By Bob Catanzarite
swhowto.com

Home Page

Structured
Wiring
Concept

What Do
You Want?

Planning 
Chapter 1

Planning 
Chapter 2

Buying Tools
Chapter 1

Buying Tools
Chapter 2

The Rough-In
Chapter 1

The Rough-In
Chapter 2

The Central Wiring Panel
Chapter 1

The Central Wiring Panel
Chapter2

Finishing

Coax Stripping

Coax Terminating

Compensate for
Video Losses

CATx Stripping
and Terminating
Chapter 1

CATx Stripping
and Terminating
Chapter 2

Home Network
Wiring and Setup
Chapter 1

Home Network
Wiring and Setup
Chapter 2

Home Network
Wiring and Setup
Chapter 3

Home Network
Wiring and Setup
Chapter 4

NEW!
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)

Wireless
Networks
Chapter 1

Wireless
Networks
Chapter 2

Pull Cords

Wiring Diagrams

More Photos

Reference

Links

Contact Me

Extra's

  © 2001
Bob Catanzarite

Home Network Wiring and Setup - Chapter 1

If all you need is wiring to network multiple PC or to share a remote printer or to allow all of your PC to share a broadband internet access then all you need is the network wiring. This website has focused on Structured Wiring. If you'll remember from an earlier page I defined Structured Wiring  as "combining ALL of the communications wiring in your home and treating it as one wiring system. This can include wiring for a home network, telephone, video, audio, alarms, infrared remote control and anything else you choose to throw in." If all you need is the network wiring then all of the concepts and techniques discussed throughout this website still apply - just leave out all of the other wiring types.

You still need a CWP. If all the CWP has to accommodate is network wiring the CWP can be as simple as just a shelf located in some central location. Remember, this central location doesn't have to be in the center of your home. Central is a 'virtual' term here. Central is a 'home' to run all of your home runs to. A good place for a network only CWP would be somewhere near the service entry point in your home where your broadband internet access comes from. Or, any of the locations I discussed earlier.

What does your network only CWP have to have in it? Look at my CWP again.

     
(Click for a larger image)

My CWP was designed with the network wiring in the right hand section and the telephone and video wiring on the left hand side. If you just need the network wiring - then you just need the right hand side. Lets take a closer look at the network side.

(Click for a larger image)

The network part of my CWP is simply an enclosure with three adjustable shelves. What you'll put on these shelves depends on what you want your network to accomplish. More on the contents of the network only CWP later. A lot of commercial CWP's have a patch panel for the network wiring. I believe that for a home network the patch panel is added expense and complexity that adds little to no value. I won't even describe what a patch panel is or does here. Your network only CWP can be greatly simplified by doing like I did in the photo above - bring all of the CATx cables coming from in from the various locations in your home, leave yourself a good 3 feet or so of cable length to work at your CWP with and crimp RJ45 plugs on the end of each of the cables.  Now you can plug these cables into your hub or your switch or your broadband router or whatever. 

Configuring the Hardware

So what do you need and how do you hook everything up? Examples of several setups are shown on the next page.

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