[TriLUG] structured wiring switch

[Matt Flyer via TriLUG]

In the house I had in High Point, I put one of these boxes in the garage
and had all the tv, ethernet, and phone (landline was still a thing back
then) run into this panel. Needless to say, it quickly became obvious
that what was needed was an ethernet switch to connect all of the wired
ports, which went to every major room.  While it was a bit of a mess, I
had no issues with sticking the switch, an old Netgear switch.  Never
once did I have to do anything like reset it, etc.   

If it isn't too late, I would strongly recommend running Ethernet ports
to more than one wall, especially in the bedrooms, because you don't
know exactly where furniture is going to go in the future.  I would also
consider running some extra lines for things like a WiFi access point or
two, or possibly even an outdoor wireless bridge (run cable to the
attic. 

One thing that I have done in past construction that also saved my
proverbial bacon more than once, is run a conduit from the basement /
crawlspace to the attic to facilitate running wires. 

On 2021-12-08 11:15, Thomas Ingram via TriLUG wrote:

> We're in the process of building a new house, and our builder includes
> structured wiring for four ethernet ports as standard. The wires all
> terminate in a panel in the garage (inside on the outside wall), along
> with a fiber optic line from outside. When closed the panel resembles
> a breaker box mounted in the wall. There's no shelving with the panel
> for extra equipment.
> 
> The builder is talking about this being the location of the network
> switch and fiber modem. I've never had access to a setup like this,
> and I'm concerned about keeping a bunch of network equipment in the
> garage. (For context I'm used to consumer router/switch/access point
> combo devices, but I'm happy to upgrade to something better. I also
> have a home server I intend to keep in my office closet with access to
> one of the ethernet ports.) I'm hoping someone here can help me make
> sense of this setup. I don't know a lot about networking, but I don't
> understand keeping everything in the hot/cold garage. I also don't
> know why I'd want my networking hub to be in such an inconvenient
> location (no shelves et cetera).
> 
> -- 
> Thomas Ingram