I have never done someones home before. I only do cabling for the systems that we sell and support which is in a commercial enviroment. My question is, "Is 5e the standard for this or is anyone putting in cat6 by default, or only if the person ask for it?" I was recconmended by a co worker to someone who wants some drops put in their house and I want to make sure I know what the residential pros are doing. As of now I plan on cat5e unless some tells me that these new homes with structured cabling use something different. Thanks in advance for any helpful info.
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Residential Cabling
- Thread starter DTSMAN
- Start date
mikeydidit
IS-IT--Management
5E should work well for the installation that you are planning on doing. Their are discussions here all the time on commercial wiring on Cat5E vs. Cat 6. It seems that in most cases if you have the money to just spend, and then sure install Cat 6. If you need something more budget minded that will work well then Cat5E is your best bet. In a home I could not see needing anything more in the immediate future.
Mike Jones
LSUHSC
Mike Jones
LSUHSC
bierhunter
IS-IT--Management
My friend did his house while it was being built and went with Cat-6. The reason being that the labor is the most expensive part anyway, and now he's set for a long long time. He doesn't want to worry about upgrades for several years. It's actually a bit overkill right now, but who knows what technology changes we'll see within even this next year.
franklin97355
Technical User
Don't forget to check on required licenses and permits. In some states it will cost you big if you get caught without the proper paperwork.
WaitronUnit
IS-IT--Management
- Dec 2, 2003
- 38
Go with 6... it carries much faster, and even though the typical end-user won't have HW that'll require 6 over 5e for transfer, consumer stuff is advancing to the point that 6'll likely be the standard w/in 12-18 months anyway. I do homes from time-to-time and have encountered residential contractors in the SE who over-charge for 6 as they purport it to be "the new minimum standard"... as you know, this isn't true so be careful not to put yourself in this group; word'll spread. Look for the next generation of keystones soon, too.
daronwilson
Vendor
Let me say this about that. IF you want to be prepared, you should be putting in raceways.
Lets consider that the home will probably be used for 30+ years, and most likely 15 or so before really doing enough remodeling to justify holes in the wall for rewiring. So you throw Cat6 in now, that should hold you for a few years, but then what is next? Some nice plastic fiber to every room or something?
The problem with home wiring is that folks like to re-arrange the furniture, and while Cat5e or 6 is just sweet for data, what about all the other things that one wants to add? S video, component video, digital audio, etc.
So..here is the deal. Put in a mud ring at any location they need 'something' and extend a piece of conduit (pvc, emt, ent, whatever is easy) from that mud ring to an accessible space (crawl space, attic, etc.) Make sure you have a central place for all the wiring to come together like a utility closet or something, and stub a couple larger conduits into that space.
Ultimately it is nice to get residential panel and terminate the wiring in there.
Lot of things to choose here, but IF you have raceways in place, you can pull whatever media through them that you choose, even 10 years from now when we are using dacron string or whatever for our media.
Good Luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
Lets consider that the home will probably be used for 30+ years, and most likely 15 or so before really doing enough remodeling to justify holes in the wall for rewiring. So you throw Cat6 in now, that should hold you for a few years, but then what is next? Some nice plastic fiber to every room or something?
The problem with home wiring is that folks like to re-arrange the furniture, and while Cat5e or 6 is just sweet for data, what about all the other things that one wants to add? S video, component video, digital audio, etc.
So..here is the deal. Put in a mud ring at any location they need 'something' and extend a piece of conduit (pvc, emt, ent, whatever is easy) from that mud ring to an accessible space (crawl space, attic, etc.) Make sure you have a central place for all the wiring to come together like a utility closet or something, and stub a couple larger conduits into that space.
Ultimately it is nice to get residential panel and terminate the wiring in there.
Lot of things to choose here, but IF you have raceways in place, you can pull whatever media through them that you choose, even 10 years from now when we are using dacron string or whatever for our media.
Good Luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
When ever we wire a residence, we install conduit to a central location in the event the cabling ever needs to be replaced. We typically use 3/4" EFT, sometimes called "smurf pipe". It is a flexible PVC pipe used for conduit. It works quite well for all apps from home theater to home network. As far as cable type, either 5E or 6 will work. You probably will never have the high speed bandwidth requirements of a home network that you would on the commericial side. Most home networks are used to surf and share printers. Gigabit ethernet run on Cat 5e will be adequate for a long time, esp. on the residence side.
Servamatic
IS-IT--Management
Servamatic
IS-IT--Management
If this is a retrofit and cabling is cost prohibitive, wireless may be an option. It is an alternative techonology and may be accepted by a technologically savvy homeowner. If this is new construction, a structured cabling system should still be installed. It's not to say that a wired system cannot be augmented with wireless capability.
AvayaNovice
Vendor
Wireless is inconsistant, involves more active devices, is more prone to interference, has less bandwidth, and most of all... wireless is in its infancy.
While WAPs are a smart addition to any new structure... cabling is the the most economic, fast, and proven method. Not to mention that cabling provides a pathway for anything to communicate. The raceway that is. The bandwidth of the wireless spectrum may be very high, but its usability is limited in comparison.
Cable for life!
While WAPs are a smart addition to any new structure... cabling is the the most economic, fast, and proven method. Not to mention that cabling provides a pathway for anything to communicate. The raceway that is. The bandwidth of the wireless spectrum may be very high, but its usability is limited in comparison.
Cable for life!
daronwilson
Vendor
Why not just go wireless?
Cause this is the cabling forum?
nah, wireless is great for many things, but not wiring the house during construction because you can use wireless is rather shortsighted.
Wireless is definately here to stay, but we definately treat it as a good solution when wire is not available, and when complete portability is needed.
Good Luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
Cause this is the cabling forum?
nah, wireless is great for many things, but not wiring the house during construction because you can use wireless is rather shortsighted.
Wireless is definately here to stay, but we definately treat it as a good solution when wire is not available, and when complete portability is needed.
Good Luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com
Servamatic
IS-IT--Management
Security is a big reason for not fully relying on wireless, will you do home PC banking? Most people do not lock down their wire3lss, which is a big mistake.
If you use wireless, NEVER leave the default settings in your wireless devices, enable 128 bit encryption.
Be sure you change the default network settings such as workgroup name, in Windows, and use passwords.
Wireless is a great augmentation to a structured cable system, but not a replacemnt.
Richard S. Anderson, RCDD
If you use wireless, NEVER leave the default settings in your wireless devices, enable 128 bit encryption.
Be sure you change the default network settings such as workgroup name, in Windows, and use passwords.
Wireless is a great augmentation to a structured cable system, but not a replacemnt.
Richard S. Anderson, RCDD
128 bit encryption is fairly pointless. Easily availiable tools allow the key to be found with less than 20 megs of data. Why bother?
For banking one would hope that the bank would be using strong encryption so all communication to their site would be protected from internet snooping. If not I would think the WiFi end would be the least likley place to snoop since the snooper would only have access to one account instead of thousands. In reality I cannot imagine a bank could stay in business for more than a day without strong encryption for internet banking.
Currently using VPN is the only way to secure a WiFi (802.11x) network. This is accomplished by having the access point(s) on a seperate network from your protected computers.
End of standard wireless security rant. Start of standard wireless vs. wires rant...
Wireless is a handy problem solver and a nice suppliment to a residential structured wiring system. Here are several reasons why wireless is not a substitute:
1. Cost
Unless it is EXTREMELY difficult to run wires wireless is always more expensive than wiring for all but the most simple installations. The reasons are varied but remember that in a modern home you need quite a few systems, not just computers. While more signals can be sent over IP networks every year doing so is not cheap. In a home you usually need TV, phones, audio, security and control.
2. Reliability
Wireless is not as reliable as wired PERIOD. In a home you will need at least one wired phone for emergency use since cordless phones tend not to work when the power goes off.
3. Quality
While you can modulate a TV signal and broadcast it over the air in your home the quality of such a signal will be quite poor compaired to using a piece of coax. Additionally there is the problem of interference. There is very little frequency spectrum available for unlicensed use. The result is that many wireless devices end up sharing the same frequency. Try using a 802.11b network, a 2.4gHz phone and a microwave oven in close proximity at the same time. If anything but the oven works you are lucky.
4. Speed
Wireless does not have the bandwidth of a wired network so the speeds will be lower.
5. Complexity
The more parts in a system the more likley it is to fail. Wireless adds a whole layer of complexity to any form electrial communication.
For banking one would hope that the bank would be using strong encryption so all communication to their site would be protected from internet snooping. If not I would think the WiFi end would be the least likley place to snoop since the snooper would only have access to one account instead of thousands. In reality I cannot imagine a bank could stay in business for more than a day without strong encryption for internet banking.
Currently using VPN is the only way to secure a WiFi (802.11x) network. This is accomplished by having the access point(s) on a seperate network from your protected computers.
End of standard wireless security rant. Start of standard wireless vs. wires rant...
Wireless is a handy problem solver and a nice suppliment to a residential structured wiring system. Here are several reasons why wireless is not a substitute:
1. Cost
Unless it is EXTREMELY difficult to run wires wireless is always more expensive than wiring for all but the most simple installations. The reasons are varied but remember that in a modern home you need quite a few systems, not just computers. While more signals can be sent over IP networks every year doing so is not cheap. In a home you usually need TV, phones, audio, security and control.
2. Reliability
Wireless is not as reliable as wired PERIOD. In a home you will need at least one wired phone for emergency use since cordless phones tend not to work when the power goes off.
3. Quality
While you can modulate a TV signal and broadcast it over the air in your home the quality of such a signal will be quite poor compaired to using a piece of coax. Additionally there is the problem of interference. There is very little frequency spectrum available for unlicensed use. The result is that many wireless devices end up sharing the same frequency. Try using a 802.11b network, a 2.4gHz phone and a microwave oven in close proximity at the same time. If anything but the oven works you are lucky.
4. Speed
Wireless does not have the bandwidth of a wired network so the speeds will be lower.
5. Complexity
The more parts in a system the more likley it is to fail. Wireless adds a whole layer of complexity to any form electrial communication.
Servamatic
IS-IT--Management
I was not addressing the connection to the bank issue, only the security of information on a hard drive in the home.
All your personal records are stored there.
If 128 is all you have, then it certainly isn't pointless.
Since the casual snooper typically won't bother with a home network if he sees it is protected, you certainly ought to be using it.
We aren't talking about a corporate network here, but a residential network, hardly the same thing when it comes to security.
There are several more little things one can do to secure a basic residential network, but I was talking minimums.
Richard S. Anderson, RCDD
All your personal records are stored there.
If 128 is all you have, then it certainly isn't pointless.
Since the casual snooper typically won't bother with a home network if he sees it is protected, you certainly ought to be using it.
We aren't talking about a corporate network here, but a residential network, hardly the same thing when it comes to security.
There are several more little things one can do to secure a basic residential network, but I was talking minimums.
Richard S. Anderson, RCDD
When we wire residents, we just don't wire Network cable, we install phone, coax, speaker, security, and yes, I even installed a fiber cable in a house. Specs and requirements will change over time, so if you can do it, install some type of conduit to all the locations. ENT is what we like best, but there are others. It is also cheaper than installing cable everwhere, and it provides a level of protection from the drywallers and others who come after you. Worst feeling in the world is to wire a house and realize someone just ran a 10 penny nail or drywall screw right through the middle of one of your wires. I spent less than $125 installing conduit in my house when it was being built. Of course, if you have a house already built, then other options such as wireless may be more cost effecting.
- Thread starter
- #20
Whew!! A little off the subject of the initial post, but thanks for all the wonderful advice. There are three drops in the house that terminate in the laundry room (5e). The two he needs live are connected via crossover cable and he knows when he is ready for all three to be live he will need a hub and three patch cables. The job did not call for conduit, wireless access points, coax cables, or phone cables. Customer stated the budget upfront and if I went over he would do it himself. Was this job done professionally? The customer got what he wanted and wanted to pay for and is happy with the end result. My answer would be yes.
Again, thanks for the replies.
Again, thanks for the replies.
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