New house with Cat6 - help in network setup

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › New house with Cat6 - help in network setup

maveric

36 posts

Geek

#310713 15-Nov-2023 20:59

Hey guys, need some help I'll be moving to a new house early next year and one of the things I've requested is to use Cat6 cabling as a means of future proofing it to be ready for hyperfibre in case I decide to go that path. I've experienced hyperfibre at some point but was limited since my house cabling was cat5e so wanted to ensure this time that I got the cables wired correctly.

Developer told me that they won't be providing a network patch so potentially, the cat 6 cables will just be dangling somewhere in the garage. Garage will have the Fibre hub they said. So, my dilemma and apologies for my ignorance... what sort of setup I need to consider to be able to connect the cat6 cables to the Fibre modem. Do I need a switch capable for atleast 2.5g to 10gbs? What's the cheapest consumer grade I can consider?

Just need some insight here, sorry networking is not my specialty so don't bash me 😅

1 | 2

1782 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3159986 15-Nov-2023 21:18

Ethernet generally either works at full speed or fails; the cable does not reduce the speed with the exception of two-pair cables, which are limited to 100Mb/s. Cat5e can run 2.5G ethernet for 100m assuming both ends support that speed. The Cat5e was not limiting Hyperfibre and almost residential users have no need or benefit from going faster than gigabit.

That said, Cat6 is definitely the way to go - you basically can't buy Cat5e anymore, and Cat6A is unnecessarily expensive. You can get 10G for household distances (55m?) on standard Cat6 and faster ethernet may or may not support twisted cable at all - it's a long way off residential use. And basically any copper will beat wireless.

It's not worth spending money on anything >1Gb/s yet IMHO, with the possible exception of if you have both a NAS and one or more PCs capable of it. Switches are cheap and easy to replace., and 2.5G switches are still not cheap yet.

I would simply wait and see how the sparkies terminate the cables. It probably will be on a mini patch panel - they just mean that you don't get a rackmount enclosure. So you'll need a short patch lead for each port, and if there's more ports than there are on your router, a cheap gigabit switch with enough ports. If they do leave the cables just dangling, you don't need the patch leads, you just plug them straight into the router switch - but solid core cable isn't really meant to be flexed so you don't really want that.

What you should do is get them to run a couple of cables (depending on building size) to places that would be suitable to mount wireless access points so you have good coverage.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

fe31nz

1207 posts

Uber Geek

#3160018 16-Nov-2023 00:15

Unfortunately, there is no real way to future proof your cabling as you have no idea now what cables will be required in the future. So the best idea, if possible, is to have some system where you will be able to pull new cables through (or optical fibres). I have just installed an OM4 optical fibre for 40 Gbit/s Infiniband under our house, and I am greatly enjoying being able to copy between fast hard disks at both ends at full disk speed. But doing that was only possible because our house dates from 1955 and is on piles with decent room underneath, so anything down there can be fixed, replaced or new installs done. With the usual concrete pad construction these days, unless you have special ducting in place, what you initially install is all that you are ever going to have, and when your house gets to 68 years old like ours and all the technology has changed, your only option apart from demolishing it and starting again is digging up the floor and concrete - very expensive, very disruptive, and afterwards you are again stuck with what you did for a very long time. I really do not like concrete pads!

mattwnz

20096 posts

Uber Geek

#3160020 16-Nov-2023 01:04

Putting cables in conduit so they can pull through new ones could be an idea, but pricey. Also there maybe too much friction in bents etc without a wide diameter bend..

pdh

319 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3160024 16-Nov-2023 02:23

If it's a one-level house - just plan to re-wire in the attic/ceiling space...

Don't worry about ducts in the concrete floor.

The house I built in 1993 still haunts me.

I put in a state-of-the-art coax ring LAN, complete with fancy plug-in-to-join sockets.

Then the whole topology shifted from ring to star LANs - and I was screwed ;-)

Black swans may get you, even if you plan ahead.

maveric

36 posts

Geek

#3160145 16-Nov-2023 13:55

SomeoneSomewhere:

I would simply wait and see how the sparkies terminate the cables. It probably will be on a mini patch panel - they just mean that you don't get a rackmount enclosure. So you'll need a short patch lead for each port, and if there's more ports than there are on your router, a cheap gigabit switch with enough ports. If they do leave the cables just dangling, you don't need the patch leads, you just plug them straight into the router switch - but solid core cable isn't really meant to be flexed so you don't really want that.

What you should do is get them to run a couple of cables (depending on building size) to places that would be suitable to mount wireless access points so you have good coverage.

Thanks for the response. During the contract signing a few months ago, i specified to run Cat6 cables and they have recommended 6-8 locations from GF to 1F. Now, builder updated me that the agreed contract didn't state to include a network patch panel so, I guess they will just terminate the end points near the Fiber Hub where the internet provider's fiber point will be connected. I told them if i can provide the network patch panel instead.

In this case, does this means i'm going to set it up somehow where i would have network patch panel and switches or a switch will do? objective is that all or key locations of wired ethernets have data transmission.

toejam316

1459 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3160154 16-Nov-2023 14:12

If you can make it happen, I'm always a fan of something like this 12U Rack Mount Enclosure Flatpack | Jaycar Electronics New Zealand with one of these 24 Port STP/UTP Keystone Patch Panel, 1U Rack Mount - FS.com Australia to terminate everything to.

Ask if you can pay a little extra to the sparkies to get that done, and make sure that you request that properly test the terminations rather than just doing continuity testing.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

networkn

Networkn
32236 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3160179 16-Nov-2023 15:12

toejam316:

If you can make it happen, I'm always a fan of something like this 12U Rack Mount Enclosure Flatpack | Jaycar Electronics New Zealand with one of these 24 Port STP/UTP Keystone Patch Panel, 1U Rack Mount - FS.com Australia to terminate everything to.

Ask if you can pay a little extra to the sparkies to get that done, and make sure that you request that properly test the terminations rather than just doing continuity testing.

I agree with getting it terminated, but 12RU is huge for a residential household for the average consumer :) 6RU Should suffice.

Spyware

3728 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3160184 16-Nov-2023 15:19

I went for 9RU, patch panel, router, 24 port switch, PDU at bottom, and space for ONT at the back with room to access it. And remember to install a power outlet.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2838 posts

Uber Geek

#3160206 16-Nov-2023 16:02

fe31nz:

Unfortunately, there is no real way to future proof your cabling as you have no idea now what cables will be required in the future.

Single mode fibre would be your best bet for future proofing, since it will handle anything we throw at it. What is required, however, will likely be determined by other factors. Cost being the main consideration.

Personally, I'm pretending 2.5G and 5G Ethernet aren't a thing and moving critical systems over to 10Gb, single mode duplex and RJ45 where I have to (I.e. the NAS, because Synology doesn't sell a SFP+ card).

fe31nz

1207 posts

Uber Geek

#3160305 17-Nov-2023 00:36

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Single mode fibre would be your best bet for future proofing, since it will handle anything we throw at it. What is required, however, will likely be determined by other factors. Cost being the main consideration.

Personally, I'm pretending 2.5G and 5G Ethernet aren't a thing and moving critical systems over to 10Gb, single mode duplex and RJ45 where I have to (I.e. the NAS, because Synology doesn't sell a SFP+ card).

Regrettably, that is not correct. You have to have be able to fit the right transceivers on to your fibre to make it work. For my 40 Gbit/s Infiniband, the correct transceivers use an "MTP" connector and MTP connectors are factory fitted only, so I had to have holes in the floor large enough to pass the large MTP ends on the fibre through. And the required fibre to get MTP connectors for the correct tranceiver was OM4 (multimode). An existing single mode fibre would not have been able to be used.

I do agree with you that 2.5 and 5 Gbit/s Ethernet seem to be a fairly stupid idea. I presume that they are cheaper to make, but 2.5 Gbit/s is simply not fast enough to transfer the full rate of a good modern hard drive, let alone an SSD. And 5 Gbit/s is too slow for most SSDs. So is 10 Gbit/s for that matter. As 10 Gbit/s has been around for a while, it would seem to me that once it was adopted for consumer use, the prices should drop fairly rapidly as the volume of sales increased, so I do not see the need for 2.5 or 5 Gbit/s at all. At only 10 Gbit/s, that speed is now far away from the bleeding edge for Ethernet - 100 Gbit/s is commonly available, 200 Gbit/s is in use and 400 Gbit/s is due out about now. But you really do have to pay for those speeds.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2838 posts

Uber Geek

#3160320 17-Nov-2023 07:06

fe31nz:

Regrettably, that is not correct. You have to have be able to fit the right transceivers on to your fibre to make it work. For my 40 Gbit/s Infiniband, the correct transceivers use an "MTP" connector and MTP connectors are factory fitted only...

I was referring primarily to the physical properties of the fibre. Single mode will pass light as quickly as we can modulate it, so in theory, it's all we'll ever need. In practice however, there is never a perfect solution.

Apsattv

2378 posts

Uber Geek

#3160386 17-Nov-2023 08:02

It sounds like a poor experience. For my new build, Brightsparks in Nelson just upgraded the basic offerings to whatever I wanted. I have 6 Ethernet ports in lounge, 8 in the office, 6 in one other bedroom, 4 in bed 2, 4 in bed 3, and 4 in the garage. With an extra wall cabinet in the garage with duct between them.

A Hills tv house uhf/sat distribution unit and one 24 port switch in one of them and the 2nd 24 port switch , Fibrehub and router in the other

Goosey

2792 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3160387 17-Nov-2023 08:13

Apsattv:

It sounds like a poor experience. For my new build, Brightsparks in Nelson just upgraded the basic offerings to whatever I wanted. I have 6 Ethernet ports in lounge, 8 in the office, 6 in one other bedroom, 4 in bed 2, 4 in bed 3, and 4 in the garage. With an extra wall cabinet in the garage with duct between them.

A Hills tv house uhf/sat distribution unit and one 24 port switch in one of them and the 2nd 24 port switch , Fibrehub and router.

this.

work with the sparkie. get the network cabinet in a good location so you can still use your garage easily / open car doors etc.

minimum 2-4 runs to the lounge and any proposed office.

minimum 2 runs anywhere where you think you need more than just a pc or tv connected.

get a couple runs in the ceiling space for use with wifi access points

if you are thinking cctv later… add a run where you think you want cameras

id be also putting one or two spare power points in the ceiling space…

Apsattv

2378 posts

Uber Geek

#3160410 17-Nov-2023 09:12

Sorry a few of these are bit blurry, shots from mine

before and after

maveric

36 posts

Geek

#3199846 25-Feb-2024 14:09

Just reviving this as my house is finished and good thing developer put up a network patch for me. Not the best but atleast I have something to start playing with.

My Qnap 8-port switch won’t fit in, might have to mount it outside of it. Any tips?

1 | 2