I have an opportunity to get some Cat 5 cable run while we have building/rewiring work going on.
Just to cover future possible needs, I'd like to get a socket or two into most of the rooms in the house, but I don't to end up with a great patchbay downstairs.
I also would like to avoid being obliged to have the hub of the network at one fixed point, ruling out having it somewhere else in the future, but I don't see a way around that.
Are there any domestic-friendly network cabling products or systems that can help manage this, being reasonably unobtrusive and offering some degree of flexibility?
The bit to do in advance is running the cable. You don't need to connect up all the ends for sockets you're not using, so there's no need to have a large patchpanel unless and until you actually have a large number of sockets in use.
Don't forget coax for RF signals like radio, TV, or satellite.
I don't think you can avoid it with modern approaches to networking which are star based. You don't have to have a patch panel the cables could go straight into the back of your network switch. That could be in the roof space you probably aren't going to be swapping things around all that often so easy access isn't a requirement just access. But bear in mind the roof space can get rather hot in the summer and rather cold in the winter...
I expect loads of people will say forget wires and use WiFi but wires are far more secure, reliable and faster. ADSL2+ (up to 24Mbps) is rolling out now, FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) is hot on it's heels, expect 100Mbps from that, suddenly real world wireless speeds(*) are looking a bit slow.
If you are in a typical residential area the WiFi frequencies are getting rather crowed already and there are only 3 channels that don't mutually interfere with each other.
(*) Don't believe the marketing hype on WiFi type stuff at least not on consumer kit. Those rates are what the kit could do for a few feet inside a faraday cage, get out in the real world with interference and crowded frequecies and it's another story.
You don't have to run all the cables back to one point, you could bring the cables from one area together and connect them to a network switch, running one cable from this switch to connect to the rest of the network at another switch or a router.
Whilst theoretically this sort of arrangement can be slower as all the traffic from more than one computer goes down one cable, but unless doing something that requires a lot of network capacity, for the average home setup this isn't an issue. and
this is sort of what I've done here (in a slightly ad hoc, way in an old Victorian house, to minimise the wiring needed). There is a server in the cellar, connected to a switch. Connected to this is a cable running to one end of the house where the router lives, which is connected to 2 PC's and a printer, another cable runs the other way connecting to a switch which feeds a network audio player, an old PC used to playback video and sometimes a wired connection for a laptop.
a third cable leaves the cellar switch to feed a wireless access point upstairs (which really needs to be in the middle of the house to give coverage in the whole house).
It'd be worth installing CAT6 cable and Gigabit switches, for a bit of future proofing.
What do I do with cables that terminate at the hub-point, but that I don't need to use (just yet)? Do I leave them loose behind the socket, until they're needed?
Forget about running the cable. Just put a smattering of single or double
35mm[1] deep back boxes in and run at least 20mm round conduit to each one or 2 x 20mm oval conduit if depth is an issue).
Make sure the conduit remains clear during plastering and the top (or bottom) end is somewhere accessible - if necessary bend (or glue in a shallow slip bend - not an elbow: too tight) too allow the end of the conduit to be brought along to a convenient point.
You'll be able to pull 4 bits of Cat5 through 20mm round easily enough, and probably round at least one smooth bend if you need.
Then you leave the way open to wire and adapt later (you might want to pull an aerial cable or speaker cables through too later, so it might not be all Cat5.
This is exactly the approach I'm taking because I have too much on the drawing board with my project to worry about comms - so I'm just laying the tubes - we'll pull the wires after the jobs done as we decide we need to.
Cheers
Tim
[1] 25mm would do *but* there are a few accessories that need 35mm, like some aerial modules.
I quite like the idea of a decent signal for FM radio, but the TV aerial comes in just near where the TV will be, so that's OK.
The roof space will be the penthouse suite bedroom, so I hope that the vast quantity of insulation going into it will help keep temperatures fairly even.
It would be fine, but for backups to a network device. I have an Apple Time Capsule, which hosts the best backup system I've ever used - but too slow over wireless for the file sizes I often work with. Over Gigabit ethernet, it's wonderful.
Every year at about Christmas time, a few more neighbours' WLANs seem to appear, and each year the signal reach within our own house has deteriorated.
If you can do it, cabling is still the fastest and most reliable. If people are just interneting maybe not so much benefit, but if there is much file shifting going on then it is noticeably faster. Most stuff here now lives on the server, lots of things are noticeably faster on wired, and were noticeably again faster when much of the gear was upgraded to Gigabit Ethernet.
Wireless is prone to interference, to random weirdness (my laptop just stopped connecting one day to the AP when the connection was encrypted, much fiddling and faffing, before I got it working again, but no obvious problem was fixed). To range limitations (unless the wireless Access Point here is located pretty much in the centre of the house we can't get full coverage, but that's not very convenient if we want it to be the router as well, which is best located elsewhere).
Horses for courses really, we have wired for most things which are fixed, wireless for laptops, DSes and such like and I may use Ethernet over mains to extend the network into some out buildings.
But seeing as the OP said they are in the position, to fix in wiring whilst other work is going on I think it'd be silly not to.
If your putting in a patch panel they may as well be terminated to the relevant socket on the panel. Without a panel just label the end, coil up and tie.
In the wall if the face plate is there with a socket terminate if a blank faceplate coil up 9" or so in the box. There is nothing worse than trying to terminate 8 IDC wires that only come a couple of inches out of the wall.
Remember to run two cables to each single gang box, that will take two sockets. Cable is cheap, running it isn't.
Unless you want to move the TV location or have a TV in another room. See my other comment, cable is cheap, running it isn't.
Ah right so will there be small voids behind short walls up to a sloping ceiling. Ideal little hidey hole for networky/RF distribution bits and bobs. With a bit of thought at this stage this "cupboard" could be inside the insulation thus protected from the extremes to some extent.
I'm not aware of any clever products. I suppose you could install 20mm round conduit with drawcords, and then add or remove cables as you needed them.
We just ran dozens of cat 5 lengths up into the loft whilst refurbishing, and cable-tied them in a bunch by the chimney breast. Some are now connected to a 16-port 10/100 switch up there, others hang dead until needed. It's not graceful, but it's fast, reliable & madly cheap to do.
A straight run for not very far IMHO. A single swept bend may put the mockers on that as well unless the bend is right at an end and the cable can be pushed as well as pulled. With 4 Cat5's in I doubt you'd be able to get another equal sized cable through without taking the 4 out first and refeeding as 5, if they are a loose enough fit to pull. Lubrication of the cable will help but thats a bit messy when you pull the cables out...
Still an interesting idea and if you can arrange things as straight pulls with decent access the quite feasable but don't under estimate the power of even a slight bend to stop the cable sliding. Also think about how you are going to get the draw string through.
Run at least two cables everywhere, and LABEL them! Leave a spare one coiled inside the backing box.
That is a bit silly: cat 5 is a star network..needs a central distribution point UNLESS you know exactly what its to be used for. I.e. point to point happens by going back to the rack and cross linking.
The BEST place for that is possibly your loft. Run cables including power to there.
Also run satellite TV cable everywhere as well. And put a distribution amp in the loft as well.
Not really. Use proper stuff - 19" rack mount panels. No need for a rack though. Just a couple of wood rails will do.
Ethernet over mains can be useful where real ethernet isn't possible (for example, if you're in a listed building). But otherwise, it's very expensive and bears all the disadvantages of any proprietary system.
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