# Help planning home network



## larryo108 (Aug 9, 2010)

I have been doing a lot of research and am trying to plan a home network. My computing power in the home has grown and I am sick of the copy to flash drive exercise. My wife runs a home business and she has a desktop in the upstairs office and a netbook that goes everywhere with her. I have a media TV built out of an old Dell desktop in the downstairs family room. I have my own work laptop that I use to surf the net and do work from home. 

In addition I have recently purchased a Dell Poweredge server tower to use in my system and we will be purchasing a new desktop computer for the upstairs office. At the point the current home office computer will become a computer for my children to use. 

IN investigating I found that when my home was built about 5 years ago, it was completely wired with CAT5 cable and RJ45 jacks. 


























I have also recently traded for a battery backup with surge suppresion, a wall mountable network rack, and a fast ethernet switch.










I have tried to research and figure out how it should be wired. I have come up with three options. I obviously want a secure network and I am planning to connect all of the computers via a workgroup. All computers are currently running Windows XP.

Option 1 is to simply connect the switch to the modem and all of the computers to the switch via the structured wiring.









Option 2 is to connect the DSL modem to the Dell Server and share the internet connection from there to the switch. I would also install a software firewall on the server to provide more security.









Option 3 would cost me additional money in order to provide all of the hardware. I would move my current wireless router to the basement and place it in series between the DSL modem and the switch. I would need an additional wired hub for the downstairs media and game computers and probably a wireless repeater upstairs to ensure a good signal to the laptop and netbook.









I have uploaded additional pictures to photobucket.

Now to my questions.

1. Currently only two pairs of each ethernet cable are wired up (orange and blue). I plan to add RJ45 connectors to the wiring currently in the distribution panel and wire all 4 pairs. Will I have to do the same to all of the wall jacks, or is it sufficient to simply use the 2 pairs that are wired? I do not have a gigabit ethernet connection, so I don't think I NEED all 4 pairs wired. Can anyone confirm this? I am trying to change the wiring as little as possible to minimize the amount of rewiring when I move.

2. Which option is best for my wiring network? I am kind of leaning to Option 2, but I need to ensure I have a device that will function as my DHCP server and that I am secure from internet attacks.

Those are my main questions at this point. I am sure I will have others. Any answers and additional input would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

You can't untwist the cable like that for network wiring. Usually you want the least amount of untwist before attachment/punchdown like 1/4". Untwisting like you have done negates what the twists do which increases crosstalk/attenuation. Below is an example. Your pics show your wiring is very untwisted.

How to Install an Ethernet Jack for a Home Network - Part 1 | HandymanHowto.com

You don't use telephone rated patch panel for network wiring [cat3 vs cat5/6]. Only use a cat5e/6 rated punch down panel.

If you are going to network wire do it correctly with all 4 pairs. We refer to this as future proofing. Very important to use the right equipment and install it correctly or you will have nothing but headacks.

Option 1 will not work. You can't connect a switch to a modem or you will only get one ip address for your network.
Option 2 would work if the server is also providing dhcp services [need two nics in the server] but for a home user with no server experience I would suggest this is too complicated a way to go.
Option 3 is correct though you would get better wifi coverage having the wireless router on the main floor. I would recommend addtional wired outlets in the living room and not put in a switch.


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## larryo108 (Aug 9, 2010)

I knew I was going to miss something. When I am done, The distribution panel will essentially be bypassed. The photos show the current method with which the house is wired. I am fairly certain it is a CAT5 cable and RJ45 jacks throuhout the house. So it sounds as though I will need to rewire the jacks, in addition to removing all of the wiring from the current distrubtion panel.

I guess I will either move the wireless router downstairs or get a wired router for downstairs. My plan is to essentially use the switch downstairs as a new distribution panel. We do not have a home land line, so I will just use the current wiring for data.


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## larryo108 (Aug 9, 2010)

I am new to setting up networks, but I am fairly tech savy. I do have a second NIC card for my server. So if you can tell me how I can make my XP box a DHCP server, that would be awesome. Then I can decide whether to go with Option 2 or 3. Thanks in advance.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Xp can't be a dhcp server without third party software. When you said server and workgroup I took it as 2003/8 server not xp.

There are free xp dhcp server downloads but you are better off with a router that has a builtin firewall to protect your network.


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