How is ethernet typically run in a house?

[13CA350]

I just bought a new house, and it has ethernet wired to most of the rooms. In the basement, there are no ports or any kind of switch. I don't think there's one in the attic either, because it's pretty much just a crawlspace and stuffed with insulation.

 

None of the ports are labeled (at least on the outside) and I have no clue how they are setup. Behind the TV, there's coaxial and an ethernet port. I'm curious if this is where I would run a cable from my router and liven up the jacks in the rest of the house? I have no clue how this is typically done

 

If any of you have a clue, it would sure save me a lot of time. Thanks

[tt2468]

There is usually an access panel somewhere in the house. Commonly they are in closets and look like this 

 

You put an ethernet switch in the panel and then hook your router up to the switch.

[dizmo]

Usually there's a modem and/or switch installed down by the breaker box.

[Hiitchy]

Usually you'd expect some sort of switch to be in a central location where a short run of an ISP's modem can be placed, then a switch would be in that location. A fuse box or closet would sound like a "somewhat" ideal location. 

 

In this case, it sounds like some cables were ran from jack to jack so one connection goes to another location in the house instead of everything going to a local area. What I'd suggest doing is connecting things to see what happens as well. If this is the case, it sucks and I'd suggest getting someone to run the cables properly. 

[SupaKomputa]

1 hour ago, 13CA350 said:

I just bought a new house, and it has ethernet wired to most of the rooms. In the basement, there are no ports or any kind of switch. I don't think there's one in the attic either, because it's pretty much just a crawlspace and stuffed with insulation.

 

None of the ports are labeled (at least on the outside) and I have no clue how they are setup. Behind the TV, there's coaxial and an ethernet port. I'm curious if this is where I would run a cable from my router and liven up the jacks in the rest of the house? I have no clue how this is typically done

 

If any of you have a clue, it would sure save me a lot of time. Thanks

Coax for TV antenna / cable.

Install a router + modem in the central box.

[sazrocks]

8 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Coax for TV antenna / cable.

Install a router + modem in the central box.

I'm assuming you mean get a router and and a separate AP, because putting an AP in what is essentially a faraday cage is not a good idea.

[SupaKomputa]

10 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

I'm assuming you mean get a router and and a separate AP, because putting an AP in what is essentially a faraday cage is not a good idea.

Router in the central, AP in places where wireless needed.

He essentially had all wired up, only smartphones need AP.

 

So he needs:

- 1 Modem - Router (ISP usually provide this)

- A wired switch

 

Hook the router to the switch and you're done.

[13CA350]

By the electrical panel there is nothing. I don't remember seeing a panel but I'll check again tomorrow.... Thanks!

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, 13CA350 said:

I just bought a new house, and it has ethernet wired to most of the rooms. In the basement, there are no ports or any kind of switch. I don't think there's one in the attic either, because it's pretty much just a crawlspace and stuffed with insulation.

 

None of the ports are labeled (at least on the outside) and I have no clue how they are setup. Behind the TV, there's coaxial and an ethernet port. I'm curious if this is where I would run a cable from my router and liven up the jacks in the rest of the house? I have no clue how this is typically done

 

If any of you have a clue, it would sure save me a lot of time. Thanks

This might sound like a dumb question, but I'm asking just to eliminate variables.

 

Are you sure they are Ethernet jacks, and not RJ11 phone jacks? RJ11 and RJ45 look very similar, but RJ11 is narrower, and has only 4 pins vs 8 pins on RJ45.

 

If indeed they are RJ45 jacks, you'll need to essentially search the house to find out where they go.

 

I'd guess there might be a bundle of bulk cables somewhere - in the basement, for example. These cables could be in a variety of states:

1. Punched/wired into a patch panel

2. Terminated, into a patch panel or switch

3. Terminated, but loose (not plugged into anything)

4. Unterminated/bare/unfinished

 

I would also double check the crawlspace in the attic. You never know what some idiot contractor did - especially if they're not a network/cabler specialist.

[SupaKomputa]

There must be somewhere they put all the cables down.

The easiest way is to apply to an ISP and have the isp guy check it for you.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, SupaKomputa said:

There must be somewhere they put all the cables down.

The easiest way is to apply to an ISP and have the isp guy check it for you.

One thing to be careful of, is that some of them will bill you for something like that. Certainly doesn't hurt to ask though - it really comes down to how friendly the installer tech is, and whether he's in a good mood lol.

[SupaKomputa]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

This might sound like a dumb question, but I'm asking just to eliminate variables.

 

Are you sure they are Ethernet jacks, and not RJ11 phone jacks? RJ11 and RJ45 look very similar, but RJ11 is narrower, and has only 4 pins vs 8 pins on RJ45.

 

If indeed they are RJ45 jacks, you'll need to essentially search the house to find out where they go.

 

I'd guess there might be a bundle of bulk cables somewhere - in the basement, for example. These cables could be in a variety of states:

1. Punched/wired into a patch panel

2. Terminated, into a patch panel or switch

3. Terminated, but loose (not plugged into anything)

4. Unterminated/bare/unfinished

 

I would also double check the crawlspace in the attic. You never know what some idiot contractor did - especially if they're not a network/cabler specialist.

Haha, you got me there, i wasn't thinking of it.

This is true, the logic is that phone cables are more important than lan ports.

[kagarium]

If you haven't already, pull one of them off the wall and see if its actually wired. My mother moved into a house recently that had rj45 wall jacks but none of them were actually wired up anywhere - just blank plates

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Haha, you got me there, i wasn't thinking of it.

This is true, the logic is that phone cables are more important than lan ports.

Indeed - basically every home is still wired with RJ11 phone jacks in at least a few rooms.

 

Very few houses - even newer ones - are wired for Ethernet.

 

However, on the plus side is that many contractors will wire the RJ11 jacks with Cat5/5e cabling, instead of Cat3 ("typical" in-wall phone cable), because the cost difference between them these days is negligible.

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, kagarium said:

If you haven't already, pull one of them off the wall and see if its actually wired. My mother moved into a house recently that had rj45 wall jacks but none of them were actually wired up anywhere - just blank plates

Wow haha - douche move. The wall jack is the easiest part. If they didn't run the cables, running cables is by far the hardest part of wiring a house w/ Ethernet. Hopefully they installed conduit runs, or pull strings, to make running the cable easier?

[kagarium]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Wow haha - douche move. The wall jack is the easiest part. If they didn't run the cables, running cables is by far the hardest part of wiring a house w/ Ethernet. Hopefully they installed conduit runs, or pull strings, to make running the cable easier?

lol i wish. Absolutely nothing done with them. I dont even know why they bothered installing the jacks

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, kagarium said:

lol i wish. Absolutely nothing done with them. I dont even know why they bothered installing the jacks

Jesus - that's literally a waste of materials and money. That house was therefore artificially more expensive by probably at least $100 (cost of the wall plates - not a lot in the grand scheme of things when compared to the total price of the house  lol).

 

The way most houses are constructed means you probably need to drill through some cross beams to feed the wires anywhere central.

[kagarium]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Jesus - that's literally a waste of materials and money. That house was therefore artificially more expensive by probably at least $100 (cost of the wall plates - not a lot in the grand scheme of things when compared to the total price of the house  lol).

 

The way most houses are constructed means you probably need to drill through some cross beams to feed the wires anywhere central.

Yeah its just too much work, she doesn't need wired internet anyways. She just has a phone, a laptop, and then a smart tv. Which all have wifi

[dalekphalm]

Just now, kagarium said:

Yeah its just too much work, she doesn't need wired internet anyways. She just has a phone, a laptop, and then a smart tv. Which all have wifi

I was going to wire up the place I'm living in right now, but because it's a townhouse, wiring it up is even more of a clusterfuck compared to a normal house. And there's no attic at all. I decided it was a waste of time to even try.

 

When I end up buying a house though, I will eventually get it wired up with Cat 6a or Cat 7.

[NTDaws]

Well my house has vents everywhere, so I went into my crawlsbase. Fisher wire through the walls by the vents. Then upstairs, and then I just ran any other wires I needed under the baseboards. A CAT 6 Ethernet Cable that's 50ft is regular $40.00, with my employee discount it's $13.96. It was a very cheap project. All the cables run to a switch in my crawlsbase. Then one more ethernet cable goes to the modem from the switch.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Being Delirious
Added details.

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, Being Delirious said:

Well my house has vents everywhere, so I went into my crawlsbase. Fisher wire through the walls by the vents. Then upstairs, and then I just ran any other wires I needed under the baseboards. A CAT 6 Ethernet Cable that's 50ft is regular $40.00, with my employee discount it's $13.96. It was a very cheap project.

Bulk cable is already cheap anyway. At my local Canada Computers, 1000ft of Cat 6a is $215.99 CAD, which is around $0.22 per foot. 40 foot of this works out to be around $8.64 CAD.

 

Sure, you've gotta crimp it yourself, but on the other hand, you get exactly the right length of cable runs, with no awkward excess you gotta bundle up and zip tie.

 

Anyway, I did consider vent as an option, but not something I'm gonna do anytime soon.

[NTDaws]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

Bulk cable is already cheap anyway. At my local Canada Computers, 1000ft of Cat 6a is $215.99 CAD, which is around $0.22 per foot. 40 foot of this works out to be around $8.64 CAD.

 

Sure, you've gotta crimp it yourself, but on the other hand, you get exactly the right length of cable runs, with no awkward excess you gotta bundle up and zip tie.

 

Anyway, I did consider vent as an option, but not something I'm gonna do anytime soon.

Still, its a beautiful thing.

[intertan]

4 hours ago, kagarium said:

lol i wish. Absolutely nothing done with them. I dont even know why they bothered installing the jacks

had a house that was isp iptv ready. All cat3 on cat5 jacks and some had no wiring like this.

he customer was not happy and immediately contacted the installer just pissed at them.

[dalekphalm]

6 hours ago, intertan said:

had a house that was isp iptv ready. All cat3 on cat5 jacks and some had no wiring like this.

he customer was not happy and immediately contacted the installer just pissed at them.

Cat3 on RJ45 jacks? Jesus. I would have lost my shit if that was me.