Switch usage questions?

[DanielCoffey]

Hello folks - I am in the fortunate position of having a new residential property wired for cat6 and am at the point of having to sort out what is needed in the "network cupboard". I have only ever used a standard 4-port router before so would appreciate some advice.

At the moment there will be 10 sockets around the property, mostly in pairs, all terminating in a bunch in a central cupboard with mains points adjacent. Also in the cupboard will be the principal telephone line and a space for my router.

I understand that the phone line will go straight to the provider's home hub (if it is any good, or a VDSL and separate router if it isn't) and then a single cable will go to one port on the switch. It is what happens next where I need some advice.

1. Do I need some form of patch panel between where the cables emerge and the switch itself or do I just plug straight into the switch? All cables will be labelled.

2. Is this a simple case of using an Unmanaged switch or is there a need for a Managed switch? It is a home installation with one NAS, one main PC, one secondary PC, two AppleTV units with associated TVs and a network printer. There are no consoles, no home office and no guest network.

3. Unless I have any PoE devices, I assume a non-PoE switch is preferred for power efficiency and reliability, yes? I have specifically asked the Architect if any of the home alarm, doorbell, thermostat or ASHP/MVHR control panels need PoE just in case.

Thanks in advance for any help and if there is something you think I may have not considered, please shout out now.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Are the dual jack locations 1 data + 1 phone?

You do not need a managed switch for your application as you described it. If you want VLANs to segregate parts of your LAN then you will need a managed switch. Just use either a 8 or 16 port gigabit switch depending on how many data jacks you need active all the time. Remember 1 port will be used for the line from your router so an 8 port switch will feed 7 jacks.

The phone lines will need to be punched down on a block. FYI by re terminating the phone jacks they can be converted to data assuming that at least Cat5e cables were run to both jacks.

A patch panel is only really needed if you are going to be constantly switching connections around. To much shifting of the house wires can result in the tiny copper wires getting brittle and eventually break. A patch panel does have a wow factor and looks very professional so go for it if you want to impress your friends and add some functionality.

Before installing to much equipment in the cabinet be sure to install vents and perhaps an exhaust fan. If you ave equipment using 50+ watts it will get warm in the cabinet if the doors are closed.

 

[DanielCoffey]

Thanks for the reply. The phone points are separate - it was just the network points I was needing the advice for.

Since there are ten network points plus the router, I was thinking a 16-port switch and it is nice to know that an unmanaged type is appropriate.

We are very unlikely to be adjusting the wiring after installation so I appreciate knowing that we can do without the patch panel.

The cupboard is about 2 metres wide and a good three metres high and the best part of a metre deep. It will have a pair of sliding doors and the only powered devices in there are likely to be the router and switch so I was thinking a fan might not be needed. It is intended to be used as a general storage cupboard. Given the sliding doors, we may be able to get away without a vent but can always add one to a door if needed afterwards.

 

[degrub]

Thanks for the reply. The phone points are separate - it was just the network points I was needing the advice for.

Since there are ten network points plus the router, I was thinking a 16-port switch and it is nice to know that an unmanaged type is appropriate.

We are very unlikely to be adjusting the wiring after installation so I appreciate knowing that we can do without the patch panel.

The cupboard is about 2 metres wide and a good three metres high and the best part of a metre deep. It will have a pair of sliding doors and the only powered devices in there are likely to be the router and switch so I was thinking a fan might not be needed. It is intended to be used as a general storage cupboard. Given the sliding doors, we may be able to get away without a vent but can always add one to a door if needed afterwards.

you may be able to get away with a 2 inch hole at the top of the back or in the top above the switch if the doors don't really seal. Just get a hanging thermometer with 1 deg resolution and measure the temperature rise after powering up for a day. Or you may be able to use a stick on type directly on the switch case.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Thanks for the reply. The phone points are separate - it was just the network points I was needing the advice for.

Since there are ten network points plus the router, I was thinking a 16-port switch and it is nice to know that an unmanaged type is appropriate.

We are very unlikely to be adjusting the wiring after installation so I appreciate knowing that we can do without the patch panel.

The cupboard is about 2 metres wide and a good three metres high and the best part of a metre deep. It will have a pair of sliding doors and the only powered devices in there are likely to be the router and switch so I was thinking a fan might not be needed. It is intended to be used as a general storage cupboard. Given the sliding doors, we may be able to get away without a vent but can always add one to a door if needed afterwards.

You will be surprised how warm the cabinet gets. With newer more powerful routers the chips often run at 160 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.

In my cabinet I cut 4" circular holes in every shelf, cabinet bottom as well as 4" hole in the cabinet's top. I also mounted a media cabinet fan in the top hole to exhaust warm air. The fan is rated to move 50 cfm of air and even then the cabinet warms up to 84 - 87 degrees Fahrenheit while my home's ambient temperature is between 74 - 77 degrees.

One additional suggestion is since you have the room put a UPS in the cabinet to backup/protect your router, switch and modem. It will eliminate many of the mysterious network problems that some people have and attribute to everything but the real cause which can be AC power glitches.