Home Networking Help

[binarymelon]

I realize this isn't exactly on topic, but I figured some people who browse this forum might be able to point me in the right direction. I want to wire my home for gigabit Ethernet in most rooms as well have wireless (draft-n) available throughout the house. If anyone could point me to an online forum that is reasonably advanced that I could read through or ask a few questions. Or even if someone considers themselves well versed on this topic and we could have a discussion here or in an off-topic forum. I know a bit about networking my experience is limited when it comes to adding switches and WAPs to network. I'm a cable modem to wireless router guy.

[Hammie]

What do you need to know? I know a little about that stuff. Someplace in my job description qualifies me I think.

Others may find it beneficial, but if you would prefer, you can PM me with your questions/concerns/thoughts.

[binarymelon]

Well, I'm not really sure on the hardware I would need to get the control that I want. I'm fairly certain I won't have any issues with the wiring, my uncle is an electrician and my brother has worked for him before. Plus I think I could do it myself from guides of the net, it might just require some patience.

My concern is managing the network. I want to have roughly 6 gigabit drops throughout the house, as well as having a good wireless connection upstairs and down. The basement isn't finished at the moment, but if and when it is I don't want to have to rethink the network. My experience with router firmwares is D-link firmware for the DIR-655 and DD-WRT running on a few different devices. I like to have full control over the network. I currently assign IPs based on MAC address. There will also need to be communication between devices on the network without causing too much congestion. I run MediaLink on my iMac to stream content to the PS3. This is one of the main reasons for this project. I cannot stream HD content right now because both machines are connected wirelessly.

How do switches, hubs, waps, etc. integrate into the network? Are they simply splitters for a router, do they require separate management?

[Hammie]

You will want switches, not hubs (though I don't think they make gig-e hubs).

Most consumer grade switches do not have anything robust in regards to management. You assign it an IP address and you can view some "management" screens from your computer.

Once you plug them in, they are pretty much plug and play. What brand are you looking at? I have had good luck with the D-Link DGS-2208 switches. I have two of them. One of them in my office and one at my HT system.

[binarymelon]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

You will want switches, not hubs (though I don't think they make gig-e hubs).

Most consumer grade switches do not have anything robust in regards to management. You assign it an IP address and you can view some "management" screens from your computer.

That's actually what confuses me. Even though the machines will be directly connected to the switch will they still register as a client with the router. Are they on the network managed by the router or is there a separate network managed by the switch.

Originally Posted by louhamilton

Once you plug them in, they are pretty much plug and play. What brand are you looking at? I have had good luck with the D-Link DGS-2208 switches. I have two of them. One of them in my office and one at my HT system.

That's actually the model I was looking at. I like the energy saving features and it's 8-port gigabit. Another question I have is if I have a switch plugged into a router does that basically limit the bandwidth on the entire switch to a theoretical 1gbps?

[Hammie]

Yes, when a device "registers" it will blast the request out all ports. So, it will eventually get to where it needs to go, i.e., a DHCP server or default gateway. Whatever network you create on the router with your default gateway will be the network any other devices will be on. You will not run multiple networks on a consumer grade device.

I have all my devices configured with static IP addresses and only one DHCP address configured for when my mother-in-law comes to visit.

The 2208 will provide 1GBps duplex per port.

[MrRoy]

If you are concerned about congestion between devices on your network, the switch will solve that. A switch has a table that associates the IP address with the device, and is dynamically updated if you use dhcp. So, when there is a data request, the switch knows the direct route between devices, alleviating the congestion.
The router is going to handle incoming and outgoing traffic (internet) while the switch is going to handle the network inside the network.

[binarymelon]

Originally Posted by MrRoy

If you are concerned about congestion between devices on your network, the switch will solve that. A switch has a table that associates the IP address with the device, and is dynamically updated if you use dhcp. So, when there is a data request, the switch knows the direct route between devices, alleviating the congestion.
The router is going to handle incoming and outgoing traffic (internet) while the switch is going to handle the network inside the network.

Ok, but what about wireless devices will they be on the same subnet?

Originally Posted by louhamilton

Yes, when a device "registers" it will blast the request out all ports. So, it will eventually get to where it needs to go, i.e., a DHCP server or default gateway. Whatever network you create on the router with your default gateway will be the network any other devices will be on. You will not run multiple networks on a consumer grade device.

I have all my devices configured with static IP addresses and only one DHCP address configured for when my mother-in-law comes to visit.

The 2208 will provide 1GBps duplex per port.

Edit: Ah, I didn't see your post until after. Well that's good because I already ordered the 2208 anyway.

[Hammie]

Yes, I also have wireless enabled in my house and everything is on the same subnet. I would advise you enable MAC address filtering and only allow the ones that you trust. Just another added layer of security. In a home environment, this is not difficult to administer.

Just for clarification, switches actually work at the MAC address layer (layer 2) and routers work at the IP layer (layer 3). Other than that, MrRoy explains it quite nicely. I didn't make it as clear as he did.

[JasonR]

Actually, there are plenty of layer 3 switches around. And how do I love them!!! (For business, not home)

Check out this sexy series...

http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/d...u=WEBSW4500SYS

I have close to 10 in use right now!!!

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Actually, there are plenty of layer 3 switches around. And how do I love them!!! (For business, not home)

Check out this sexy series...

http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/d...u=WEBSW4500SYS

I have close to 10 in use right now!!!

True, but not many people can afford a layer 3 switch for home. Even off eBay they are pretty pricey for home use.

BTW, have you played with any of the Juniper switches? They are SWEET!!! I was hoping to get keep the one I got (EX-3200) after I passed my cert exam, but I had to put it into a company lab, not my home network.

[JasonR]

No, I haven't played with any Juniper switches. We have been going 3COM based on price to feature set and couldn't be happier!! HP is pushing out some really great stuff right now as well.

Edit: We have close to 10 subnets now....scarey stuff. It isn't easy keeping track of all of your ports....

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by JasonR

No, I haven't played with any Juniper switches. We have been going 3COM based on price to feature set and couldn't be happier!! HP is pushing out some really great stuff right now as well.

Edit: We have close to 10 subnets now....scarey stuff. It isn't easy keeping track of all of your ports....

I'm a pre-sales design engineer and recently did a 5000 port Cisco network which needed to support both voice and data. They were planning on running about 5 VLANS if I remember correctly. I love that sh**! VoIP design is my specialization.

[binarymelon]

Another quick question. Is Cat-6 a supported 10 gigabit standard. I was looking on the web but most things I could find were dated (3+ years old) forum posts saying it hadn't been finalized yet.

[Hammie]

Cat6a is what you need to buy if you want 10G support. Although, in a home network, I doubt it would be worth the extra cost. Personally, I'm only using Cat5 cabling. I got 1000 feet for $25. I make my own cables and run my own cable in walls. I have not had any problems with it.

[binarymelon]

I figured I'd resurrect this thread as I am getting ready to finally wire my home. Yesterday I purchased a spool of Cat6 cable from Monoprice along with some keystones, wall plates and roughly a dozen patch cables from 1-3 ft in length. I am also likely to get a patch panel, but I can worry about that after I've wrestled the cable through the walls. I'm just wondering if the network configuration in the image below will work. The wall jack configuration could change (ie. some could go from 2-port to 1-port and additional jacks could be added). My main concern is to stream HD content from my iMac to PS3 and not really affect other network traffic (mostly WAN traffic to wireless devices). Basically I'm just looking for suggestions, corrections to any incorrect assumptions I've made (hopefully not telling me I purchased the incorrect Cat6 cable).

Edit: Also can someone tell me is it possible to reuse keystones if I want to try and create a few practise cables to begin with?

[aheintz]

I've re-used keystone jacks with no problems. Nice setup I have something simular to that my self.

[Hammie]

Looks like a fine setup to me.

You should be able to use the keystone jacks over again without a problem. Just make sure there are no bits of wire stuck in them.

BTW, nice use of Visio.

[binarymelon]

Thanks guys. Now I just need a DLNA enabled NAS.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by binarymelon

Thanks guys. Now I just need a DLNA enabled NAS.

I've personally never had success with DLNA enabled NAS drives, but YMMV. Granted my experiences were a few years ago. technology may have got better since then.