit to make a clean wiring board. You can even get some shelving brackets and put a couple shelves on it for equipment that doesn't have screw mount holes. If you paint it white, you can use a permanent marker to make notes right on the board.

 

Easily re-configurable, easy to keep neat, don't have to worry about finding studs for heavier stuff, don't have to worry about holes in concrete or drywall. A half sheet can get cramped if you go nuts with the concept, so I'd do a mockup of all the stuff you ideally want layed out and see how much space it takes. I've done installs where a 1/4 sheet was plenty, and others where a full sheet (4'x8') got crowded.

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In a 2 story house as well with a basement, ended up putting one router on the top floor and one in the basement, so we could wifi coverage everywhere in the house. 

 

For the the enclosure, if you don't want to go with a rack. At a friend's place, we hung up a spare kitchen cabinet on the wall of the basement office to hide the patch panel in, along with the router, modem and phone, and a small ups.

 

Another useful tool, you can pick up or possibly borrow, a wire puller (electricians fish tape), so you can limit number holes you end up punching in the walls.

 

Another thought, a friend moved into an older home and we ended up running cable thru the old central vac tubing to save time, since he had no plans to use the central vac.

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