Make both wired and wireless infrastructure plans
Cameras and other devices described as “wireless” typically require electrical power. If there’s not an electrical outlet near where you need to place the device, and you don’t want to add one, consider buying a wired model and running Cat5e cable to that location instead. Plug a power-over-Ethernet (PoE) injector ($25) into your existing router or switch and put a PoE splitter ($40) at the other end of the cable.
Even at $65 per node, this approach will be cheaper than hiring an electrician—at least for small deployments. If you’ll be setting up a lot of low-power devices, consider buying hardware (including a switch) that has PoE built in. If you have electrical power at all the desired locations but don’t want to string Cat5e there, consider installing hardware that uses power-line networking.
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| Here’s an example of structured wiring, in which all the home’s Ethernet, telephone, and coaxial cables (for satellite TV in this instance) are routed to a central location. |
The best way to build a network is to create a home run, a central location where all your Ethernet, telephone, and coaxial (for cable or satellite TV) cables originate—think of a bicycle wheel with spokes emerging from a central hub. Your broadband modem, router, and switch will also be located here. If you’re retrofitting—as opposed to building a new home—you might wish to limit your home run to your data network.
Your home run should be accessible but out of sight—a closet or garage is a good choice. Install a cabinet, such as Leviton’s Structured Media Center ($35 to $110, depending on size) to keep everything tidy.
Draw your home’s floor plan and scout locations where you want to place Ethernet jacks (make sure there’s a power outlet nearby, but avoid running Ethernet cable parallel to electrical cables—fish them down the opposite side of the stud). Use a stud finder to make sure there are no obstacles such as water pipes, in-wall insulation, or fire-beaks that will prevent you from pulling your cable. Explore your crawlspace or attic to ensure there’s a clear path from the home run to each destination and then number these locations on your floor plan.
Step 1: Cut Holes Use a mud ring instead of a junction box when installing low-voltage cable such as Cat5e. You’ll still need to cut a hole in your drywall if you’re retrofitting, but the mud ring makes it much easier to pull cable without crimping it (kinks in Ethernet cable will reduce the cable’s data rate).
Place the mud ring against the wall and use a torpedo level to make sure it’s straight. Using a pencil and the inside of the mud ring as a template, draw an outline on the wall. Place the tip of a drywall saw in the middle of the outline and hit the handle with the heel of your hand to punch a pilot hole. Carefully saw the drywall and remove the excess material. Place the mud ring inside the opening and flip the flanges out so they grasp the opposite side of the drywall; tighten them down with a screwdriver.
Next, drill holes from either the attic or the crawlspace between the same studs as your mud rings, as well as at the corresponding site of your home run. Using a spade bit, drill a two-inch hole in the footplate or ceiling joist. Drop fish tape through the hole, go back to the mud ring in the wall, and attach a length of wire to the fish tape. Go back to where you drilled the hole and pull the fish tape through—route this through your attic or crawlspace to the home run. Repeat this step for each run.
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Step 2: Pull Cables Consider pre-cutting your Cat5e cable, so you can pull everything into your attic or crawlspace at once (give yourself plenty of slack; the cable is cheap, and you want to avoid redos). Go back to the home run and label the cables at each end. Bundle one end together with electrical tape, secure the bundle to the fish wire, and push it into the hole in the wall. Now go to your attic or crawlspace and pull the wire and cable through.
Unbundle the cables and pull each one toward its destination according to your map and the number on the cable. Attach the fish wire there to the cable and drop it into the hole. Go back to each destination room and pull the wire to draw the cable through the mud ring. Take care to make gentle turns with the cable, don’t bundle the cable too tightly, and make sure the cable doesn’t chafe on any surfaces.
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Step 3: Terminate Your Cable You’ll need to terminate the Cat5e cable at each end. When you prepare the cable for termination, strip as little of the twisted-pair cable jacket away from the twisted pairs of wires as possible. Untwist the wire pairs and drape them over the snap-in jack (four on each side), following the color-coded T568A wiring diagram on the jack.
It’s crucial that no more than a half-inch of the wire is untwisted—less is better. Use a punch-down tool to press each wire into place and trim off the excess. (Repeat this step at the home run, terminating the cable into a patch bay.) Maneuver the cable through the channel in the jack and lock it in place with the cover. Snap the jack into the back of the wall plate and mount the plate to the mud ring.
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| Netgear’s GS116 switch delivers 16 gigabit Ethernet ports in a burly but silent enclosure. |
A router is essential for sharing one broadband Internet connection among computers, and a switch joins multiple computers (or other devices, such as a media-streaming box or a gaming console) within a local area network. All modern routers have built-in switches, but they typically have only four ports. You can deploy multiple switches to expand your network as needed. If you have only one Ethernet jack in a room and need to connect two or more devices to the network from there, plug a multiport switch into that jack and instantly expand your network.
To set up your router, plug one end of a Cat5e cable into your broadband modem and the other end into the WAN port on your router. If you need more than the four ports on your router’s switch, simply install a second switch by plugging it into one of the router’s switch ports.
It’s not always desirable—or even possible—to string Cat5e cable throughout your house, which is why Wi-Fi routers were invented. But distance and physical barriers (concrete walls, multiple floors, etc.) can prevent a remote client from connecting to your Wi-Fi network. One easy solution is to install a power-line network adapter.
As the name implies, a power-line network carries data on your home’s existing electrical wiring. Plug one module into a power outlet near your router or switch and connect the two using Cat5e cable. Plug the second module into an electrical receptacle in the room where you need network access. In some kits, the second module functions as a wireless access point, but if you need to stream high-def video, you’ll want a kit that hard-wires the second module to the streaming box.
You should be aware, however, that two standards bodies (the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the Universal Powerline Association) are promoting different—and incompatible—power-line networking technologies. We’ve found products based on the latter technology—specifically, Netgear’s HDXB101—to be faster for streaming media, but it looks as though the IEEE is about to adopt HomePlug.
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