Networking/home security geeks, get in here

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

So I'm moving to a new house, and I want to get it networked and future-proofed as much as reasonably possible.

Please shoot holes in my plans and tell me what I could be doing better/different.

The house is 2 stories, concrete slab/cinder block first floor, wood frame 2nd floor (Imagine a 2 car garage + another 1 car garage side by side with a double-wide mobile home slapped on top and you're not far off).  Built in the 70's, no currently installed cabling besides electric and possibly some old land-line phone cabling.

Internet service will be FiOS.

Here's some of the devices I'm moving in with:

- A bunch of PC's (towers and laptops), macbook pro, couple of Mac minis, some iPads and two xbox ones

- NAS box (forget the brand name, but it holds 2 HDD's)

- A big "smart" TV (living room)

- Couple of smaller HDMI TV's for bedroom and garage

- Set of 5 surround speakers and subwoofer (wired, not wireless)

- Internet capable (airplay, internet radio) HDMI receiver with two audio zones.  Can be controlled via smartphone app.

- Asus RT-N16 wireless router runing DD-WRT https://www.amazon.com/RT-N16-Wireless-N-Maximum-Performance-single/dp/B00387G6R8

- I have a box with literally a hundred ethernet patch cables between ~6" and 10' long.

Stuff I want to do:

- At least one RJ45 jack supporting gigabit ethernet per wall in every 2nd floor room, except the bathroom and possibly the kitchen, and one per wall in the garages (yes, I will have wireless via the Asus router, but I want heavy duty/steady/interference resistant bandwidth too)

- Set up one smaller bedroom as a home office - most of the computers and NAS will go in there

- Stream video from the office to the living room which will have big TV/HDMI receiver/surround sound (I generally don't watch/pay for broadcast TV.  Entertainment is usually either Netflix or downloaded video in mkv/avi formats saved to PC or NAS).

-  xbox in living room.

- Stream video from the office to master bedroom TV.

- another xbox also in master bedroom.

- Stream video from the office to the large garage TV.  Garage space is going to be mainly vehicle parking/maintenance with a gym corner and a firearms/reloading corner.

- Have a set of speakers (just stereo, not surround) and subwoofer in the garage using the 2nd audio zone from the living room receiver

- Have a set of IP cameras (3 outdoor, 2 indoor) for security using POE (power over ethernet) connected to a dedicated PC running Blue Iris software for monitoring/recording/alerts

Stuff I think I need to get:

- IP cameras - right now I'm looking at  Amcrest POE cameras (I *don't* want wireless cams, and I like POE because it only requires one cable per camera and no wall warts) like these:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F7WHH2Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=AM1AKWRN957PC&psc=1

- A gigabit ethernet switch.  I'm thinking 24 ports, and it would be nice if it supplied/auto-detected POE when needed, but I'm not opposed to using a separate POE power injector if needed.  Any recommendations?  Where should I locate the switch and terminate all the Cat 5e runs - close to where FiOS comes into the house?

- A big spool of Cat 5e cable.  Any suggestions on where to buy?

- RJ45 jack wall plates.  Is there such a thing as a combination power outlet/rj45 jack wall plate?

Questions:

- How should I connect all the Cat 5e cables terminating at the switch?  Punch down block with patch cables, or just finish the ends with RJ45 and plug into the switch?

- How should I hook up garage speakers to upstairs audio receiver?  Just run some speaker/subwoofer wire up to the living room?

- I have zero experience fishing/running cables inside/outside a house.  Should I even attempt to do this on my own, or just go straight to looking for an electrician?

 

Anything else "cool" I could be doing with what I have that I should be looking at?

 

[SW9racer 262]

Any reason you do not want to go all wireless?  Today's 5ghz is extremely fast. 

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

Because wireless is "ok" fast when everything is just right (no interference, no competing networks from neighbors, not too many devices trying to move data at the same time, no leakly microwaves, no open arc from the bench grinder etc. etc.

Wired is just plain fast all the time.

[Howard 538]

Take a look at Ubiquiti Networks AmpliFi HD system or their industrial UniFi system.  I have their AmpliFi HD mesh router and it is amazing.  You have one main router that is a 4" cube that looks like an Apple device - then you have a pair of remote nodes that form the mesh in your house.  The range is crazy.  It covers every nook and crevice of my house and I even get great signal out at my pool.  You can tie together the 2.4 and 5 gHz bands and the devices just pick the one with the better throughput.  Simple to use and they are constantly coming up with firmware upgrades to improve it.  You can even tie a second system with a wired backhaul for a really big house or special issues you might have.  Highly recommend it.

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

Thanks for the wireless suggestions, but I...want....*wired*. 

Already have the Asus wireless router with boosted power via the DD-WRT firmware, that's going to be the wireless segment.

[Zeke 5,504]

3 hours ago, DirtyDigz said:

So I'm moving to a new house, and I want to get it networked and future-proofed as much as reasonably possible.

Please shoot holes in my plans and tell me what I could be doing better/different.

The house is 2 stories, concrete slab/cinder block first floor, wood frame 2nd floor (Imagine a 2 car garage + another 1 car garage side by side with a double-wide mobile home slapped on top and you're not far off).  Built in the 70's, no currently installed cabling besides electric and possibly some old land-line phone cabling.

Internet service will be FiOS.

Here's some of the devices I'm moving in with:

- A bunch of PC's (towers and laptops), macbook pro, couple of Mac minis, some iPads and two xbox ones

- NAS box (forget the brand name, but it holds 2 HDD's)

- A big "smart" TV (living room)

- Couple of smaller HDMI TV's for bedroom and garage

- Set of 5 surround speakers and subwoofer (wired, not wireless)

- Internet capable (airplay, internet radio) HDMI receiver with two audio zones.  Can be controlled via smartphone app.

- Asus RT-N16 wireless router runing DD-WRT https://www.amazon.com/RT-N16-Wireless-N-Maximum-Performance-single/dp/B00387G6R8

- I have a box with literally a hundred ethernet patch cables between ~6" and 10' long.

Stuff I want to do:

- At least one RJ45 jack supporting gigabit ethernet per wall in every 2nd floor room, except the bathroom and possibly the kitchen, and one per wall in the garages (yes, I will have wireless via the Asus router, but I want heavy duty/steady/interference resistant bandwidth too)

- Set up one smaller bedroom as a home office - most of the computers and NAS will go in there

- Stream video from the office to the living room which will have big TV/HDMI receiver/surround sound (I generally don't watch/pay for broadcast TV.  Entertainment is usually either Netflix or downloaded video in mkv/avi formats saved to PC or NAS).

-  xbox in living room.

- Stream video from the office to master bedroom TV.

- another xbox also in master bedroom.

- Stream video from the office to the large garage TV.  Garage space is going to be mainly vehicle parking/maintenance with a gym corner and a firearms/reloading corner.

- Have a set of speakers (just stereo, not surround) and subwoofer in the garage using the 2nd audio zone from the living room receiver

- Have a set of IP cameras (3 outdoor, 2 indoor) for security using POE (power over ethernet) connected to a dedicated PC running Blue Iris software for monitoring/recording/alerts

Stuff I think I need to get:

- IP cameras - right now I'm looking at  Amcrest POE cameras (I *don't* want wireless cams, and I like POE because it only requires one cable per camera and no wall warts) like these:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F7WHH2Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=AM1AKWRN957PC&psc=1

- A gigabit ethernet switch.  I'm thinking 24 ports, and it would be nice if it supplied/auto-detected POE when needed, but I'm not opposed to using a separate POE power injector if needed.  Any recommendations?  Where should I locate the switch and terminate all the Cat 5e runs - close to where FiOS comes into the house?

- A big spool of Cat 5e cable.  Any suggestions on where to buy?

- RJ45 jack wall plates.  Is there such a thing as a combination power outlet/rj45 jack wall plate?

Questions:

- How should I connect all the Cat 5e cables terminating at the switch?  Punch down block with patch cables, or just finish the ends with RJ45 and plug into the switch?

- How should I hook up garage speakers to upstairs audio receiver?  Just run some speaker/subwoofer wire up to the living room?

- I have zero experience fishing/running cables inside/outside a house.  Should I even attempt to do this on my own, or just go straight to looking for an electrician?

 

Anything else "cool" I could be doing with what I have that I should be looking at?

 

I have yet to see a punch down block for cat 5e quad shield.

and the future is wireless. At least what I'm seeing 

[voyager9 3,434]

Unless you're already planning to run all the wires 3-4 rooms, 2-4 outlets per room (more or less) all through the house I would run one wire to each main room you want and get a small switch or even a hub. Mainly for places like the living room where you have a few wired devices that are centrally located (entertainment center, etc) thst you don't expect to move. Will cut down on how much wire you have to run. Most should be able to share a 1g pipe since you won't be using them all simultaneously.  Save the wires for the cameras. I wouldn't do a patch panel. Not really any need. Terminate with RJ45 and ptouch label. 

Id locate the switch close to where fios terminates but also centrally located near where most of your wires devices will be.  Closet in the home office, or similar, on the top floor (to facilitate getting wires to the attic) or bottom floor (to drop them to basement) 

never understood the point of a second audio zone on a big multimedia amp for a second room. What sources are you streaming that you couldn't get with a Bluetooth setup and streaming audio device (iPod, phone, Alexa, etc). What's the benefit of driving it from the living room?

i have to agree on the others. If your talking about hiring someone to run the wires then I'd strongly look at wireless. You can set up something with plenty of bandwidth. Maybe limit the wired segment for a few capabilities that require high bandwidth (living room) or are critical (cameras). 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

3 hours ago, DirtyDigz said:

Stuff I think I need to get:

- IP cameras - right now I'm looking at  Amcrest POE cameras (I *don't* want wireless cams, and I like POE because it only requires one cable per camera and no wall warts) like these:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F7WHH2Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=AM1AKWRN957PC&psc=1

- A gigabit ethernet switch.  I'm thinking 24 ports, and it would be nice if it supplied/auto-detected POE when needed, but I'm not opposed to using a separate POE power injector if needed.  Any recommendations?  Where should I locate the switch and terminate all the Cat 5e runs - close to where FiOS comes into the house?

- A big spool of Cat 5e cable.  Any suggestions on where to buy?

- RJ45 jack wall plates.  Is there such a thing as a combination power outlet/rj45 jack wall plate?

Questions:

- How should I connect all the Cat 5e cables terminating at the switch?  Punch down block with patch cables, or just finish the ends with RJ45 and plug into the switch?

- How should I hook up garage speakers to upstairs audio receiver?  Just run some speaker/subwoofer wire up to the living room?

- I have zero experience fishing/running cables inside/outside a house.  Should I even attempt to do this on my own, or just go straight to looking for an electrician?

 

Anything else "cool" I could be doing with what I have that I should be looking at?

 

If you want to do it right, go with CAT6 over CAT5e.

Monoprice or Amazon will do you right for cabling.  Look for 1000' spools.

RJ45 wall plates - do not combine power with RJ45/Ethernet.  I have my new house wired with Power and then COAX / CAT6 side by side.

Make sure you run all the cables to one location and label them.  Get a patch panel and punch down tool and punch it down yourself.  I'm actually doing this at my new house this week.  It'll be much cleaner to punch down to a panel.

Put all of the network equipment near the FIOS equipment - I will be putting up a shelf next to it to hold the equipment.

 

[voyager9 3,434]

Or go SMF and QSFP+'s

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

7 minutes ago, voyager9 said:

...

never understood the point of a second audio zone on a big multimedia amp for a second room. What sources are you streaming that you couldn't get with a Bluetooth setup and streaming audio device (iPod, phone, Alexa, etc). What's the benefit of driving it from the living room?

...

Receiver works nicely as an airplay device for itunes, and it's remote controllable via smartphone so I can turn it up/down/mute/off as long as I have my phone with me.

Having a 2nd zone would allow me to play music in garage (with *good* speakers and subwoofer) with just a run of speaker wire to the living room.

[voyager9 3,434]

3 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Receiver works nicely as an airplay device for itunes, and it's remote controllable via smartphone so I can turn it up/down/mute/off as long as I have my phone with me.

Having a 2nd zone would allow me to play music in garage (with *good* speakers and subwoofer) with just a run of speaker wire to the living room.

I see your point. And if it works for you, cool.  I was going to set up the second zone on my AV receiver similar to what you have. Decided for the time and money I was better off buying a separate Bluetooth speaker (soundbar plus surround and sub) and stream right off my phone.  Do the same thing with the Alexa Echo-thing outside (battery powered). For what I wanted (iTunes, pandora, Spotify) it was easier than buying/wiring speakers and setting up the second zone to use them.

one thing I didn't see listed. Any itch for home automation?  

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

Combining several replies here, thanks Nick and Voyager:

Monoprice - haven't visited them in a long time, but have bought from them before.  I'll take a look, looks like they've expanded their product range a whole lot since I last shopped there.

Patch panel - Wire runs are punched down to the patch panel, and then patch cables run between the patch panel and the switch, right?

Separate wall plates for RJ45 - got it, makes sense.

Home automation - no immediate plans, but I'm not opposed to it.  Home has electric heat and no cooling currently, going to see if I can get a natural gas line run for heating and a mini-split for cooling once I get in.  Once one or both of those are in I'd probably be interested in a networked thermostat.

[voyager9 3,434]

6 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Home automation - no immediate plans, but I'm not opposed to it.  Home has electric heat and no cooling currently, going to see if I can get a natural gas line run for heating and a mini-split for cooling once I get in.  Once one or both of those are in I'd probably be interested in a networked thermostat.

You, um, know it's August... right?

thermostat-wise, I have a Nest and really like it. I've the Ecobee's are good or even better.  Ecobee has a remote sensor that could be handy. 

Ring doorbell is kinda cool, but the only person who visits is the freak'n Amazon delivery guy. 

Light automation is really nice and pretty simple now. 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

29 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Patch panel - Wire runs are punched down to the patch panel, and then patch cables run between the patch panel and the switch, right?

Correct.  You most likely will have to punch down the wall jacks as well.  I have some RJ45 Keystones that I have terminating in the wall sections.  You could do multiple patches in one location or combine with RG6, or speaker cable, etc.

Keystones:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D5PFGW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

7 hours ago, voyager9 said:

You, um, know it's August... right?

Yup, and I won't be in the house until likely early September, and I'm generally heat tolerant, so I'm hoping I can put the cooling installation off until next spring.

7 hours ago, voyager9 said:

thermostat-wise, I have a Nest and really like it. I've the Ecobee's are good or even better.  Ecobee has a remote sensor that could be handy. 

Ring doorbell is kinda cool, but the only person who visits is the freak'n Amazon delivery guy. 

Light automation is really nice and pretty simple now. 

Light automation interests me - what's the preferred signalling method for that?  I'd be happy to put lighting control on the wireless segment of the network.

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

7 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

Correct.  You most likely will have to punch down the wall jacks as well.  I have some RJ45 Keystones that I have terminating in the wall sections.  You could do multiple patches in one location or combine with RG6, or speaker cable, etc.

Keystones:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D5PFGW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks - didnt know about keystones previously, that's cool.  Some wall panels with speaker plug keystones will work nicely for wall mounted surround sound speakers.

[voyager9 3,434]

12 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Light automation interests me - what's the preferred signalling method for that?  I'd be happy to put lighting control on the wireless segment of the network.

Most of the ones I've seen have a controller that can use wired or wireless Ethernet. It then talks to the individual lights, switches, etc over power line or it's own wireless protocol.