House Networking Suggestions

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NikhilS

NikhilS

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Bhopal
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BSNL
Hello Everyone!

I’m looking for suggestions for my house networking which is currently being constructed and it will take 1.5-2 years to complete (saying so I can get suggestions for future gadgets/technologies as well.

Currently what I have in mind is:
— Ethernet to each room (8)
— Plex Media Server

I think I can use the ethernet to setup a wifi AP (apart from the centralised WiFi AP) and to connect it with televisions.

I have BSNL FTTH so I’m thinking of giving phone (landline) connection to each room as well but I don’t think that’s possible.
 
Well you can give landline port too in each room but maximum you can connect 2-3 phone given the REN factor.
Though modern ftth landline are voip based so can easily be registered at multiple places and sip client. Though problem with bsnl is their eng hardly know about it. Those who know dont bother. Jio voice call for jio fiber is perfect example of it.
 
If you are generous with your budget, I'd recommend the Ubiquiti Unifi series for the APs. My friend recently installed them at his home, great performance. Also make sure to get a managed PoE capable switch.
 
so you guys are recommending him for ethernet wiring till ceiling rather than wall?
I thought can be decided later. But definitely ceiling vs wall mounted must be considered.
 

Depends on the type of AP you want to use. In the Unifi series there’s a new Flex AP that’s wall mounted rather than your usual ceiling mount. The reason I like Unifi so much is their user friendliness and the fact that it just works.
 
@Nikhil Sharma

1. My suggestion would be to first fix the number of access points needed, according to the size of your house / porch / outdoor garden etc etc (smart lights in garden, outdoor etc). To make sure that all AP's cover as much area as possible, yet power usage areas like tv, living room, halls etc are well covered with direct line of sight.

2. Wall / ceiling A.P mounts - pick the one you like aesthetically. Or go all techy and install openwrt routers. Use the best possible (cat 7) cables.

3. Would you plan to install security cameras? If so, you could consider Poe to those locations. Also consider a small discrete server room cabinet in some corner.

4. wired ethernet - for any desktop / workstation / gaming?

5. Regarding plex server, i have a desktop, to which extra hard drives have been added. This is less convenient as I've to switch it on, but cheaper, not switched on 24/7, and a beefier hardware if any transcode is required. If no transcoding is needed, even a raspberry pi 4 should suffice. That being a low(er) power device can be kept on 24/7 also.
 
Hi @eriek_halenx

1) Yes. I’ll be fixing APs to the ceiling as well. But since I am gonna run Ethernet to each room as well I thought I’ll give separate internet access for TV (Plex) and additional AP.

2) Okay.

3) Yes, I’m planning to install security cameras.Is there anything else I’ll have to run apart from the ethernet cable? Yes and I’m planning a separate room as well.

4) Yes, I don’t know how to plan that. Just give an ethernet point?

5) Yes, I’m yet to decide.
 
igloo said:
Well you can give landline port too in each room but maximum you can connect 2-3 phone given the REN factor.
Though modern ftth landline are voip based so can easily be registered at multiple places and sip client. Though problem with bsnl is their eng hardly know about it. Those who know dont bother. Jio voice call for jio fiber is perfect example of it.
Click to expand...
This is pretty interesting, I’ll have to read about this.
 
I would recommend a wall mountable patch panel (like this one US $6.9 25% OFF|8 Ports FTP Cat 6 Shield Network Patch Panel Wall Mounted 1U Height Fluke Passed for RJ 45 Plug,Keystone Jack,Network Cables|fluke amp clamp meter|panel postfluke voltmeter - AliExpress ), you can use the bulk thick ethernet cables for wiring around the house and at the router/switch, you can terminate these long runs to the patch panels and use a shorter thinner cable (patch cable) between patch panel and switch.

This has the advantage of reducing maintenance of having to worry about proper crimps (since patch cables are premade) , reduce risk of damage to long distance cable due to bending (replacing long stretches of ethernet cable is hard) and you won't have to worry about exact length of cable (for example top port of switch is further away than middle port).

You can use thin patch cables like this one US $2.86 |Ugreen Ethernet Cable Cat 6 A 10Gbps Network Cable 4 Twisted Pair Patch Cord Internet UTP Cat6 a Lan Cable Ethernet RJ45| | - AliExpress to reduce clutter at both ends. Its fine even with PoE for short distances.
 
Nikhil Sharma said:
Hi @eriek_halenx

1) Yes. I’ll be fixing APs to the ceiling as well. But since I am gonna run Ethernet to each room as well I thought I’ll give separate internet access for TV (Plex) and additional AP.

2) Okay.

3) Yes, I’m planning to install security cameras.Is there anything else I’ll have to run apart from the ethernet cable? Yes and I’m planning a separate room as well.

4) Yes, I don’t know how to plan that. Just give an ethernet point?

5) Yes, I’m yet to decide.
Click to expand...
If you're planning for security cameras, please spend the extra dime and get IP cameras instead of old school cameras.
We can run only single ethernet to the camera if powered by PoE.
 
@Nikhil Sharma ,
Regarding the wired ethernet to all of the 8 rooms, would that actually be beneficial? As in, wouldn't most devices be connected via WiFi? (Even some premium TV's come with a non gigabit port. So a streaming device's 5ghz WiFi speeds will be faster.) Also, a plex stream bandwidth should be about 80 mbps for an uncompressed 4k blu ray. So it would not saturate wifi speed limits (> 350 mbps, per access point).

That all being said, in this case, its better to overdo during construction, than find oneself short-changed after 😅
 
@eriek_halenx Yes! Everything will be connected via WiFi but still I feel that since the house is getting constructed giving internet to each room is a good idea for future. I can do multiple things with Ethernet than WiFi.

Also I’ll be getting an G-PON/XG-PON OLT for myself so I’ll have plenty of bandwidth. And WiFi always have limitations, I feel that wired is always better than wireless.


Here is another post regarding my plans with OLT: Thinking of deploying FTTH network in a village. | Internet (General Discussions)
 

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