Please recommend 12-port patch panel & Cat5e/6 question

Hi,

I need to move my ethernet home run to another room in the house. My current home run is a two gang plate with 12 ethernet ports that I installed myself. This is a pretty half-ass way to do it. I need to to it "right", and want a real patch panel. This is of course an existing room, so I'll be cutting drywall, etc.

I think 12 ports will be plenty, as I typically only need on drop to each room. My house is not that big. I see some panels like this, should I be considering something better?

Also, I'm having a tough time deciding on going with a 5e vs. 6 setup. I understand connections, cable, and patch panel has to all be Cat6 for it to get the full benefit of Cat6. The longest runs will be <100ft, and I'm pushing IPTV, streaming music and video throughout the house. I have Cat5e now, with no issues.

Tips and suggestions are definitely appreciated.

Thanks. The 2 gang wall plate I use now doesn't have a strip for the punch downs, you just terminate into female connections that snap in the plate. It's seems so half-assed. I want something that is compact, but more sturdy than the method I use now.

Any thoughts about Cat5e vs. Cat6? This is my one chance to re-do all the drops to the rooms in the house.

It's just as easy for me to pull new wire, since I'm changing the home run from one side of the house to the other. Most of the drops to the rooms will need longer runs.


I have a 10/100/1000 24 port D-Link switch that is my main switch. That will go in the same room as the new home run. The other rooms each have a Netgear 8-port Gigabit switch. I want something tidy to connect the switch to the room drops.


Yes, I'm using 12 keystones from my 24 port switch now. I had a feeling Cat6 might be overkill. Each room does get IPTV via AT&T U-verse, and I'm starting to put in some 1080p Apple TVs, but I don't think those will ever max out Cat5e.


See above for what I'm doing. IPTV is a must, but I know that works fine with Cat5e. I do some music distribution, but I don't know of any home-use scenario where I'd run into the limitations of Cat5e. If I'm missing something, please let me know. This is a one-time project!

Wow, that fellow did a nice job, and gave me some ideas.


Seems like Cat6 will only run me about $50 more in wire/keystones, so I'm leaning towards that route.


Well, I'm actually re-purposing a mini-bar in our house to be a small home office. As such, there is no dedicated closet I can use for the big switch and panel. So, I was thinking of putting the panel/drop about 2-3ft off the ground, where it will be hidden by a desk. The switch can sit in the desk or somewhere out of the way, but I'm definitely not going with a real rack type installation. EDIT: well, I take that back. If there was some very small wall mount type rack where I could put the panel and the big switch, that would probably make sense.


I have a 24 port GigE switch, and each room uses 8 port GigE switch. That should cover me, right? Assume I use Cat6 patch cables where needed.


Thank you. That will let me spend some time getting some ideas. A stand-off enclosure for the panel might be just the ticket.


I have the 24 port GigE switch, but that does not necessarily need to be mounted directly near the panel. I can always put the switch in a desk or somewhere and run patch cables to the panel. I need to figure out something a bit better for power. I'm definitely going to have an electrician out to run dual 20 amp dedicated sockets for this room.


A few more questions:

1) What is the best way to attach Cat6 to an existing Cat5e cable for when I need to re-pull my drops? Electrical tape snags, and I don't trust it. Isn't there something that could crimp to cables together for pulling purposes?

2) Same question as above but for pull string. I have one room where I just ran a string. I wasn't sure if I could even make the drop, so I just did it with string before I tried with a real cable.

3) Does any place make a 90 degree keystone? For my drop in the living room, it comes out at a place where a 90 deg drop straight down will look better aesthetically.

4) Is there an inexpensive Cat6 cable tester you can recommend for when I make my drops? I'm no pro at keystone terminations, but have done a few, including most of the Cat5e drops in my home.

Gotcha.

Any ideas for a keystone jack with a right angle to it? A search came up with nothing. How about a cheap tester?

Wow, that is cheap! I found this one on Amazon and it appears to be similar.

I thought I had read that Cat6 needed extra testing compared to Cat5e.

And back to my original question... Maybe I could use a 12 port punch down panel (wall mounted?) and put something like this directly next to it?

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-O...2775988&sr=8-1

My only concerns with a open rack wall mount unit are:

1) It's ugly
2) I only need to mount my 24 port switch and something for power (currently sitting on a desk shelf)
3) It's ugly

Damn. I was hoping a keystone that already had a right angle built in. But I do understand why the bend is bad. I'll just have to make do.


That's a bit more than I'd need, but now I'm seriously considering the following layout:

1) Service loop/pull out of the wall with ~10 category cables. Run into..
2) Sixteen port rackmount patch panel which feeds into:
3) Existing D-Link DGS-1024D GigE switch
4) Powered by something like this.
5) All bolted to an open frame wall mount.

If all of the above sounds reasonable, how do I make the service pull of category cable coming out of the drywall look tidy? I'd rather not leave a 4" hole in the wall behind the wall-mounted rack. Should I just stick with an in-wall feed through panel?


Thanks. That gives me an idea of what price range and device type I should be looking for.

Found this: http://www.tech-tent.com/p-3799-cat6...lack-12ft.aspx

Think performance will suffer?

Would you believe me if I told you I spent 6 hours this weekend just getting the drop to the spot where it is right now? It's on an outside wall, with no attic above, and of course located between two studs. I realize I could cut out dry wall and go horizontally a few feet over through some studs, but I consider that major work/repair, so it's out of the question for me

Additional comments appreciated on my equipment scenario described in post #22, above!

I was leaning towards having dual 20amp circuits dropped. I have two laser printers, and a big desktop that really sucks down the juice.


Patch cables will run to my existing 24-port GigE D-Link switch. I will put the router next to the switch.


Yes, I know Even if I found a closet to stick some of this stuff in, I would be concerned about ventilation.

[quote=Neurorad;21831849]Mull the decision over for a week. First thoughts are often correct, but sometimes not.

Yes, exactly!


12 drops would be plenty. I think I'm only using 7 now, one to each room with an 8-port switch in each room. Even if I need one for in IP thermostat/etc., I should be OK. Resale of the house? Not too concerned about that at this point. When I moved in, there were zero Cat5 drops, so I'm ahead of the game! The modem (U-verse gateway) will go next to the switch/drops/etc. Wifi coverage is good, via Cisco WAP-4410N access point. I considered getting a second one, but this one reaches all areas of the house, including outside, without a problem. I was planning on sticking it next to the switch/etc.


Definitely. Which is why I'm moving this whole mess out of a spare bedroom, and into a dedicated home office. I do have to share this new space with my wife, so the better it looks, the happier she'll be. A big 12U black metal rack is not going to be her favorite thing hanging off the wall in the house


I think I know what you mean. So just pull the service loop ends through a scoop pass through and run it straight into the switch? I thought a punch down panel would look cleaner. Doesn't this kind of punch down panel mount directly into drywall?