Networking/Wifi AP placement for new build

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Networking/Wifi AP placement for new build - feedback please!

nofam

1094 posts

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#189312 23-Dec-2015 16:22

Hi All,

I'm after some feedback on the attached house plan, regarding networking/structured cabling, specifically:

Wifi AP placement
- The red circles denote the AP's and the red square is where I'm planning to terminate all comms
- I'm planning on using the new Ubiquiti 802.11ac AP (see here)
- The house has a footprint of 248m2, and is standard 90mm timber-framed, plaster-clad AAC exterior)
Will 2 of these AP's be sufficient? I've thought through the use-cases for Wifi, and having them in these locations should give coverage to all bedrooms, the living/media room and even the garage for streaming music
I'll be running Cat6 cable to all rooms except the garage & laundry too

Comms termination point
- The cupboard seems a logical point as it's pretty much the centre of the house, so the electrical DB will be here too. I'll be on fibre, so can the ETP go somewhere unobtrusive (I think the fibre terminates on the street where the driveway is), but still allow me to have the ONT in this cupboard?

Should I run coax?
- Struggling with this one - conventional wisdom would suggest you run coax for Sky/Freeview/DVT-S/T etc, but that's really not how we consume media these days (at least for me) - hence why I'm keen on a decent LAN/WLAN. Perhaps I should just run draw-wires for all of this in case I change my mind?

michaelmurfy

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#1456140 23-Dec-2015 16:37

I assisted with a very similar build for my Uncle.

I used 2x UniFi Wireless AC access points - covers the house no problems. If you get the new UniFi AC LR access points I'd say you'll have no problems with using 2 of them to cover a house of your size. Get the ONT installed in the cupboard or an area with Ethernet and get that patched into the cupboard.

For the Coax situation instead what you could do is run Cat6 through the house provisioning extra ports for HDMI over Cat6, putting a splitter + Sky box in the cupboard also. With my Uncle we ended up putting a MySky box in the cupboard, putting an amp and HDMI splitter as well as IR extenders so you can still control the Sky box from the lounge - this way you can wall mount your TV's, use ceiling mounted speakers and a corner sub in your main living room and not have all the cable mess - remember though, it'll be best to do multiple runs of Ethernet if you're wanting to go the HDMI over Ethernet option. Coax is rather annoying to deal with however you might as well run it for Freeview HD. If you ask your sparkie or data cabler he'll be able to install a different colour socket (normally red) to tell what ports are which.

Grab a 16-24pt Gigabit switch to cover the house with Ethernet goodness, a decent router like an Edgerouter Lite (if you want to go to some extremes) and you'll have a pretty awesome network. Run more Ethernet than you need (2 ports each bedroom, 2 ports for the TV's and more for the general lounge area) - they don't have to be all patched in at once but it is more futureproofing you.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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richms

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#1456151 23-Dec-2015 17:04

Don't import the ac Aps as fcc bull means you can't easily use the NZ freqs on 5ghz.

The pro one will take real power over ethernet. The lesser models persist with the Ubiquiti passive 24v crap.

Richard rich.ms

nofam

1094 posts

Uber Geek

#1458945 30-Dec-2015 11:04

richms: Don't import the ac Aps as fcc bull means you can't easily use the NZ freqs on 5ghz.

The pro one will take real power over ethernet. The lesser models persist with the Ubiquiti passive 24v crap.

Nuts - I was hoping to buy them off Amazon, as it does seem cheaper. How are you prevented from actually using the 5ghz frequencies though?

And what's the difference between the PoE types you mentioned? Definitely keen on this approach, as I understand you can just use a normal switch, and the AP's come with power injectors?

richms

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#1459034 30-Dec-2015 13:46

They have different versions of the hardware. No idea what the difference is but fcc rules are that you can't flash firmware to get unlicensed frequencies.

Real POE is 48 volts and there are countless switches that can provide it. It detects the device and only powers it when it sees the device that needs it.

Unifi is made to be cheap so the cheap models use passive power over Ethernet. The power is just there all the time so if you plug something else in you may toast it with the power its not expecting.

If you are planning on ip cameras and VoIP phones etc then they will hopefully all be power over Ethernet too. Someone switch can power the lot nice and tidy. Inline injectors are a recipe for mess.

Richard rich.ms

webwat

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#1459537 31-Dec-2015 14:22

nofam: Hi All,

I'm after some feedback on the attached house plan, regarding networking/structured cabling, specifically:

Wifi AP placement

The red circles denote the AP's and the red square is where I'm planning to terminate all comms
I'm planning on using the new Ubiquiti 802.11ac AP (see here)
The house has a footprint of 248m2, and is standard 90mm timber-framed, plaster-clad AAC exterior)
Will 2 of these AP's be sufficient? I've thought through the use-cases for Wifi, and having them in these locations should give coverage to all bedrooms, the living/media room and even the garage for streaming music
I'll be running Cat6 cable to all rooms except the garage & laundry too

Comms termination point

The cupboard seems a logical point as it's pretty much the centre of the house, so the electrical DB will be here too. I'll be on fibre, so can the ETP go somewhere unobtrusive (I think the fibre terminates on the street where the driveway is), but still allow me to have the ONT in this cupboard?

Should I run coax?

Struggling with this one - conventional wisdom would suggest you run coax for Sky/Freeview/DVT-S/T etc, but that's really not how we consume media these days (at least for me) - hence why I'm keen on a decent LAN/WLAN. Perhaps I should just run draw-wires for all of this in case I change my mind?

FTP (fibre ETP) will be on the outside of the house, normally in a convenient spot in terms of the cable pathway and access for technicians. Not too close to the gas mains...

ONT can go in the cupboard if requested, as long as the required space around it is there and the cupboard doesn't make access and everything awkward. Normally recommended is a homehub type cabinet, and I cant see any reason not to put this in the garage, perhaps in a cupboard on an internal wall there within easy reach of the FTP. Chorus would probably run the fibre up the garage wall and attach to the rafters.

The home hub cabint protects the patching, switches, TV/media/NVR equipment, UPS etc so a bigger one does allow for more flexibility in future. A metal cabinet does need power sockets on a separate breaker, should be earthed on a separate earth wire to prevent earth loops, and may need an external wifi antenna if you are using the built-in wifi on the router inside the cabinet.

You will need coax from the Sat receiver to the cabinet, and usually from there to the TVs but potentially could also run IR sensors through cat6 cable to allow you to put the sky box in the cabinet instead.

WAP locations look about right, and a good way to do this would be to put outlets in the ceiling space along with outlets you can use for security cameras if needed in future, so you basically want either an outlet or a plugged coil of cable near where you might want to put the future device. Check that you allow for a cable where you might put the alarm, a cordless phone base-station, or printer, and whether you want to allow for an intercom or automated building systems like blinds/lighting etc

Time to find a new industry!

webwat

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#1459539 31-Dec-2015 14:27

Most of your rooms should be at least a double outlet or more if you need to allow for furniture to move around. The main TV may need 3 or 4 if you want to put the Sky box there or even multi-room audio.

I have a bit of time at moment if you need a hand with cabling.

Time to find a new industry!

Swanny

107 posts

Master Geek

#1474534 19-Jan-2016 12:52

I put 6 to the HT rack and 2 for the TV. 2 For every room and several in the garage. You can always not terminate them to save time and cost. Everything that can run using cabled Ethernet does. I am using the cruddy Wi-Fi that is built into the fritzbox (it's up high) but can easily run a cable to a point on the ceiling for an AP. I wish I had put my ONT near my patch panel, instead I ran an Ethernet cable to near where the fibre came in (and put in one of those star wiring boxes which is still empty except for the ONT.............. maybe I'll put my irrigation controller in there). I didn't realise that it was an option to run fibre from the entry point to the patch panel (a run of 20 or 30m probably). Now, if they change things at the ONT to enable more services I've only got the single Ethernet cable which I am already using (this is my only single run!). I also can't come up with an easy loss-of-power plan since the router and ONT are so far apart.