On-Q LeGrand Home Network -- Need Help Please!!

[NewGirl]

I think I understand the question, although I'm unclear on the rationale. It sounds like you want to go from unterminated wire --> switch? I feel like there may be a slight gap in understanding here.

You have unterminated Cat5e bundled in your On-Q box. You have 8 runs of this cable; one end of these cables is terminated, evidenced by the fact that you have 8 (presumably) wall-mounted ethernet jacks around your house. The other end of these 8 cable is unterminated, as we see in your picture.

You want to centralize your wired networking so that you can actually use those 8 wall connections around your house.

To do this, the very first step, no matter what, is to terminate those 8 cables (in your picture). You have two options here:

1. Terminate the cables with RJ45 ends (so they look like one/either end of your typical ethernet cable you buy from the store/get for free with a router/are used to seeing).

2. Terminate the cables into a patch panel (the block that is referenced in the links above).

The end effect is essentially identical, with one key difference: When you terminate to the patch panel (option 2), you end up with a female connection (the same as your current 8 wall jacks around your house have). When you teminate with standard RJ45 plugs (option 1), you end up with male ethernet cables that you can plug into a switch.

ch33zw1z outlined this in his post above.

You really should take option 2. This picture from our condo when we first moved in might help:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/IMG_00000065.jpg

You can see our On-Q cabinet, and above that, we had a local company run the connections a short distance up (behind the drywall) and terminate two wall jacks: the one on the left has 6 female RJ45 outlets, and the one on the right has a single RJ45 outlet + COAX.

I then have some ethernet cables (standard, male-to-male Cat5e/Cat6) that I plug into the wall jacks on one end, and the other end (which you cannot see in the picture) goes into my switch. The COAX goes into the cable modem for internet service. The entire arrangement is as follows:

COAX --> Cable modem --> Router-->Switch
Cables from patch panels -->Switch

Depending on your specific cable modem/router arrangement, your setup may differ slightly, but the principles are the same.

I centralize everything into a 9U rack with a 24-port managed switch. Since that picture was first taken, I've labeled all cable runs at the wall ports around our condo as well as on the cables (on both ends) that are plugged into the patch panels --> switch in the network closet.

This is much neater than having a bunch of ethernet cables coming directly out of the On-Q panel and/or running the cables and out of an ugly hole in the drywall. I don't have to worry about the actual cables that are in the wall getting damaged/connectors coming loose/etc., either.

Hope this helps.

Edit: looks like ch33zw1z got back to you while I was writing. Good luck all the same!

Thanks dawza. Nice setup, it looks a lot cleaner with the wall jacks. I think I want to do the same.

So yes, you are correct. There are 8 terminated wall jacks around the house that lead up to this home system (my original picture). It looks just like yours except you have your enclosure closed. So these 8 runs lead to the home system are unterminated at the home system. What I want to do and am now inspired by your post is:

Unterminated cables -> patch panel -> wall jacks above OnQ enclosure -> switch

What I have on another floor is the "all-in-one" modem/wireless router. With that, I will plug that into one of the 8 terminated wall jacks so it basically connects to the switch through the patch panel.

From there in each room, I can essentially plug in a wireless access point to extend the wireless network.

I hope I'm correct here. Again this is all new to me so I'm learning as I go along. With the connects from patch panel -> wall jacks -> switch and also from the modem/wireless router -> wall jack, I have to use all patch cables, right?

 

[dawza]

@ ch33zw1z: Thank you, sir. You flatter me

@ NewGirl: Yes, to everything you just said. We got lucky in having power in that closet, which allowed me to centralize everything into a corner. But what you propose with your cable modem is perfectly fine as well.

As far as wireless APs go, it'd be a good idea to start out with one or two, depending on how noisy your environment is and your requirements. You may only need a couple of APs to have reliable signal everywhere, or you might very well need more APs (possibly with the output power toned down a bit). We have just over 1600 sq. ft., and in a 30-unit building, significant noise in the 2.4 GHz space. The network closet is pretty much centralized, and we have exceptional coverage in the 5 GHz space in every corner, since that frequency is still sparse; with 2.4 GHz, we still get full coverage with the single UniFi, but with some attenuation, to the point that I would install additional 2.4 GHz units at opposite ends of our unit were it not for the fact that our only 2.4 GHz devices are smartphones and tablets, so bandwidth requirements aren't demanding enough to justify the effort.

I'll try to take some pictures of our current setup and add a few labels this evening.

 

[NewGirl]

Thanks again @ch33zw1z and @dawza!

I just ordered some parts so I'm hoping to get this started by the end of the week or next week.

Are crossover cables the same as patch cables? I can't seem to find them on monoprice.

Edit: I figured it out.

 

[dawza]

Rack on bottom, server on top:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_001.jpg

From bottom to top: UPS, PDU, cord organizer, 24-port switch, 2U shelf with cable modem on left, pfsense box on right, and Obi100 adapter in back (not seen: the power bricks and cords out of sight in the bottom/back of the rack):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_002.jpg

Wall left = Cisco Aironet 1100 WAP (no longer using with purchase of Ubiquiti AP)
Wall right = Cisco WAP321
Ceiling = Ubiquiti UniFi

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_003.jpg

Overall view of setup:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_004.jpg


Hope these inspire some ideas for your project, and good luck!

 

[NewGirl]

Rack on bottom, server on top:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_001.jpg

From bottom to top: UPS, PDU, cord organizer, 24-port switch, 2U shelf with cable modem on left, pfsense box on right, and Obi100 adapter in back (not seen: the power bricks and cords out of sight in the bottom/back of the rack):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_002.jpg

Wall left = Cisco Aironet 1100 WAP (no longer using with purchase of Ubiquiti AP)
Wall right = Cisco WAP321
Ceiling = Ubiquiti UniFi

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_003.jpg

Overall view of setup:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2541694/WP_20131216_004.jpg


Hope these inspire some ideas for your project, and good luck!

Very inspiring. Thank you. Although I don't think I need as big of a set up, but maybe eventually down the line.

How would you compare the Ubiquiti UniFi to the Cisco WAP321?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yea dawza, that's a hardcore home network. Mine basically consists of a Linksys E3000 running tomato, and the clients. I did run a cat5e cable to my living room for the media area...just one. lol...hardcore man.

 

[dawza]

Yea dawza, that's a hardcore home network. Mine basically consists of a Linksys E3000 running tomato, and the clients. I did run a cat5e cable to my living room for the media area...just one. lol...hardcore man.

No argument here...definitely a bit overboard, although the defining moment was definitely the rack purchase. Once that was in hand, the temptation to fill all those empty slots with gear was too much to resist.

@New Girl-- I like both APs, although if I had to choose one or the other (and was limited to a single unit), I'd go with the Cisco simply because it can do either 2.4 or 5 GHz (although only one or the other at a time), and has been rock-solid for the ~6 months I've had it. I can only do 2.4 with the UniFi, although in fairness, the price delta between the two is almost 3x, especially when you factor in the cost of a PoE injector for the Cisco, should you wish to streamline wiring. The UniFi comes with an injector (admittedly not standard 48V, but still included in the $70 or so price), and from what I've read, is a slick solution in multi-UniFi AP deployment scenarios owing to the management software.

 

[NewGirl]

Hi all,

Just a follow-up here. I've installed the patch panel and it was relatively easy. Still waiting on receiving the switch and Ubiquiti AP in the mail. See below. I'm thinking about switching that power strip for a slim profile one so that everything fits better in the On-Q enclosure. Any recommendations?

The only thing was I counted 9 cat5e cables and there were only 8 ports on the patch panel. I may need to terminate that last one on an RJ45 and just plug directly into the switch.

 

[kevnich2]

No argument here...definitely a bit overboard, although the defining moment was definitely the rack purchase. Once that was in hand, the temptation to fill all those empty slots with gear was too much to resist.

@New Girl-- I like both APs, although if I had to choose one or the other (and was limited to a single unit), I'd go with the Cisco simply because it can do either 2.4 or 5 GHz (although only one or the other at a time), and has been rock-solid for the ~6 months I've had it. I can only do 2.4 with the UniFi, although in fairness, the price delta between the two is almost 3x, especially when you factor in the cost of a PoE injector for the Cisco, should you wish to streamline wiring. The UniFi comes with an injector (admittedly not standard 48V, but still included in the $70 or so price), and from what I've read, is a slick solution in multi-UniFi AP deployment scenarios owing to the management software.

Just an FYI - Ubiquiti does make a pro AP that does both 2.4ghz and 5ghz though with the release of their AC WAP, I say go that route as Pro is $220 and AC is $299 and both come with the POE injector (Pro and AC both use 802.3af POE standard) I have Pro in my house along with the standard one as well. Performance coming off Pro is about 100mb/s on 5ghz and around 80mb/s on 2.4ghz

 

[NewGirl]

Just an FYI - Ubiquiti does make a pro AP that does both 2.4ghz and 5ghz though with the release of their AC WAP, I say go that route as Pro is $220 and AC is $299 and both come with the POE injector (Pro and AC both use 802.3af POE standard) I have Pro in my house along with the standard one as well. Performance coming off Pro is about 100mb/s on 5ghz and around 80mb/s on 2.4ghz

I went with their less expensive UniFi AP which was only $69. I don't need that much performance considering I'm on DSL now until Fios becomes available in my area.

 

[Cabletek]

Hi all,

Just a follow-up here. I've installed the patch panel and it was relatively easy. Still waiting on receiving the switch and Ubiquiti AP in the mail. See below. I'm thinking about switching that power strip for a slim profile one so that everything fits better in the On-Q enclosure. Any recommendations?

The only thing was I counted 9 cat5e cables and there were only 8 ports on the patch panel. I may need to terminate that last one on an RJ45 and just plug directly into the switch.

Eww a directional coupler, what are your cable modem levels, out of curiosity. [192.168.100.1] ?


Also for clarity, if you have a cable modem and not a cable gateway [gateway = modem + router in one piece] then you need a ROUTER immediately after it before YOU USE A SWITCH. Just for clarity.