Networking two floors

[MuK107]

ok right now i have 3 pcs upstairs on the second floor, i would like to move one of them down to my basement. and i need to know how can i wire the wires down the wall 2 floors?

 

[amdskip]

So you want to run cat 5 to all 3 floors of your house. People are gonna say go wireless blah blah blah but I'm not a firm believer in wireless yet. There are too many security problems and a good hard wired network can't be beat. Fishing the wires from floor to floor can be a real bitch but it's worth it. Does your basement have a finished ceiling with drywall because this makes things more complicated. It all depends how your house was built and how much of a risk taker you are drilling holes in random places to fish the wire. Good luck!

 

[Tallgeese]

Originally posted by: amdskip
People are gonna say go wireless blah blah blah

I'd be one of those people...depending on the intended usage of the machine that's moving, and the relative experience/skill of the person.

Wireless will definitely be a LOT less hassle in the short term, and maybe the long term too.

BUT, if by some miracle there is a convenient way to fish the wire down 3 floors (handy vertical vent, etc.) then wired may be an easier route.

 

[mgpaulus]

I did exactly what you are doing.... Except.....

I started with 3 machines.... 1 main machine, 1 kids machine, and 1 fileserver. Wanted to move the fileserver downstairs into the basement. So, I got another hub, went to Home Depot and got:
100' roll of CAT 5e,
(2) 4 position cover plates,
(2) RJ45 snap-in sockets for the cover plates,
(1) Cable snap-in connector,
(1) Blue plastic single gang box for the basement
(1) "boxless" adapter for the office to attach the cover plate to (This just goes into the hole you will cut, and gives you something to screw the cover plate into
(1) bag of "blank" cover fillers, to cover the extra holes in the cover plates.

Went up into the attic and pulled the wire from the office (where everything was). Then I found my utility shaft for the heater & hotwater exhaust, and dropped the cable down there. (This is on a 2 story house w/walkout basement, which is why the 100' of CAT 5e). Fished it out into the utility room in my basement, and ran the cable through the box rafters to where I wanted the plug to be. Then I attached the single gang box to the wall, and ran the CAT 5 cable into the box. Wired the RJ45 plug as indicated in the instructions, snapped it into the cover, and attached the cover to the gang box.

Went back upstairs, and put the "boxless" adapter into the wall, wired up the other RJ45 plug as indicated and snapped it into the cover plate. Also put the Cable plug into the cover plate and hooked up my Wireless Broadband. Then I screwed this cover plate onto the boxless adapter. Then I ran a normal Cat 5 patch cable from my upstairs hub to the plug I had just wired up.

Went back downstairs, and ran a Cat 5 patch cable from the downstairs plug to the uplink port of my new hub, and walla.... Everything worked first time out....

Expect 2-4 hours to do this job, depending on what kind of contortions you have to go through to get the wires where you need them, and what kind of access you
have to your different rooms where the cable needs to go.

Remember where I said I started with 3 machines. I have now grown that to 2 machines upstairs, and 6 machines in the basement. 2 are duallies, all 6 in the basement are dedicated full-time to Folding@Home, and the 2 upstairs machines do Folding@Home in the background.... So beware, this project can get away from you in a hurry.......:Q

 

[MuK107]

ok well i know for a fact that im going to go with wire. i think that what mgpaulus said is probly what ill end up doing. all i have to do is figure out of to get the wires downstairs with out ripping my walls up upstairs. my basement is not finished so it will work out good. if you guys have any tips you could give me on as how to cut the walls and what not that would help a lot thanks!

 

[mgpaulus]

Can you get into the attic? I pulled the wire from the upstairs room into the attic, so I only had to drill one hole through the top plates to get the wire into the attic. Then I found out where my hot water heater and my heater exhaust vents ran. In my case, they are enclosed in a square "shaft" about 12"x12". I was able to drop the wire down this shaft, and then fish it out down below by pulling it out next to the heater.

 

[Paulson]

My server's in the basement...

I just run a 150 ft cat5 cable down via our duct system (muhahahaha )

so far no problems...

 

[MuK107]

yes i can get into the attic, and did you run the wires in or next to the duct? im going to see if the where the duct is at my house.

 

[mgpaulus]

I ran them next to the heater/hot water flue.

 

[MuK107]

ok thanks! ill report back when i have figured out where they are.

 

[mgpaulus]

ACK.... Daggum Alzheimers kicking in.... If you look at all of my above posts and substitute "flue" for "exhaust vent", I do believe that things become much clearer. I have a small 1'x1' shaft from my basement to my attic where my flues run. I dropped the cable down this shaft. It was covered on top by a piece of plywood which I had to pry off to give me access. And in the basement, I had to create an access through the "ceiling"/subfloor next to the flues to access the shaft and fish out the wire.

 

[Tallgeese]

Originally posted by: Paulson
I just run a 150 ft cat5 cable down via our duct system (muhahahaha )

Same thing at the Tallgeese residence. Works awesomely!