Home Network Equipment\Setup

Hi All,

While my house hasn't even started to be built, one of the things is a certainty is I want my house cabled for at least Cat 5e, but more than likely Cat 6, I will be getting it cabled back to the cabinet I will get installed into the garage. (To try and reduce noise being heard in the house)

However the thing I cant decide is what networking equipment I will place within the cabinet (for wired and wireless capable networking), as I work with enterprise networks, everytime I look into it, I tend to over spec which leads to me looking at over kill and expensive gear.

More than likely I will end up with cable internet, I will want at least 16-24 ports with at least some of these ports being POE capable.

So I was wondering on what other peoples network setup consists of.

(yes I have used the search function to look at other threads)

I'm very interested in this too.

Are there any low-profile GigE switches that can fit in a Hills Home Hub? Anything that does POE too? I think I'll have around 16 data points throughout the house.

My home hub will be under my stairs.



Also - can anyone recommend a good router to use with Telstra Velocity - I'll have FTTH I may sign up with alternate providers such as internode or Exetel.

As I have mythtv, I'm having some spare coax points under the stairs so I can run two network TV tuners. These are HD home runs. I am also putting my mythtv backend somewhere in here too. Intent is to run XBMC as mythtv front ends in home theatre and living room.

My builder is putting a thermostat-controlled exhaust fan ducted outside. This is if I decide to eventually put a more grunty server / raid box in a small rack. I've seen recommendations of Synology.

could the garage be to hot for electronic equipment

I run my 24 port switch and modem router in the garage. It gets warm (and cold in winter) but no problems so far. I am using a business-grade D-Link switch that I got second hand from eBay, so it is probably a bit more tolerant of higher temps than a bargain basement switch. The HP Procurve switches are highly regarded and come with a lifetime warranty, so if it does die you can get a replacement.

For wireless I am using Ubiquiti UniFi APs. These look like a large smoke detector and mount on the wall or ceiling.

The main reasons I don't like the home hub units (and their equivalent from Clipsal and HPM) is
1. Their price
2. The limited space for things like switches.

You will probably struggle to get more than an 8 port switch in there - something like the TP-LINK TL-SG1008P will give you 8 gigabit ports with POE, but for 16 ports you probably need something outside the hub.

It is too late now, but with space under your stairs you could have easily put in a small 19" rack and had plenty of room for a switch and patch panels

I was planning to eventually get a small rack. Certainly have the space for it.

I've also arranged for the builder to paint the concrete floor under the stairs to keep down the dust.

Ok, then if you plan on mounting the switch in the rack then you have more options - Unfortunately you then need to get cables between the switch and the home hub. The neatest (but most expensive) is to put a 19" patch panel in the rack and get it cabled back to data modules in your hub, so then you can just cross-connect in the hub.

If you have space on the wall above the hub, mount the rack there and get the cabler to pull the ethernet cables back from the hub and terminate them on a 19" patch panel in the rack.

I'd plan to mount a 19" rack if you think you'll be doing anything serious no matter what, they are cheap as, some down to $200 for the short ones...

with the smart home stuff most of it is wireless these days, frankly the way to go as long as they secure it properly, I would however be running cable to atleast a few points in each room and a whole heap more in study's and into various roof's for future devices.

when it comes to what your putting in it, you might be best sticking with fairly small switch's (multiple 8 port units for example) as when PoE switch's reach a certain size they all include noisy/dust collecting fans.

Some great advice here.

I hadn't thought of a wall-mounted rack. Clearance could be tight between the home hub and the landing above. Key is keeping it accessible so wall-mounted is a great idea.

If space is tight maybe you can use these - http://www.4cabling.com.au/3ru-19-wall- ... tical.html - it is hard to tell from your photo whether vertical would be better or worse.

With home networking, anyone got lucky to get nbn installed under the staircase?

It would be bit messy to setup nbn in garage and rest under staircase.

What do you guys think about Alloy switches?

These look useful in situations where you haven't planned for enough wired ports in a particular room.

http://www.alloy.com.au/product.aspx?id=011236&t=1

Cheers for the advise.

I intend to get 22 ports installed through out the house and 2 installed to the roof for wireless access points if needed in the future all cabled back to a patch panel. (I already own a 12RU cabinet)

Its more what equipment I should be looking at when you need to think about power usage v functions, do you get an un-managed switch or get a managed switch so you turn ports off & turn POE off ports that don't need it, do you get just a pure switch and then look at a POE access point or do you get a standard wireless router/modem and deal with the different signal strengths throughout the house.

If you're in Sydney, this rack was just on ebay: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331102801918 ... 26_rdc%3D1

Didn't sell for $30. . . Their phone number is on the ad if interested (I was watching it but I think I'd just like a little wallmount switchbox)

4cabling also have cheapy racks:

http://www.4cabling.com.au/server-racks ... inets.html

But someone already told you about 4cabling! Doh.

Hey, our electrician friend ran our cat6 cabling. . . Doubled up each cable, as cable is ridiculously cheap, and if you're running one, you may as well run 2 reels at the same time. Redundancy! Yay!

on the topic of racks, can I suggest those who put racks in dirty locations look at sealed racks? as long as your cabinet does not have too much equipment in it it'll be fine.

http://www.brenclosures.com.au/nizs.htm
or bigger ones:
http://www.brenclosures.com.au/IP_rated_rack.htm

keep in mind they are not cheap, but will keep your gear dust/dirt free.

Looks pretty good option for racks only. They put a descent effort to make them dust proof.