Here’s a step-by-step guide to wiring your home with Cat5e or Cat6 ethernet cable. (If you’re not sure of the difference between the two, check out this post.)
Step 1: Initial Considerations and Planning
There are certain design considerations that need to be addressed based on your needs.
- Which room(s) do I want wired? I have a two-bedroom condo so I knew I wanted both bedrooms wired. I also have a TV alcove where my cable TV is, so that seemed like a good location to wire as well (especially for things like video game consoles). Having cable TV in each of these locations, it seemed logical to treat the network the same way.
- How many ports do I want in each location? With multiple game consoles and a network-enabled Blu-Ray player connected to my TV, I knew I wanted at least three connections behind my TV. Since the wall plates come in 1, 2, 4, and 6-jack configurations (for single gang), I just went with 4. Why run one cable when it’s nearly as easy to run 4, right? Rather than vary the number, I just ran 4 drops to each location to provide maximum flexibility without the need for local (in-room) switches. Three locations with four ports each = 12 ports total.
- What is a good location for distribution? For me, the logical location was my laundry room because my cable TV already comes into it and gets split to each room. It’s important to note that my internet comes into the house (over the cable) here too, so if I move my cable modem here, it will be able to supply internet access to the entire network. Another thing to consider is the amount of space needed to mount a shelf to hold the network equipment.
- What path should the cables take? This is probably the most difficult consideration. For me, my condo is on the second (top) floor and I have access to my attic. My cable TV is distributed through the attic, so it seemed like a good solution to run my home network through there as well. For single floor homes with a basement, the basement may be the best path. For multi-story homes you may have to get creative. Outside could be an option, or through an old laundry chute. (I won’t address the specifics of all the possibilities, just my own circumstances.) The other consideration with cable path is cable length. The max cable length for up to gigabit speeds over copper UTP cabling is 100 meters (~300 feet). This should provide plenty of flexibility for most home applications, but it is good to be aware of this limit.
- What network speed do I need? This will mainly play a part in what kind of switch to get. I used a 10mbps switch because I got it for free, and it’s still faster than most everyone’s home internet connection (you can probably pick up a really cheap one—possibly even free—at a used computer store). But, if you’re going to be doing anything over the network—like playing games, transferring files between computers, or anything like that—we definitely recommend getting a gigabit switch. If you’re buying a new switch, these aren’t that expensive these days, so there’s little reason not to go gigabit.
