Central hub in ceiling

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CB_24

366 posts

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#208123 27-Jan-2017 14:00

At our previous house I run Cat5e around to a few rooms and it all came into the garage under the house into a patch panel and switch.

Looking at doing something similar but the garage is detached from the house. I was in the ceiling space in the weekend to have a look around. Looks like all around the man hole they have lined the top of the ceiling beams so you can crawl around easy enough. I was thinking of setting up my central hub in the ceiling space.

Anyone done this before?

Can it get too hot up there? It's a tin roof and full of insulation so could get warm over summer.

Put in any sort of cooling around the gear?

My next resort is in a cupboard but for noise factor and tidiness the ceiling could be the perfect space.

ubergeeknz

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#1710685 27-Jan-2017 14:33

Wouldn't recommend doing it in the ceiling.

As for noise, what noise, most gear nowadays is fanless. If you have servers etc which are noisy, IMO put them in the garage and run a couple of cat5e out there for them ;)

Should probably give some reasons why a roofspace is not ideal for this

1. Temperature/climate (probably the main one) - roofspaces get REALLY hot in summer, REALLY cold in winter, and that also leads to damp/condensation, none of these extremes are good for equipment

2. Power - you need power. Do you have a socket already? This can be solved of course but an extension cord under the door of a cupboard is easier.

3. Access - is it easy to get to the gear if you need to?

4. Dirt and dust - it's probably rather dusty up there in the roof, also not good

xontech

268 posts

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#1710689 27-Jan-2017 14:53

I have an 8 port D-Link PoE switch in my ceiling. It has been there for about 2 years and hasn't had any issues.

I do agree with the points raised by @ubergeeknz as things to be aware of.

For me, we already had power points in the ceiling, I installed the switch in an enclosure with ventilation holes, and our roof is tile with quite a steep pitch, meaning it does get more airflow than say an iron roof would. When I have been up in the roof space and checked the switch it was warm to the touch, but not hot. The power pack for it is outside of the enclosure, so any heat generated by that isn't getting trapped in the enclosure.

Hammerer

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#1710695 27-Jan-2017 15:11

Alarm companies commonly put their equipment in the roof space and that doesn't seem to cause reliability issues.

However, the roof space under a steel roof will exceed the environmental limits of all the consumer devices I have in my house. So it would be better to put the equipment in an insulated box with a means to get cooling air in and hot air out. My roof space gets well above 70C - if I stick my head up there it only takes several seconds to start sweating. That's why we added a lot more insulation above our ceiling to stop it becoming a radiator during summer.

RunningMan

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#1710697 27-Jan-2017 15:23

As @ubergeeknz has already pointed out, temperature can be a killer. I've previously had a patch panel in a roof space, although access wasn't a problem, temperature was. Had failures on several pieces of equipment due to electrolytic caps dying very quickly in the elevated temps. If the access is through a manhole, it would be unpleasant every time you wanted to change / maintain anything as well.

I'd suggest one of the flush in wall type cabinets if you don't have anywhere that a wall mounted cabinet or panel could go - it will be kinder on the equipment, and easier to maintain.

CB_24

366 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1710894 27-Jan-2017 22:22

ubergeeknz:

Wouldn't recommend doing it in the ceiling.

As for noise, what noise, most gear nowadays is fanless. If you have servers etc which are noisy, IMO put them in the garage and run a couple of cat5e out there for them ;)

Should probably give some reasons why a roofspace is not ideal for this

1. Temperature/climate (probably the main one) - roofspaces get REALLY hot in summer, REALLY cold in winter, and that also leads to damp/condensation, none of these extremes are good for equipment

2. Power - you need power. Do you have a socket already? This can be solved of course but an extension cord under the door of a cupboard is easier.

3. Access - is it easy to get to the gear if you need to?

4. Dirt and dust - it's probably rather dusty up there in the roof, also not good

1. Didn't feel too hot in the ceiling but know that we haven't really hit the hot summer heat yet but right now it felt fine.

2. Not yet but the plan would be getting a sparky in and putting in some power points up there.

3. Access was with a ladder but thinking the amount of times I'd need to go up there once its all in place access shouldn't be a problem.

4. Was surprisingly clean and dust free up there, my previous setup in the garage was more dusty I reckon

Jase2985

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#1710930 28-Jan-2017 06:19

My roof space regularly gets over 40 degrees and some days it gets well and truely over 50 (yes i have some way to mointor the temperature). I wouldn't be putting electronics up there as its a sure fire way to reduce their life span.

raytaylor

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#1711239 29-Jan-2017 08:53

Hammerer:

Alarm companies commonly put their equipment in the roof space and that doesn't seem to cause reliability issues.

My father is constantly replacing batteries in those panels (hes an alarm tech) because they dont last as long when placed in the attic. They dont cause any problems for the alarm itself but the batteries need replacing more often which requires the client to pay for an alarm technician site visit, and a new battery.

Planned obsolescence is strong in the security industry

In General I disagree with putting anything like a router etc in in the attic

Ray Taylor

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mdooher

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#1711249 29-Jan-2017 09:37

I've done it for a couple of clients.

1 included patch panel, router, switch and TV distribution system. but this was under a tile roof (cooler) and none of the equipment had fans. (important under a tile roof because it is very dusty.) this system is still going 2 years later.

The other was under a tin roof but I only put the 48 outlet patch panel and TV distribution Amp there. Access was good (pull down stair thing). The Amp had a built in power supply which over heated and died. I replaced it with an external power supply model (powered over coax from downstairs) and it has been ok for a year now.

I wouldn't recommend the practice, you are better off losing some cupboard space in the top of a hall cupboard or something, but it can be done

Matthew

dolsen

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#1712643 30-Jan-2017 10:12

Agree with all of the points above. Even a small amount of sun on a tin roof can send the temperature soaring.

I have all of my network equipment in my roof, however, I have a concrete tile roof. It still gets warm, however, not 60+ degrees warm. I haven't had any equipment die, including a ups which is known for cooking batteries working well for > 3 years.

Access is also important, I have a pull down ladder and very easy access, however, if you set everything up correctly you wouldn't normally have to go up there.

So, if you have good access, and the roof is made of material that doesn't heat up the roof too much, it can be a good option. Just remember that you are probably sacrificing life of your gear by putting it up there.

For power, make sure it's done properly. One of the previous owners wired in a outlet in the roof that was wired into the switched power feed to the lights downstairs. Once you turned off the lights, the socket went dead (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they were only using it for plugging in a light).

Here's a picture of my setup.

timmmay

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#1712658 30-Jan-2017 10:57

Related thread here.