Re: 2 questions about LAN (10/100) cable.
 

I would suggest keeping the router down in a room where it is accessible and easier to replace, and you can have it hooked to a UPS so you can get online and check the weather when the power goes out... Then run the cables around the house, through the attic to the router. Running cables really isn't that hard but it takes time, like Al said do things once, properly and you shouldn't have problems. As some have said I have found the easiest way is to hook the cables between rooms to jacks then use short patch cables.

-Mike

Re: 2 questions about LAN (10/100) cable.
 

I second what Mike said, I keep my router right next to my cable modem, then in my room i have another router acting as a switch. I run a 50ft cat5 cable through my window all the way into my kitchen window which travels to the router (it's an ugly mess). Why I don't use wireless, mainly because even though I'm right above the wireless router I get horrible reception.

If you really wanted, you could put the router in the attic, I know many people who do with their routers; they put most of their networking supplies in the attic, then run cat 5 cables into various rooms and install a wall-jack. Router's are pretty durable and you can usually leave them alone once you've set it up. The most you would do is clean out the exhaust fan every so often to clear up the dust (if your router even has one). Even if there was a power outtage, a surge protector will give enough protection for the router, and the router usually resets itself and so forth.

Re: 2 questions about LAN (10/100) cable.
 

also, (i don't know what technology for Internet you use there) but here in the UK , most ADSL companies supply their connection with a hub, with 4 LAN ports. Mines currently wired up to 3 PC and a printer (using a print server) . This really is useful, except with my (slow) 512 k connection at home, it lags if you try and play games on one and browse picture heavy pages on another...


i have a computer at the top of my stairs , which you can access the back of the PC from the stairs, so i have the router there, easy access :)

Re: 2 questions about LAN (10/100) cable.
 

Elgin, if you are going to run cabling, might as well do all you will do at once. Figure out where you want a computer, or will likely like to have a computer. Run all the cabling to those locations via the attic to a wiring closet. If you have a cable modem, locate it near where the cable drop is. If you have DSL, you have more flexibility with this. Then in your wiring closet hook the cables together into your switch or router. I would NOT get a hub. A hub shares the bandwidth with all the ports. A 10/100 hub with 4 ports has 100 shared with all 4, whereas a switch would have 100 for each port. This is very important if you are going to be playing games with someone else on your network.

What we did at my house was put the wiring closet in the basement. This was fairly easy because it is unfinished, but we located it so that when/if we do, it is out of the way. (With the furnace and water heater) We then ran cat5 for the first floor along the basement ceiling (easy to do because unfinished) to wherever we wanted internet access. We have 2 drops in my dads office and one in the living room behind the TV. For the bedrooms on the second floor, we ran single lines to all the rooms from the basement, up through the middle of the house into the attic, and then over to the individual rooms. If you do this, make sure you use fire stop material in your cabling duct. For our duct we put a 2" PVC pipe from the basement to the second floor, and then dropped one down from the attic to the second one. We off set them as a fire trap. There is an access panel on the bottom back wall of the linen closet, through which we put a good amount of fire stop play dough like material. We ran two cables at the same time to every room, and replaced the phone lines with Cat-5. Also ran cable TV lines to the bedrooms at the same time, even though my parents are still the only ones with a TV in their bedroom. :rolleyes:

Don't forget to leave an extra few feet of cable at the end if you do this. The service loop can come in very handy if you have a problem.

In the basement, we ran all the cables into a patch panel, like this one. The patch panel has slots for the wires to go into behind that faceplate, but is much easier to do then crimping a new male connector on. After that, we now had cabling running to all the rooms we wanted, with female ends at both. Now we mounted the cable modem nearby, as well as a Netgear Router/Firewall. My dad spent the extra money and got a decent hardware firewall, which is a VERY good idea if you are going to leave your computers on all the time. We then finished the connection from room wall to router with a short cable from the patch panel to the router. This makes it easy to upgrade/replace hardware. (as we've had to do once, when my dad flooded the bathroom during remodeling) I'll take a picture of the closet next time I am home.

All in all, it was a few hours planning, about 4 hours of physically running cabling, and 2 more of making 20 short cables because half of them didn't work. :rolleyes: It took some time, but now we have a well networked house, the phone lines are better quality then they were before, and it adds some good resell value to the house should they decide to move.

This is scalable to whatever you want to do, but if you are running only 2 lines probably just forgo the patch panel.

Good luck.

Wetzel

Re: 2 questions about LAN (10/100) cable.
 

Terminology is fun- NOT! :p

To connect multiple computers together you use a hub or a switch. Switches are better because as Wetzel said the bandwidth is dedicated and not shared between each port.

A router connects one network to another network. In a home network utilizing a broadband connection 1 port would be called the LAN (Local Area Network, the network running in your house) and the other port would be called the WAN (Wide Area Network, your DSL or cable company's network).

Networking companies started combining a switch and a router into one device. This was good for consumers because there is a good cost savings. It's also bad for consumers because we now use the term router for two meanings. In the home setting it could mean either a switch/router combo or in the business it usually means just a router. Most importantly unless you check each products specifications you won't know the difference between the two.

Sometimes included in the switch/router combo the manufacturer include a firewall. If you want a combo device with a firewall make sure the firewall does something called stateful packet inspection or dynamic packet filtering. In a nutshell, this type of firewall makes sure you asked for the packets you are receiving.(Wetzel has a switch/router/firewall combo)

Another home device is something called a gateway. A gateway combines the best cost savings into one package. It usually includes a modem, maybe a firewall, a switch and router into one device. Sometimes these also include a wireless access point.