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Help with DSL wiring

tytm
Grafter
Posts: 27
Registered: ‎18-09-2014

Help with DSL wiring

I have a problem with walls and wireless. It seems like they may be insulated with dwarven lead or something as the wireless signal around the house is rubbish. I have come up with a plan; that plan is cables. Ok, so it's not an original plan but I think it is pretty sure to decrease the number of "f&$k1n8 wireless has dropped again" screams filtering through my neighbourhood. My problem is that I was browsing the cable choices and it looks like they have added some cats (?) to the old cat5 / cat5e selections and I'm also confused about when a cable is a "patch" and when it's... well I guess not a patch.
So I've drawn a diagram and I was hoping some kind soul could give me pointers on the gaps.

Edit: I mean telephone cable (6p4c I think?), not rj45 in the picture
The Modem and Router are currently sat on top of one another (yeah I know that's not cool, but they are just so easy to stack) of the master socket in room 1. Then there is a corridor, then the room with the target PC (room 2).
Questions are two fold:
Firstly; I'm getting flat cat7 cable.... right? That's the best option for the future... isn't it? And then on-top of that is there some term for cat cable that makes the internet go from box A to box B (patch?) rather than from PC to PC (er patchless...?)
Secondly, to get the best speed (or least interference) do I:

  • Get a real long flat cat(7) (patch) cable from router to PC

  • Get a real long flat cat(7) (patch) cable from modem to router, and move the router to the target PC room

  • Get a real long telephone cable from master socket to modem, and move the router AND modem to the target PC room


Does it even matter, should I just buy the cheapest whatever and staple it to the walls?
Thanks  Smiley
7 REPLIES 7
elfish
Grafter
Posts: 235
Registered: ‎22-02-2009

Re: Help with DSL wiring

Cat7 is fairly overkill (Cat6 would be fine and will support 10GBASE-T but not at the full 100m, but I doubt your cable run would be anywhere near that), but if it is a short run and only going to be 1 to a few cables then why not.
Where are you seeing these flat cat7 cables? Rounded is the more common.
A patch cable is when you make a connection from a patch panel to the networking equipment within a rack, and is also the term used to describe the connection between devices. Basically short distance cabling.
To answer your 3 bullet points, number 3 shouldn't be used, the other two are fine and it depends on where you would like the equipment to be. The Wi-Fi maybe better if the router is located within another room which would relate to bullet point 2.
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Help with DSL wiring

All total overkill IMHO. How fast is your broadband?
I have telephone (CW1308) cable for all fixed Ethernet connections in my house.
You use just 4 cores and that runs fine at domestic distances at 100mbps which is several times faster than my 20mbps ADSL connection.
If I ever get fibre it will still be faster than that and definitely more than the devices need in internet bandwidth.
The advantage of CW1308 is that it is smaller, more flexible, unobtrusive, and no-one really notices it's there.
If you look at the Ethernet cables supplied with many ADSL modem/routers you will see that there are often only 4 wires visible in the RJ45 plugs, because they use 4-core cable which runs at 100mbps, the same speed as the LAN ports.
Obviously if you really need Gigabit Ethernet between devices on your local network and/or acquire a superduperfast 300mbps or more FTTP connection you might need a bit of rewiring.  Wink
cedlor
Grafter
Posts: 687
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎02-04-2015

Re: Help with DSL wiring

tytm
Grafter
Posts: 27
Registered: ‎18-09-2014

Re: Help with DSL wiring

Thanks for the replies 🙂 I'm not sure what you mean by "overkill". My understanding is that cat 7 is just a faster version of cat 5-6, so in the same way that I wouldn't buy a PC with only USB2 because in the future I might buy a device that can use USB3, I'm reasoning that I don't have use for the speed now, but might in 5 years time. Besides, they are all the same price so why get a slower version, is there some downside?
For reference; I have the fibre package (over homeplugs that's 52mb, 2.4 & 5 GHz, when it connects, 61mb and wired is about 69-70mb) but will upgrade the second speeds do as my job and hobbies need a lot of internet ('need' should probably be in air-quotes). I also stream content to 4 separate devices, and have a domestic ftp, git, scp and that sort of thing so high speed is desirable internally.
I have tried different wireless channels (and frequencies) but as the target PC is the house content server I'm sick of "buffering" and "connection lost" on all the other devices when it drops connection for the umpteenth time!
The cables are all on Amazon, search 'flat cat 7', there's lots and lots of choice... too much in fact.
I'll investigate the cw1308, do I need to look at "shielded" or "twisted pairs"?
Originally I thought this would just be a case of buying a long cable and some nails,  but turns out you need an extended course in wires and cabling to chain together three boxes!
ian007jen
Rising Star
Posts: 392
Thanks: 4
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎06-09-2007

Re: Help with DSL wiring

Wel if you really want to future proof you can instal fibre  http://www.amazon.com/1000ft-Fiber-Optic-Singlemode-Duplex/dp/B005NWYQN2Grin Cheesy
I would instal these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004GD9XDW by the master, in the centre of the house and by the PC and connect up with cat6 structured cables (solid copper) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EOTHAJC
Use patch cables to connect up PC's, switches and modem/router
Quote
I thought this would just be a case of buying a long cable and some nails

[joke mode on] These are the ones you need...http://www.amazon.co.uk/inch-Nails-Round-Wire-180g/dp/B006ZYT30S....you just knock them in through the middle of the wire [/joke mode off]
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Help with DSL wiring

Quote from: tytm
My understanding is that cat 7 is just a faster version of cat 5-6
Not really, it's down to twists, thickness, shielding etc. you don't get something for nothing.  Wink
Generally the "higher" categories have more of these and are bulkier, less flexible, more difficult to run/hide/terminate etc.
I use CW1308 because it's adequate for my needs, cheap, easy effective and I have loads of it!
If you look at the specification UTP denotes Unshielded Twisted Pair. I believe Cat 7 is SSTP which means shielded twisted pairs inside an overall second shield.
So pretty bulky compared to CVW1308 or even Cat5 UTP. Like this:

If you've got somewhere to hide it, such as trunking or hollow walls, great. Otherwise it's a bit of a PITA in a home.
tytm
Grafter
Posts: 27
Registered: ‎18-09-2014

Re: Help with DSL wiring

Thanks all for the useful advice. That diy box looks just the ticket...