Router setup in new home. Has existing ethernet at a central location.

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Router setup in new home. Has existing ethernet at a central location.

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#275806 10-Sep-2020 11:14

Hi guys

Moved into our home last September and have had the router plugged directly into the ONT in the garage for the past year. We bought an extender to help push the signal around the house, but would like to set the router up in a more central location. In roughly the middle of the house is a linen cupboard, where it looks like the former owner had the wifi setup, along with a stereo receiver.

There are 8 ethernet ports in the wall. Am I right to assume one of these would be a fibre source from the ONT, and the rest will be destinations to ethernet ports around the rest of the house? Is there an easy way to test this? Should I just get some bloke in to sort it out for me?

Apologies if I have used the wrong terminology. Am still getting my head around this tech stuff!

Thanks in advance, Chris.

1 | 2 | 3

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#2561630 10-Sep-2020 11:20

You've certainly got the right concept. Ideally, one of those runs should go back to the ONT, but it should hopefully be easily identifiable near the ONT. You just use short ethernet patch cables at each end to connect from the device to the wall.

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#2561632 10-Sep-2020 11:25

"There are 8 ethernet ports in the wall. Am I right to assume one of these would be a fibre source from the ONT"

Maybe... Is there an ethernet port on the wall near the ONT?, is so you will need a cable run from the ONT to the wall port...

With regard to finding out where the other ports go, the easiest way is probably to plug a switch or router in to a port, .. then go round the house and use a laptop to test each port.. (the LEDs on the Ethernet port will light up if the port is the one connected to the port at the other end....... then rinse and repeat for all the other ports...

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561635 10-Sep-2020 11:27

Okay thanks. But how do I know which of the 8 ports has come from the ONT. Is that just trial and error using the router?

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561641 10-Sep-2020 11:37

wellygary:

"There are 8 ethernet ports in the wall. Am I right to assume one of these would be a fibre source from the ONT"

Maybe... Is there an ethernet port on the wall near the ONT?, is so you will need a cable run from the ONT to the wall port...

With regard to finding out where the other ports go, the easiest way is probably to plug a switch or router in to a port, .. then go round the house and use a laptop to test each port.. (the LEDs on the Ethernet port will light up if the port is the one connected to the port at the other end....... then rinse and repeat for all the other ports...

No, but there is a bunch of wires coming out of the ONT into the wall cavity, guessing they go to that cupboard? Would a picture help?

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#2561643 10-Sep-2020 11:40

WoodyThemMilkMan:

No, but there is a bunch of wires coming out of the ONT into the wall cavity, guessing they go to that cupboard? Would a picture help?

Yeah a picture would help, there shouldn't really be "a bunch" ... but a single Cat 6 cable....

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2561656 10-Sep-2020 12:08

Hi, yes a pic will help, I assume there is a data outlet next to the ONT, if so pull the face plate cover off, if you are lucky whoever installed them labeled it and its hidden there, same goes for all the other data outlet faceplates in the house.

Cyril

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561657 10-Sep-2020 12:09

It won't let me upload an image - gets stuck on the uploading screen and nothing happens.

Upon closer inspection there is a single ethernet cable heading off into the wall.

The bunch of cables I referred to is about a dozen blue cables, coming out of a patch thing that is connected to the ONT box itself via ethernet (if that makes sense)

I'll keep trying with the photo.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2561659 10-Sep-2020 12:16

Hi, as you are a new user you might not be able to upload pics as of yet, purhaps one of the moderators can help, or put them on a shared google drive or similar

Cyril

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#2561660 10-Sep-2020 12:16

Photos of the cupboard end as well would be good if you can

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561665 10-Sep-2020 12:23

https://ibb.co/CnmjbWk

https://ibb.co/Mn8F3qc

See if those work

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2561673 10-Sep-2020 12:37

Hi, so the cabinet in the garage those outlets on the left will go off to eleven various locations in the house, I would expect eight of them to the AV closet, or maybe some of those outlets in the AV closet are wired as phone, which is the five cables terminated on the right hand wire terminal, those could be re terminated as data if you want.

Pop the faceplate covers off the two quad data faceplates in the AV closet and see if there are any markings, but all you need to do is work out where the outlets in the eleven outlets in the garage cabinet end up and patch from the ONT to where you want it.

I presume there are several other outlets around the house other than the AV closet

Cyril

linw

2849 posts

Uber Geek

#2561676 10-Sep-2020 12:45

He said there was a stereo receiver in the cupboard so wouldn't those brown cables be speaker leads?

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561682 10-Sep-2020 13:04

cyril7:

Hi, so the cabinet in the garage those outlets on the left will go off to eleven various locations in the house, I would expect eight of them to the AV closet, or maybe some of those outlets in the AV closet are wired as phone, which is the five cables terminated on the right hand wire terminal, those could be re terminated as data if you want.

Pop the faceplate covers off the two quad data faceplates in the AV closet and see if there are any markings, but all you need to do is work out where the outlets in the eleven outlets in the garage cabinet end up and patch from the ONT to where you want it.

I presume there are several other outlets around the house other than the AV closet

Cyril

Thanks Cyril. Nothing behind the faceplate. Went a step further and grabbed this photo, if that helps:

https://ibb.co/6RxbykH

So are you saying all the ethernets are fed from the ONT itself, and I don't need to patch any via the router? But some of them aren't live as they need to be patched by the ONT? Next question would be how does patching work? I'm assuming I need some short ethernet cables like the little yellow loop in the ONT photo?

I have had a hunt round and there is a kitchen outlet with phone + data, and a double data in the study. Can't see any others.

WoodyThemMilkMan

35 posts

Geek

#2561683 10-Sep-2020 13:05

linw:

He said there was a stereo receiver in the cupboard so wouldn't those brown cables be speaker leads?

Yeah the brown ones are speaker cable. That much I know!

There's also a number of tv aerial looking cables both in the ONT box, and in the cupboard (the grey ones)

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#2561688 10-Sep-2020 13:14

Think of the cables from the outlets to patch panel as extension cables. You still need to patch everything back to your router, but you can connect two outlets together at the patch panel (looks like that short yellow one is doing that). You can put your router in the AV cupboard if you want - you'd need to patch it back to the ONT, and any other outlets you want live patched from the outlet->panel->av panel.

A patch cable is nothing special, it's just a (usually) quite short ethernet cable. https://www.pbtech.co.nz/category/peripherals/cables/network-telephone-cables?sfr=ethernet+cable or http://www.cablesdirect.co.nz/catalog/entry?entry=126&page_number=1

1 | 2 | 3