How To Install Cat6 Network Cabling for Your Home or Office
Although many people find wireless to be simpler, I really wanted to use a hard wired option for home networking because of multimedia sharing, capacity on my network, and my mild wireless security concerns. With a wired network, I can have a private, fast network at home for Internet access, file sharing, media streaming, online gaming (on a console or PC), IP security cameras, or any other application requiring conventional ethernet type wiring. Let’s start thinking about and planning now! Initial thought and planning of the network cabling Based on your needs, there are several design issues that need to be resolved. Since these questions will have an impact on the amounts, tools, and materials required, I’ll talk about them before the materials. 1. Which room/s do I want wired ethernet? I have a 4 bedroom home so I knew I wanted all bedrooms wired. I also have a media center below where my smart TV is. That seemed like a good location to wire as well for things like video game consoles. I have smart TVs in each of these locations, so it seemed logical to install network cabling in all the bedrooms below the TV. 2. How many ethernet port locations do I want? I knew I needed at least three connections behind my TV because I have many game consoles and a Blu-ray player that can connect to the internet. I simply chose 4 because the wall plates are available in combinations for 1, 2, 4, and 6 jacks (for a single gang). Why run one cable when running four is almost as simple? To provide the most flexibility without the requirement for local (in-room) network switches, I simply ran 4 drops to each place rather than varying the amount. 16 ports altogether, 4 locations with 4 ports each. 3. Where would be a suitable place for the network distribution? For me, my laundry room was the obvious choice. This room already has access to my internet. The fact that my internet connection enters my home (by cable) from this location means that, if I transfer my cable modem here, it will be able to provide internet access to the entire network. The amount of room required to mount a shelf to hold the network equipment is another factor to take into account. 4. What path should the network cables take? This is probably the most difficult consideration. For me, my house is single story home and I have access to my attic. My cable internet comes through the attic so it seemed like a good solution to run my home network through there as well. For single floor homes with a basement, the basement may be the best path. For multi-story homes you may have to be creative. Outside may be an option by running conduit on the outside of the home to keep it insulated. The other consideration with cable path is cable length. The max cable length for up to gigabit speeds over copper UTP cabling is 100 meters (~300 feet). This should provide plenty of flexibility for most home applications but it is good to be aware of this limit. 5. What network speed do I need? This will primarily influence the type of switch to purchase. In most homes, gigabyte internet is starting to become the norm. For any network installation, a gigabyte switch is my top recommendation. A 100 mbps switch is adequate if you are merely running wires for security cameras. Use a 1 GB switch if you intend to connect any additional lines to the security cameras. Amazon is where you may get a reliable network switch. For households, my favorite brand is TP-Link. Regarding cabling, CAT6 cable, which has become the new standard for any updates or new installations, has become more affordable over time. In 5 years, you won’t regret it. Employ CAT6 cable! Trust me on me for this. 10 gigabit internet is going to arrive, and you will need CAT6 Cabling for it. Now, network supplies and equipment! Step 2: Required Equipment and Supplies (and Costs) Network Tools Needed: Network Cable Materials Now that we’ve (hopefully) got all the stuff we need, lets mount the wall plates! Step 3: Network Wall Plate Mounting 1) I started by finding my cable TV jacks because I already knew the route my cable TV took. They were all in the same places as where I wanted my ethernet jacks to be. I was able to determine which side of the cable jack the stud was on using the stud finder. Nearly all homes have studs that are 16″ apart, so I knew I wanted my ethernet to fit in the same wall cavity as the cable TV. Note: Sometimes, cabling installers from the internet provider you have, will just drill a hole from outside of your home (Like pictured below), into the wall, then cover it with a wall plate. It will have the appearance of being a cable outlet, but isn’t. Very frustrating right? In this case, if its an exterior wall, I would look at other options to install ethernet cable. I recommend finding an interior wall, where it is easier to install your ethernet cable from the attic. If they did in fact fish it from the attic space, but didn’t install an outlet box, easy fix! You can just use the cable as a pull string ( If your not wanting the cable anymore), cut in a new outlet box, then get your ethernet cable installed. (More on that later) 2) You must now draw the lines on the wall to accommodate the new box. Cutout the box with the pointed hand saw after deciding where to mount the box. You shouldn’t need to drill starter holes, the pointed saw should be able to cut through the dry wall quite simply. 3) Once the hole has been made in the wall, the single gang box may be inserted into the opening and secured
