reworking network help

[polexican23]

So my 24x30 detached garage is almost complete. I have decided to rework my home network wiring to work in the garage as well but my brain isnt grasping the best wiring layout.
--It is just myself and the wife in the home now. We generally use wifi only except my Xbox that is hardwired. We have the wireless router in the living room and so is the modem.
-- We have a crawl space where the cable providers service enters the home ( marked cable on photo) and the home is a single level ranch. Each room already has R6 coaxial run and living room has cat5 cable run to it.

What i would like to do.

*Keep Wifi Router in living room
*Run Cat6 to Bd1, bd2, bd3, and living room
*Run Cat6 to the garage (already have 2" buried PVC buried marked with dotted line) and want to have a separate wifi signal out there.

I have a ARRIS SURFboard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem, Linksys AC1900 Wi-Fi Wireless Dual-Band+ Router and a 5 port gigabit switch (not in use right now).

Can someone help me with the most efficient layout of my network?

 

[polexican23]

 

[adamgayton81]

You say your wireless router is in the living room...so I'm guessing your modem is there as well. Put your network switch there for starters. Then I would run your Ethernet under the crawl space and then up through the wall where you want it to come out at in each room. As for taking it to the detached garage you will need underground cable or conduit and some good heavy duty Ethernet cable....


That's in easy to relay terms so I don't geek out on here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[justsam]

where do the existing cat 5 and RG6 cables terminate from each room?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Not much to it.

Cat6 from garage would plug into linksys router.

Then u would buy another wireless router or access point for the garage.

If u want to be able to roam freely between access points, set the SSID and passwords on both access points to the same thing

 

[ard]

Here's a question:

where do you WANT all the boxes located? The cable modem, the wifi router, the hub/switch??? If you WANT it in the living room, fine.

You will need to 'home run' wires from each of your 'new' locations:Garage, Bd1, Bd2, Bd3 to wherever you locate the router or hub

So in addition to what wylie posted you need to add these hardwired cat6s... the issue is that it can be a rats nest unless you have a space to hide this. Bringing it all into a closet, utility room, etc, might be better.

 

[polexican23]

The little black boxes on wall lines is where the cat5 and R6 are located. My R6 is connected at a splitter in the crawl space under bedroom2.
The only think i care about is wireless router in the living room. Seems to be best location
Not worried about the location is modem and switch.

My original thought was modem and router in living room. The switch in crawl space to centralize runs to other locations. Then a cat6 from switch to garage.


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[ard]

The little black boxes on wall lines is where the cat5 and R6 are located. My R6 is connected at a splitter in the crawl space under bedroom2.
The only think i care about is wireless router in the living room. Seems to be best location
Not worried about the location is modem and switch.

My original thought was modem and router in living room. The switch in crawl space to centralize runs to other locations. Then a cat6 from switch to garage.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

Im not a fan of active electronics in crawl spaces.... they fail, they have lights, then need to be reset... I have a main electronics closet for cables, cat 6, telephone, punchdown blocks, PABX, rotuers, homeserver, UPS, etc, etc. Also another close on the second floor for some antenna-related stuff. The point is that with one location I can see, troubleshoot and reset everything.

Id keep the switch someplace where you wont curse the decision if you need to check if it is working.

 

[James-W]

Im not a fan of active electronics in crawl spaces.... they fail, they have lights, then need to be reset... I have a main electronics closet for cables, cat 6, telephone, punchdown blocks, PABX, rotuers, homeserver, UPS, etc, etc. Also another close on the second floor for some antenna-related stuff. The point is that with one location I can see, troubleshoot and reset everything.

Id keep the switch someplace where you wont curse the decision if you need to check if it is working.

I agree, it is best to locate these items in a place that is easy to get to if the need should arise.

 

[polexican23]

i will see what I can come up with. Our home has very little space, closets or utility areas. That is one reason for the garage build.

 

[Falcon67]

Not much to it.

Cat6 from garage would plug into linksys router.

Then u would buy another wireless router or access point for the garage.

If u want to be able to roam freely between access points, set the SSID and passwords on both access points to the same thing

That. And as long as the runs are under 330' it doesn't matter which way the wires run. I would not pay extra for Cat6 either. If you get it for the same price then whatever.

Waiting now for the Fiber cheering section to hop on.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Cat6 from garage would plug into linksys router. Then u would buy another wireless router or access point for the garage.

If u want to be able to roam freely between access points, set the SSID and passwords on both access points to the same thing

With the same SSID, do you have to put the router on different frequencies/channels so they don't interfere with each other or "confuse" the potable device ?

 

[Brandon314159]

In my home I run as much wired as possible however I do have WiFi set up outside, and one inside.

I use the Ubiquity UniFi devices. I have a UAP inside and UAP-Outdoor+ set up. These are enterprise class devices and can have a single SSID/password shared across multiple access points without the clients getting confused.

You can either run the controlling software on one of their edge routers or just run it on a computer. Once things are set up you can shut down the controller (if on a computer).

Cost me about the same as two decent access points but I get the benefit of a professional wifi network that isn't interfering with itself I set up two networks with bandwidth limits on the guest network. That's the password I share while the main Wifi is for my devices only.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

With the same SSID, do you have to put the router on different frequencies/channels so they don't interfere with each other or "confuse" the potable device ?

Yes thats very important. I forgot to mention this. Thx for bringing it up.

If 2 or more APs have signal in the same spot, then they need to be on different channels.

For 2.4ghz there is only 3 non overlapping channels- 1, 6, and 11.

5Ghz is a lot easier since there is way more spectrum available.

 

[ard]

I cant tell you how many houses I run across where people keep adding Access Points as "boosters". All set on defaults...one AP jams the others, and so on. "I have a booster upstairs as well as downstairs and it still drops the connection."

Brandon- +1 on Ubiquiti stuff...

 

[polexican23]

i tried the whole access point/booster in my attached garage where my signal was weak. But i also had the jamming the other. never sorted it out. this will fix one issue.

 

[Falcon67]

Yes thats very important. I forgot to mention this. Thx for bringing it up.

If 2 or more APs have signal in the same spot, then they need to be on different channels.

For 2.4ghz there is only 3 non overlapping channels- 1, 6, and 11.

5Ghz is a lot easier since there is way more spectrum available.

The APs should figure all that out for themselves. Would have to be really crude firmware IMHO to require the consumer to set the channels.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

The APs should figure all that out for themselves. Would have to be really crude firmware IMHO to require the consumer to set the channels.

Depends on the AP.

Higher end APs(Ubiquiti, Aruba, Bel-Aire, etc, as well as higher end consumer grade aps) WILL take care of scanning for channel usage.

Lower end APs WILL NOT.

 

[ABSTIFFGS]

In my home I run as much wired as possible however I do have WiFi set up outside, and one inside.

I use the Ubiquity UniFi devices. I have a UAP inside and UAP-Outdoor+ set up. These are enterprise class devices and can have a single SSID/password shared across multiple access points without the clients getting confused.

You can either run the controlling software on one of their edge routers or just run it on a computer. Once things are set up you can shut down the controller (if on a computer).

Cost me about the same as two decent access points but I get the benefit of a professional wifi network that isn't interfering with itself I set up two networks with bandwidth limits on the guest network. That's the password I share while the main Wifi is for my devices only.

I have virtually this same setup. UAP in my hallway, and a Picostation on my shed for outdoor wifi. I then took a nanobeam M5 and did a bridge to my parents house, approximately 200' away. I put another Picostation in their family room. I have a strong signal anywhere in my Immediate neighborhood
I really like the Ubiquiti products. I have 3 gen 2 cameras, 1 gen 3, and the Edge Router X as well as the fore mentioned stuff.

 

[klassenl]

If you're willing to squirm around your crawlspace for a day or two to run data to your rooms good for you. At my place I have the cable router with buit in wifi that I'd poor at best. When I built my garage I ran an uplink from that router to a router (not an access point) in the garage. I really only wanted to get a wireless signal in the yard and garage but the cheapest router that Walmart sells is better from 40 feet away and through 2 structures than the cable company modem in the basement.

 

[jblnut]

A separate closet to hide the mess in is a must. Wire everything back to the closet with Cat5e or Cat6 to a nice patch panel so you can label it all nicely and such. Go on Amazon and buy a pair of one of the below linked AP's in order of Good, Better, Better Still. Download the controller software here and set it on up. Place one AP in the house somewhere centralish and one in the garage anywhere you like. I have one of the "Better Still" AP's in the house and a pair of PicoStations located outside and I have coverage everywhere on my 60 acre property without issue.

Good

Better

Better Still

The PicoStation is not a Unifi device but can be flashed with Unifi firmware and can be controlled the same as the above listed AP's. It is an indoor/outdoor AP and mine have survived 2 Minnesota winters while being located 15' up so I can vouch for their hardiness.

I have installed more of these devices than I can count and they work great and keep working great for a long time without any major issues. The call's I get about these AP's going down or needing a reboot are so minimal it almost makes me worry about it. Setting up the Unifi controller is tougher than making a bag of microwave popcorn but is really not all that difficult. I for one would be happy to answer any questions you have if you decide to use anything Ubiquiti. and I'd imagine there are others on here willing to do so as well.

 

[polexican23]

them APs, sound like some serious WIFI coverage. I will take a look at my budget and see what suits me better.
Again, I dont have any closet space to set something up unfortunelty. Which kind of *****. But I will report back with my setup.

btw on your better still link works for me

 

[wyliesdiesels]

A separate closet to hide the mess in is a must. Wire everything back to the closet with Cat5e or Cat6 to a nice patch panel so you can label it all nicely and such. Go on Amazon and buy a pair of one of the below linked AP's in order of Good, Better, Better Still. Download the controller software here and set it on up. Place one AP in the house somewhere centralish and one in the garage anywhere you like. I have one of the "Better Still" AP's in the house and a pair of PicoStations located outside and I have coverage everywhere on my 60 acre property without issue.

Good

Better

Better Still

The PicoStation is not a Unifi device but can be flashed with Unifi firmware and can be controlled the same as the above listed AP's. It is an indoor/outdoor AP and mine have survived 2 Minnesota winters while being located 15' up so I can vouch for their hardiness.

I have installed more of these devices than I can count and they work great and keep working great for a long time without any major issues. The call's I get about these AP's going down or needing a reboot are so minimal it almost makes me worry about it. Setting up the Unifi controller is tougher than making a bag of microwave popcorn but is really not all that difficult. I for one would be happy to answer any questions you have if you decide to use anything Ubiquiti. and I'd imagine there are others on here willing to do so as well.

The first 2 links dont work.

And there are long range UniFis as well as dual band Unifis.

The pico stations are not dual band so people with newer devices with AC wireless may want dual band.

There is also outdoor Unifis that are dual band as well.

 

[jblnut]

The first 2 links don't work.

And there are long range UniFis as well as dual band Unifis.

The pico stations are not dual band so people with newer devices with AC wireless may want dual band.

There are also outdoor Unifis that are dual band as well.

Links are fixed and should work until Amazon changes something.

From my experience the LR versions of the AP's don't add enough range for the typical end device to justify the added cost, which is minimal, but extra.

A PicoStation can be had for less than $80 whereas the Unifi AP Outdoor+ is around $150 and the AC version is almost $500 depending on where you look. For most everyone I deal with, the PicoStation's price and range blow everything else out of the water, indoor or outdoor. It isn't a rocket ship with its older wireless G tech but it's cheap and works great

The UAP-AC-PRO (The "Better Still") "Supports Indirect Outdoor Instillation" and I've put a few of them under overhangs with great success. Mine is in a humid basement and seems to love it.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If u need 5G WiFi u could always use an NSM5.

 

[Smoker]

I just run Almond access points. They can be set up as wifi boosters or wired access points. Never had an issue.

 

[jblnut]

If u need 5G WiFi u could always use an NSM5.

I've had decent success setting NanoStations up as AP's. Their power is sort of wasted using them as an AP for mostly cell phones and tablets though.

I just run Almond access points. They can be set up as wifi boosters or wired access points. Never had an issue.

Are those the touch screen router/booster/AP's that can be had for $70ish ?? I've yet to play with one but they look pretty slick.

 

[kingchevy]

Do what Wylie said in post #5. It works perfectly for me.

 

[Smoker]

Jblnut - Yes they are. Absolutely amazing, I wouldn't use anything else.

 

[polexican23]

Do what Wylie said in post #5. It works perfectly for me.

I was gonna pull wire on turkey day just to do this to see how it works for me, but the warden...she had other plans for me that day.

 

[Jojo2016]

As far as running the wire to your bedrooms, if you have phone jacks in them, open them up and look at them. Not for sure exactly when they started, but a lot of the phone companies run Cat 5 for phone line, and they only use 2 wires. Since we don't use a home phone, I just wired up Ethernet plugs to all of the phones jacks in my house, connected the cable home run to my cable modem, and ran a patch panel to all of the rooms.