Hello, I'm not sure which forum this might pertain to, so if any mods want to move it thank you in advance. My question is going to be quite vag for now as I need help understanding even the basics of a whole home network. I'm not sure if network is the right term, but here is what I am trying to do, or understand. We are in the process of building a new home and I want to get the wiring done right. I'm trying to understand how the internet connection is distributed throughout the house. So I need help understanding the flow of data and the different devices used to accomlish this. I'm only concerned about data at this point, A/V I pretty much understand. My needs for data will be this. 1. Desktop PC, 2. Smart TV, 3. blu-ray player, 4 sat. reciever, 5, wireless router.
My data service comes into the house in the mechanical room in the basement and I have 1 data port in there. My router has 4 ports, so I could just plug my router into that port then run cables from router to device. Great, but now I have run out of ports (4) and what would I do in the future if ( and when ) I add more devices such as fax, more tv's, blu-rays, computers, ect... I have no problem running the wires in the wall, and I'd rather have things hard wired rather now while its easy. I've read some things about switches or patch panels that have many ports that would serve my needs. so my question is how does this stuff tie into the flow of things. does the switch plug into the orginal data jack, then everything plugs into that? or is patch panel easier? How do I get data throughout the house off of the orginal data port from the communication company?? Thanks for dumbing this all down so that I can wrap my brain around the various componets and such.
Justin
My data service comes into the house in the mechanical room in the basement and I have 1 data port in there. My router has 4 ports, so I could just plug my router into that port then run cables from router to device. Great, but now I have run out of ports (4) and what would I do in the future if ( and when ) I add more devices such as fax, more tv's, blu-rays, computers, ect... I have no problem running the wires in the wall, and I'd rather have things hard wired rather now while its easy. I've read some things about switches or patch panels that have many ports that would serve my needs. so my question is how does this stuff tie into the flow of things. does the switch plug into the orginal data jack, then everything plugs into that? or is patch panel easier? How do I get data throughout the house off of the orginal data port from the communication company?? Thanks for dumbing this all down so that I can wrap my brain around the various componets and such.
Justin
