Bought a house, was left this disaster. Help me

[Chipsahoyz]

A while back I bought a house and was left this disaster of cable. We've been making it work and we have no internet problems but this is in my master closet and I would like to clean it up. My problem is, I have no idea how. 

 

Obviously I'm trying to save a buck and so it myself. 

 

My biggest note is that my wife works from home so I need to be able to not knock her offline. 

 

Any help/ advice is greatly appreciated. And I apologize if this isn't the correct location for the post

[sphbecker]

EDIT so big I made another post, read my 2nd reply first

 

Honestly, other than zero cable management, there is nothing wrong with that setup. It doesn't look like the Netgear 5-port switch is required, based on the number of connections I see you can just plug those directly into the AT&T gateway. Removing that switch will make it look nicer and be one less thing requiring power. If you want to keep the power strip, I would wall mount that as well, but without the switch, you might not even need it at all, or could get something smaller.

 

If you are looking to add more hardware down the road, I would buy some small shelves from a hardware store, but if you plan to stick with just the ISP provided gateway, then I would keep it wall mounted and just clean up the cables.

 

Guessing that mess of cables connected to the block is for your telephone ports in the house. Even if you don't use those, I would leave that alone. Once you get the other cables cleaned up, you can put the cover back on (or buy a new one if you don't have it) and then those ugly cables would not be seen anymore. Same for all those f-type cables (the cable TV ones) hanging down, you may not use them now, but just leave them hidden in that box.

[sphbecker]

Massive difference of opinion after taking a 2nd look. All that wiring mess that I assumed was your telephone wiring is actually your network!! Gasp!! That is NOT okay even for older Cat5 wiring. Whoever did that used wiring standards that are considered sloppy (but work) even for telephone. Networking is more sensitive, so that isn't okay. Okay, deep breaths...lol

 

You basically have three options. You can leave it as it is and hope for the best, just know that you might struggle to get full gigabit speeds over those cables, and would NEVER be able to get 2.5 or higher.

 

2) If you want to clean it up the right way, buy yourself a small wall mountable 12-port patch panel and punch-down tool and terminate the blue and white cables into that. Remove the block and all yellow cables. Then you use normal patch cables to connect the Gateway or Switch to the patch panel.

 

3) If you want to clean it up, but don't want to mess with a patch panel, then you can buy RJ45 end connectors and put them directly on to the blue and white cables. Watch a YouTube video on how to terminate a RJ45 cable. Practice a few times on spare cables before you do in on the real cables (because you don't have a lot of slack to work with and don't want to waste any). Once you do that, then those blue/white cables can plug directly into your gateway or switch.

 

This last option is the easiest and what most would probably do. It isn't technically correct based on network wiring standards because you don't want your in-wall cables connected directly to your equipment, but for home use, its fine. The main reason for the patch panel is that it stops you from having to touch your in-wall cables, which will make them less likely to break (they are probably solid so more brittle than a stranded cable). Also, for larger networks a patch panels are needed to keep cabling clean, but that only matters once you have a rack. If it was me, I would just do option 3 and call it a day.

 

I also see that is an 8-port switch, not a 5-port. I think I see a total of 6 connections, 4 on the switch and 2 into the Gateway, so it looks like you need to keep the switch.

[jec6613]

4 hours ago, sphbecker said:

2) If you want to clean it up the right way, buy yourself a small wall mountable 12-port patch panel and punch-down tool and terminate the blue and white cables into that. Remove the block and all yellow cables. Then you use normal patch cables to connect the Gateway or Switch to the patch panel.

 

3) If you want to clean it up, but don't want to mess with a patch panel, then you can buy RJ45 end connectors and put them directly on to the blue and white cables. Watch a YouTube video on how to terminate a RJ45 cable. Practice a few times on spare cables before you do in on the real cables (because you don't have a lot of slack to work with and don't want to waste any). Once you do that, then those blue/white cables can plug directly into your gateway or switch.

I'm about to point out a different option because I've dealt with and used those structured media panels before, and here you go: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-Structured-Media-1x6-Cat6-Board-47611-C6/203409457

 

After untangling that mess for a minute, there are three sets of wires going on:

1. CATV/COAX, not connected to anything.
2. Telco, which is what 90% of that mess is in the enclosure itself.  That existing punchdown that's installed is actually correct for Telco in these enclosures, which is what the blue and grey wires are.  These may or may not be able carry actual Ethernet, but currently they're not wired for it.
3. Ethernet, which is by far the least common in there but is making it look like total spaghetti.

So, @Chipsahoyz, the first thing that you need to do is take a deep breath, and ask yourself: what is the goal you're trying to achieve.  You just bought this house, which means you're probably short on both cash and time, and if this is working, just hang a sheet over it and ignore it for now.

 

If you have an actual problem you need to solve, well, then let's take a look and find out how best to do it.

[Chipsahoyz]

25 minutes ago, jec6613 said:

I'm about to point out a different option because I've dealt with and used those structured media panels before, and here you go: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-Structured-Media-1x6-Cat6-Board-47611-C6/203409457

 

After untangling that mess for a minute, there are three sets of wires going on:

1. CATV/COAX, not connected to anything.
2. Telco, which is what 90% of that mess is in the enclosure itself.  That existing punchdown that's installed is actually correct for Telco in these enclosures, which is what the blue and grey wires are.  These may or may not be able carry actual Ethernet, but currently they're not wired for it.
3. Ethernet, which is by far the least common in there but is making it look like total spaghetti.

So, @Chipsahoyz, the first thing that you need to do is take a deep breath, and ask yourself: what is the goal you're trying to achieve.  You just bought this house, which means you're probably short on both cash and time, and if this is working, just hang a sheet over it and ignore it for now.

 

If you have an actual problem you need to solve, well, then let's take a look and find out how best to do it.

So the COAX cables bundled on the right I don't care much about. I don't have any intended use for them and I'm just gonna let them be there. 

The Telco that is going into the existing punchdown is carrying internet and we have a few rooms connected via that punchdown and the switch. 

the grey and blue wires are to the various ethernet ports throughout the house (I believe). The yellow doesn't lead anywhere besides the hole seen, as far as I can tell.  The white (that aren't COAX) are serving the same function as the yellow but without going in that hole. 

My goal is to get most ethernet ports in my home functioning and maybe identify which goes where and clean up that rat's nest of wiring. My home is fairly large at 3300 sqft and while I have wifi extenders, I prefer to have anything that I can wired. 

I've been in the house for not quite 2 years now. So I'm not exactly short on cash, but I certainly dont want to spend loads of it. 

Thank you both for your time and advice. I appreciate it greatly as I start to tackle this mess

[jec6613]

1 hour ago, Chipsahoyz said:

So the COAX cables bundled on the right I don't care much about. I don't have any intended use for them and I'm just gonna let them be there. 

The Telco that is going into the existing punchdown is carrying internet and we have a few rooms connected via that punchdown and the switch. 

the grey and blue wires are to the various ethernet ports throughout the house (I believe). The yellow doesn't lead anywhere besides the hole seen, as far as I can tell.  The white (that aren't COAX) are serving the same function as the yellow but without going in that hole. 

My goal is to get most ethernet ports in my home functioning and maybe identify which goes where and clean up that rat's nest of wiring. My home is fairly large at 3300 sqft and while I have wifi extenders, I prefer to have anything that I can wired. 

I've been in the house for not quite 2 years now. So I'm not exactly short on cash, but I certainly dont want to spend loads of it. 

Thank you both for your time and advice. I appreciate it greatly as I start to tackle this mess

This makes a bit more sense now, I'm always worried that someone who just moved into a house, especially a first time homeowner (don't know if you are one) is trying to untangle a mess like this day one ... and by now you're well aware of how folly that would be!

 

Alright, you want to DIY it and not spend boatloats, then get a couple of the patch panels I linked above that will snap right into the existing enclosure.  Also, do yourself a favor and order a replacement cover for the structured media center because it looks goofy without a cover.  Also, don't be surprised if you need to replace some jacks on the other end - they're inexpensive, but definitely don't cheap out on the other end.

 

The next two tools you'll need, or at least want, are a line tracer and tester like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-VDV501-851-Ethernet-Locator/dp/B085LPN71C (note: this is a good one, cheaper ones do exist) and a 110 punchdown tool like this one: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Storage-Interchangeable-Reversible-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D

 

The way I've untangled messes like these in the past are to one at a time take the lines that are not currently doing anything, and punch them down, map, and test them.  Once I've done every one that isn't carrying any Ethernet that I can tell, I then have a much smaller bundle that are carrying data, and can go through and do the same to those.  You can even just do one or two per day after work, and in a week or two you've got the whole thing done without much effort.  This also means you will never get yourself into an I broke the whole house situation, which is kinda important if you want the better half to still like you at the end of this!

 

Once things are in the patch panel, I run a cheap patch cable to a switch.  For a home of this size, something like a Netgear GS108 is plenty, or GS110TPP if you want to run PoE (which I'd suggest, actually).  Obviously some of this is going to depend on the details of what you have, but, all-in cost should be about $200-$250, and you get a couple of pretty cool tools out of the deal as well.

[wseaton]

Sorry, but I'm a total hater when it comes to patch panels for smaller environments. This isnt 1997. They just add complexity and points of failure and are just job welfare for low voltage techs. Just label the cables as to their destination and zip tie them accordingly. Bundle the ones you will never use in a single group and tuck them away.

 

"Cables might break if they aren't punched down"

 

Oh puhleeeeze. Its probably stranded vs solid core plenum anyways because its what they had on the truck. If anything adding a little shelf for gear is a nicer touch. If anything for the inevitable wifi 6 acces point so you don't have to use the ethernet runs you just wasted all that time punching down.

 

 

[jec6613]

7 hours ago, wseaton said:

all that time punching down.

Erm, all the techs I know can punch down to a CAT6 jack much faster than to a CAT6 modular plug, and the jack certifies basically every time while the plug is hit or miss AT BEST.

 

This isn't just about your preference, in large numbers (so on average for a home) individual ports in patch panels fail at about 10% the rate of plugs, even when you cross-wire stranded vs solid core.

 

Oh, and what they had on the truck?  That was solid core because that's what 99% of what comes in 1,000 ft ez-flo cartons.