Ethernet Wiring for New Home

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Tampa_Gamer
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Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Tampa_Gamer »

Curious if anyone has recent experience with wiring new homes for ethernet. We are in the process of building a new home and had it scheduled to be wired throughout with a combination of cat 5e and cat 6a drops (with the cat 6a drops in places where 4k TVs or computer LAN gaming might occur). The cost of the cat 6a drops was not too much so we figured we would future proof a bit.

After a recent walk-through I discovered that the electricians are putting in cat 7 wire instead of cat 6a. While this would normally seem to be a good thing, my research on the internet had led me to believe that cat 7 has a number of issues with it (requiring different connectors, grounding requirements, no real standard and other issues a home user would not want to deal with). My fear is because cat 8 is right around the corner and the myriad of issues with cat 7, perhaps they got these spools of cat 7 on the cheap. Before I request that it be stripped out and replaced with what we actually have in the contract, I figured I would check in to see if perhaps it is not as bad as I think. Thoughts?
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Unagi
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Unagi »

it's "myriad issues" not "myriad of issues" … I mean , if you are going to use a fancy word - may as well use it right.

:lol: (sorry, snark is all I can offer)
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Kraken
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Kraken »

7 is more than 6, but it doesn't have a letter after it, so that's probably a wash. 8 is even more than 7. But if I've learned anything from Drazzil, it's that having a lot of cats is a bad idea.
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Zarathud
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Zarathud »

I'm in the same boat, but after buying a new house. They ran cable to various spots in the house but no ethernet.
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by wonderpug »

Unagi wrote: Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:28 pm it's "myriad issues" not "myriad of issues" … I mean , if you are going to use a fancy word - may as well use it right.

:lol: (sorry, snark is all I can offer)
Word aficionado Dr. Merriam J. Webster says otherwise:
Is myriad a noun?
Recent criticism of the use of myriad as a noun, both in the plural form myriads and in the phrase a myriad of, seems to reflect a mistaken belief that the word was originally and is still properly only an adjective. As the entries here show, however, the noun is in fact the older form, dating to the 16th century. The noun myriad has appeared in the works of such writers as Milton (plural myriads) and Thoreau (a myriad of), and it continues to occur frequently in reputable English. There is no reason to avoid it.
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Unagi
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Unagi »

Bah!!!

That's no fun.
I like rules.


Pretty sure that same book allows for 'nonplussed' to mean what it should mean and then also perhaps the entire opposite.
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by wonderpug »

Unagi wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:33 am Bah!!!

That's no fun.
I like rules.


Pretty sure that same book allows for 'nonplussed' to mean what it should mean and then also perhaps the entire opposite.
I think you're thinking of "literally".
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Paingod
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Paingod »

For residential needs, I have trouble imagining that CAT6 is insufficient. We recently had an office building rewired and had the whole thing done in CAT6 because, well, we weren't going to need that. No HD video servers here. At best, file and print servers.

The difference between CAT6 and CAT6a isn't speed. It's distance. CAT6 can go maybe 50m and retain maximum speed, and CAT6a can go maybe 100m - but both have a theoretical limit of 10Gbps. If you push CAT6 to 100m, it can still work but will run slower speeds. It's a shame you can't take the money you were going to spend on CAT5e/CAT6a and run the entire house for CAT6 instead.

Unlike CAT6 and CAT6a, there is a speed difference between CAT7 and CAT7a. CAT7 looks like it's just fancy and expensive CAT6a cabling that can maybe push faster signals a short distance and reliable CAT6a speeds over longer distances. CAT7a is the speed booster (25Gbps)- and even that seems like massive overkill for a home install unless you know (with certainty) that you're planning to have a wildly amazing internet connection and/or a powerful multimedia server setup in the basement.

There's "Future Proof" and then there's "We're selling you on something you'll never use, but we make a mint"

If you're being charged extra for the CAT7, I'd say stick with CAT6. Also, comparison info.

Side note: For future reference, you should consider supplying the electricians and contractors with network cabling, connectors, and some parts yourself. We saved over a thousand dollars by just ordering some basic supplies ourselves and handing them off. The cabling guys offered no warranty on those parts, and that was fine - cable, once installed and tested, needs to be destroyed somehow to fail.

Side, side note: CAT6 gets into solid core cables and multi-core cables. Solid core is good for running inside walls and for static builds like server racks. The multi-core stuff is the same "technically" but uses strands wound together to make a core and survives better in places where it gets moved around. Solid core doesn't like being moved around too much because it's a single, thicker core of copper.
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xwraith
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by xwraith »

Quick thought: Will they certify the cables to carry 10Gb ethernet (and test each one). I think that would be the standard to hold them too as that might be the only advantage to having a higher CAT number. If the wiring won't certify (or they won't sign off on it) then yeah I would have them back out the job and do it to the original spec. On the other hand if a high bandwidth application hits... well you aren't exactly going to be able to easily rewire things. At any rate, I am not a network engineer, but I've been thinking about 10 Gb ethernet for a home lab.

Edit: The above is assuming you can use an existing 1Gbe router/switch/etc with the CAT 7 cabling.

Another quick thought:
Also to really utilize it you will need 10 Gb switches, routers, and NICs (obviously don't have to buy into it right now)

Yet another quick thought:
Oh and I would make sure they put in a nice patch panel (and test all of that too!)
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Tampa_Gamer »

Appreciate all of the comments/feedback folks (even the grammar ones!) I am not being charged for the "upgrade" to cat 7, but I just want to make sure I wasn't going to be worse off or have difficulty using it the second I hook up my LAN. I don't expect to realize any of this capability in the near term.

I think the only real issue I have left then is to make sure they supply proof that they tested each connection back to the patch box. I will do a bit more research on that aspect.
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by xwraith »

Sorry, more random thoughts:

See if they can leave a pulling rope of some sort so that if you did need to rerun a wire it won't be insanely difficult to do a wire once drywall and everything is up.

Make sure they are doing adequate testing with good equipment -- you just don't want to see that the circuit completes, but that the quality of the connection is adequate as well.
I forgot to call it "a box of pure malevolent evil, a purveyor of
insidious insanity, an eldritch manifestation that would make Bill
Gates let out a low whistle of admiration," but it's all those, too.
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Paingod
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Paingod »

Too late to ask, too - but are they running cable through conduit, or stapling it to the studs? If it's stapled, it's a bitch to re-run later and you can't re-use the old cable to pull through the new. We ran into that with our office build. The original contractor stapled everything inside the walls, and when the cabling crew came in 15 years later, it took them longer than it should have because they had to leave all the original cable in place and pull all new stuff - which is now flopping loosely in the walls with no conduits or staples.
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Tampa_Gamer
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Tampa_Gamer »

So finally after 19 months, we are finally in the new house I was mentioning above. Now I need to actually put some components into the above-mentioned wiring to make it function.

We have a large family with many kids so our bandwidth is always stressed- usage is multiple simultaneous streamers/online gaming/dedicated home server gaming.

We have FIOS internet installed so the plan is to have internet access distributed via (1) a wireless network (FIOS router, plus 3 access points I had hardwired for PoE in various locations in the house), and (2) a hardwired network of cat 5e/6a to about 12 locations.

Immediate shopping needs:

(1) two indoor wireless access points (PoE) in-ceiling (wife doesn't want to see them) or on-ceiling (if I can argue better antenna coverage). Looking at Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LITE-US model with good reviews, but am wide open to suggestions.

(2) umanaged switch to distribute FIOS internet to wireless/hardwired network, with at least 8 PoE ports (future proof for cameras) and 12-16 normal ports

Any suggestions? Keep in mind, I am not an IT person (I just pretend to be one on the weekends).

Thanks!
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Isgrimnur »

Make sure you aren’t paying Fios for a router. If so, buy your own.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Tampa_Gamer
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by Tampa_Gamer »

Yes, the FIOS router is an issue because my understanding is that we need it for the online guide, etc. but we are not charged separately at least here in my region/triple play "deal" we have.

After researching a bit, I like what I have read so far about the Ubiquiti/Unifi system and it appears it will handle my future expansion of 4-5 cameras as well. My current plan will be to transform FIOS router strictly into a bridge and turn off its wireless function. It will connect to a Ubiquiti Security Gateway (US-G) - not the "pro"version as I don't think I need that. Then from the US-G - to a Ubiquiti 24 port POE switch (US-24-250W). My points of access will also be Ubiquiti (UAP-AC-PRO-US).

Anyone have a views on the Ubiquiti/Unifi hardware/software? It looks to be a step-above the typical consumer grade stuff but not too difficult to set-up for those without IT day jobs.
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Re: Ethernet Wiring for New Home

Post by dobberhd »

I've been using Ubiquity/Unifi for seven or so years at home. I switched to it back then because our neighborhood had too many networks. Once I put it in I no longer had problems.
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