Wiring my apartment with Cat6, what equipment do I need to configure everyhing?

[Bouzoo]

My gf and I will soon be moving to an apartment which only has outer walls, and since we'll be building pretty much everything from the ground up on the inside (we will take a construction team, won't be doing it on our own), I decided to use the opportunity wire our apartment with Cat6. Of course, the construction team will wire the house physically, but I'm interested in the part of configuring everything.

 

Basically, they will wire the house to 3 different points, 4 cables to our TV area and 4 to our work room for both of us to have 2 wall jacks, 2 for our PCs, 1 for our NAS that I'll be building at the beginning of the next year and 1 for reserve. What I'll get from my ISP is some usual router/modem combo like this one, and I figured I'll be going for for an 8 port switch (not sure which one yet). Our top speed that I can get atm will be 20Mbps. 

My question is, what else would I need? Another modem/router for bridge mode before the switch? Anything else? All help is welcome.

 

Cheers

[Oshino Shinobu]

It will go: Line in > Modem > Router (or straight to modem/router combo if you have one) > switch > everything else. If you've got 8 cables going to different places, you'll want more than an 8 port switch really (8 cables in and one to the router, so 8 isn't enough). I'd go for a 16 port switch so you can expand in the future and just have everything connected to it, making it the central point of your network. 

 

Just buy a bunch of coloured patch cables so you can easily keep track of which cable goes where, that's what I do. 

[knightslugger]

well since you'll have a router from the ISP, all you will really need is a 9+ receptacle switch.

[Bouzoo]

3 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

It will go: Line in > Modem > Router (or straight to modem/router combo if you have one) > switch > everything else. If you've got 8 cables going to different places, you'll want more than an 8 port switch really. I'd go for a 16 port switch so you can expand in the future and just have everything connected to it, making it the central point of your network. 

Yeah I figured it should go like that, just wasn't sure if I'd need something in between some points. As far as 16 port switch goes, I though about that as well, but we'll be here for few years only, and I'm not sure we'll expand in that time (pretty sure we won't). I mean a lot of things are just gonna be connected to wireless, this is for the "important" stuff. Well, maybe to have a port or two for a LAN party wouldn't hurt I suppose. 

[knightslugger]

Just now, Bouzoo said:

Well, maybe to have a port or two for a LAN party wouldn't hurt I suppose.

daisy chained switches can be used for that. just plug a small switch into one of the wall outlets for connectivity.

[Oshino Shinobu]

4 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Yeah I figured it should go like that, just wasn't sure if I'd need something in between some points. As far as 16 port switch goes, I though about that as well, but we'll be here for few years only, and I'm not sure we'll expand in that time. I mean a lot of things are just gonna be connected to wireless, this is for the "important" stuff. Well, maybe to have a port or two for a LAN party wouldn't hurt I suppose. 

Nope, a switch is basically the be all and end all of local networking.

 

Bear in mind you can add more switches in to the network if you want. So if you needed more than the number of cables you have to a certain room, you can connect a switch and then devices to that to expand further (analogy: like a tree branch). Though this will limit you to a shared line back to the main switch, effectively sharing the bandwidth between however many devices are connected to the second switch. For internet use, this won't matter as the switches and cables are going to provide more bandwidth than your connection to the ISP anyway, but it can affect local traffic. 

 

EDIT: If you decide to have a LAN party, you can always buy another 8 port switch latter, hook it up to the existing one and then you have a potential of 14 ports for PCs (because one port on each will be taken up by connecting to each other. If you also have the switch connected to the router, you'll be at 13 available ports. 

[Bouzoo]

9 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Nope, a switch is basically the be all and end all of local networking.

 

Bear in mind you can add more switches in to the network if you want. So if you needed more than the number of cables you have to a certain room, you can connect a switch and then devices to that to expand further (analogy: like a tree branch). Though this will limit you to a shared line back to the main switch, effectively sharing the bandwidth between however many devices are connected to the second switch. For internet use, this won't matter as the switches and cables are going to provide more bandwidth than your connection to the ISP anyway, but it can affect local traffic. 

Yeah, but I've really no need for that. I can just buy a new switch in worst case scenario. Since I'll be home I might go for a fanless 12 or 16 port switch form the beginning.

12 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

daisy chained switches can be used for that. just plug a small switch into one of the wall outlets for connectivity.

You know, trying to make it the most practical as possible. 

 

Also one more question @everyone, would replacing the ISP modem/router with something better, and then connecting the switch on it, have any impact on the whole thing?

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, Bouzoo said:

Yeah, but I've really no need for that. I can just buy a new switch in worst case scenario. Since I'll be home I might go for a fanless 12 or 16 port switch form the beginning.

Yeah absolutely, but you know, trying to make it the most practical as possible. 

 

Also one more question @everyone, would replacing the ISP modem/router with something better, and then connecting the switch on it, have any impact on the whole thing?

With a 20Mbps internet connection, no. You may find the WiFi on the ISP provided unit lacking, but buying a dedicated Access Point from someone like Ubiquiti, you'll get more for your money and you can take it with you across to a new network easily. 

 

Most ISP provided units are actually decent for a wired network. They're typically lacking in WiFi and control (things like port forwarding, QoS and such). The WiFi issues are best solved with a dedicated AP, while if you need more control for something like port forwarding, setting up Dynamic DNS or openVPN support, that's where you may want to switch to a new router. If you're doing that, I'd advise trying to go with dedicated modem and router rather than a combo unit as the router could be moved to a new network even if the line in is different (would need a new modem in that case, but at least not a whole modem/router unit)

[knightslugger]

4 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

You know, trying to make it the most practical as possible. 

well for occasional LAN parties, i think the most practical would be temporary networking where needed.

 

7 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Also one more question @everyone, would replacing the ISP modem/router with something better, and then connecting the switch on it, have any impact on the whole thing?

not really, your networking needs are pretty basic at this point.

[Bouzoo]

9 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

With a 20Mbps internet connection, no. You may find the WiFi on the ISP provided unit lacking, but buying a dedicated Access Point from someone like Ubiquiti, you'll get more for your money and you can take it with you across to a new network easily. 

 

Most ISP provided units are actually decent for a wired network. They're typically lacking in WiFi and control (things like port forwarding, QoS and such). The WiFi issues are best solved with a dedicated AP, while if you need more control for something like port forwarding, setting up Dynamic DNS or openVPN support, that's where you may want to switch to a new router. If you're doing that, I'd advise trying to go with dedicated modem and router rather than a combo unit as the router could be moved to a new network even if the line in is different (would need a new modem in that case, but at least not a whole modem/router unit)

Funny but I never had issues with port forwarding on any AP form my ISP. It was possible to do it with a bit of a hassle, which applies to this one as well. No need for DynDNS or anything similar yet. However it supports it as well. 

I suppose it should work for NAS without an issue as well (like a central point for transferring files). 

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, Bouzoo said:

Funny but I never had issues with port forwarding on any AP form my ISP. It was possible to do it with a bit of a hassle, which applies to this one as well. No need for DynDNS or anything similar yet. 

I suppose it should work for NAS without an issue as well (like a central point for transferring files). 

Depends on the unit and your ISP. Some units may block it entirely and some may block common ports such as 20/21, 80 and 88 as they'll be the most frequently attacked ports. 

 

Unless you're accessing the NAS from outside the network, the router doesn't matter. If the NAS and accessing device are both connected to the switch (that's what I'd advise doing), no data will even pass through to the router as it's all local data. 

[The Benjamins]

It would be best to wire for extra since you can't just add more later. I personally would do 4 ports per room minimum, and have a nice patch panel for the switch.

 

with that you can have everything wired with out the need of having satellite switches and you can swap out the center switch with ease.

 

I would use a 24-48 port switch as my center switch.

[Donut417]

3 hours ago, Bouzoo said:

My gf and I will soon be moving to an apartment which only has outer walls, and since we'll be building pretty much everything from the ground up on the inside (we will take a construction team, won't be doing it on our own), I decided to use the opportunity wire our apartment with Cat6. Of course, the construction team will wire the house physically, but I'm interested in the part of configuring everything.

 

Basically, they will wire the house to 3 different points, 4 cables to our TV area and 4 to our work room for both of us to have 2 wall jacks, 2 for our PCs, 1 for our NAS that I'll be building at the beginning of the next year and 1 for reserve. What I'll get from my ISP is some usual router/modem combo like this one, and I figured I'll be going for for an 8 port switch (not sure which one yet). Our top speed that I can get atm will be 20Mbps. 

My question is, what else would I need? Another modem/router for bridge mode before the switch? Anything else? All help is welcome.

 

Cheers

Id have to agree with @The Benjamins. Ive heard best practice is at least 2 wires per drop if not more. I would also think about where your going to have items that will have Ethernet and make sure you have drops in those locations. In areas where you know your going to have a lot of devices, make sure you have a lot of wires going there. 

 

I would make a drawing of your apartment with where your going to have walls. Get an idea where you need Ethernet, keep in mind unless your using POE devices, you will need to make sure electrical is also at these locations. 

[The Benjamins]

2 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Id have to agree with @The Benjamins. Ive heard best practice is at least 2 wires per drop if not more. I would also think about where your going to have items that will have Ethernet and make sure you have drops in those locations. In areas where you know your going to have a lot of devices, make sure you have a lot of wires going there. 

 

I would make a drawing of your apartment with where your going to have walls. Get an idea where you need Ethernet, keep in mind unless your using POE devices, you will need to make sure electrical is also at these locations. 

The last company I worked at had 1-2 Ethernet net ports per office that would have 2 employees, they would have a PC, and IP phone each and maybe a printer. they had cheap 1GB switches daisy chained everywhere, it was so bad. one PC in the RF lab was "slow" transferring files, it was plugged into a 10Mb switch. LOL

[Bouzoo]

1 hour ago, The Benjamins said:

It would be best to wire for extra since you can't just add more later. I personally would do 4 ports per room minimum, and have a nice patch panel for the switch.

 

with that you can have everything wired with out the need of having satellite switches and you can swap out the center switch with ease.

 

I would use a 24-48 port switch as my center switch.

Tnx for the advice but there is really no reason for me to go for that. Few extra wires would be logical, but a patch panel and 24+ switches would only add the cost without the benefit. Also the switch is gonna be in the mid of the apartment with a router, no place for the panel.

As I said we'll be only here for few years, I'm pretty sure I won't have that much things to connect in the meantime. Don't see a scenario where I might need that honestly. I might opt for a 16 port switch as max. Really, I'm might configure it once and that's it. 

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

Id have to agree with @The Benjamins. Ive heard best practice is at least 2 wires per drop if not more. I would also think about where your going to have items that will have Ethernet and make sure you have drops in those locations. In areas where you know your going to have a lot of devices, make sure you have a lot of wires going there. 

 

I would make a drawing of your apartment with where your going to have walls. Get an idea where you need Ethernet, keep in mind unless your using POE devices, you will need to make sure electrical is also at these locations. 

I need Ethernet at pretty much only 3 spots. Where our TV/PS3/PS4 are (1 port in reserve), where my Laptop is with additional one for NAS, and where my gfs PC is (1 for printer). Naturally, we'll have a lot of electricity in our house, building everything from the ground up, we're in the process with a friend architect of mine of sorting the positioning of the stuff. 

[The Benjamins]

7 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Tnx for the advice but there is really no reason for me to go for that. Few extra wires would be logical, but a patch panel and 24+ switches would only add the cost without the benefit. Also the switch is gonna be in the mid of the apartment with a router, no place for the panel.

As I said we'll be only here for few years, I'm pretty sure I won't have that much things to connect in the meantime. Don't see a scenario where I might need that honestly. I might opt for a 16 port switch as max. Really, I'm might configure it once and that's it. 

I need Ethernet at pretty much only 3 spots. Where our TV/PS3/PS4 are (1 port in reserve), where my Laptop is with additional one for NAS, and where my gfs PC is (1 for printer). Naturally, we'll have a lot of electricity in our house, building everything from the ground up, we're in the process with a friend architect of mine of sorting the positioning of the stuff. 

I don't know how many rooms you are feeding, a 16 port is pretty good.

 

Apartments usually have a lot of interference, I recommend using Ethernet on everything.(except mobile stuff)

 

by patch panel it could just be a bunch of Ethernet wall ports in one location, like 2-4 6 port wall panels.

[Bouzoo]

5 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

I don't know how many rooms you are feeding, a 16 port is pretty good.

 

Apartments usually have a lot of interference, I recommend using Ethernet on everything.(except mobile stuff)

 

by patch panel it could just be a bunch of Ethernet wall ports in one location, like 2-4 6 port wall panels.

That's 2 rooms, living room and work room (more info in last post). I mean it's an apartment as a top floor in a house, no interference there, but I lives for 24 years in a big building, no problems there as well, pretty good on clear channels as well. 

I plan on havin the switch in the middle of the house, hidden in a cabinet which would hide everything, with a wannabe clever design and all. Need a fanless good budget switch as well then. TLSG108E was my first pick, haven't looked into 16 port switches. Any recommendations?