How hard is it to lay CAT5E around a house?

[T84]

Hi all,

I have to get internet access to 3 rooms in a house, the living room (Where the router is installed, but pretty much to the other side of the room from the router), and to 2 rooms upstairs.

It's a rented 2 floor flat, so can't do anything drastic!

Is there an easy way of running CAT5E around an entire house? How do you get it around door frames, etc? And is there an easy method for attaching cable to a wall without leaving permanent marks?

Thanks!

[randlemarcus]

Wireless, or powerline. Both developed at vast expense to prevent your OH moaning

[J-Tuner]

You can buy units that plug into the mains sockets and carry network traffic over the existing copper. I can't say how good they are but maybe something to look into ?

Otherwise cat5 is easy once you have the tools to terminate your own cables.

I'd be inclined to run everything wirelessly however unless there is a strict need for cable ?

Edited by J-Tuner on Wednesday 25th August 15:38

[Sheets Tabuer]

Thought about wireless?

Unless is was put under carpets etc cat5 can look bloody awful.

[rpguk]

Why not just use wifi?

[CoolC]

Would it be possible to run them outside? (with landlords permision)

[J-Tuner]

CoolC said:

Would it be possible to run them outside? (with landlords permision)

I would have thought you would have to shield them - a decent winter could probably damage them a bit.

[T84]

Sorry, has to be able to stream HD video, which Wifi is no good for.

[Petrolhead_Rich]

They can be run outside, but preferably shielded cable in trunking, I know people who do just have them pinned to the wall however!

easy to lay IMO, but that is part of my job so....

[GreenDog]

T84 said:

Sorry, has to be able to stream HD video, which Wifi is no good for.

There are powerline adaptors which will do this - bit more expensive than the standard ones.
Using the adaptors does meant that if you move house you can take them with you easily.

[Neil1300R]

T84 said:

Sorry, has to be able to stream HD video, which Wifi is no good for.

Sorry, but wireless is more than good enough for HD video. Your limiting factor will be your internet connection speed not the wireless.

[davido140]

T84 said:

Sorry, has to be able to stream HD video, which Wifi is no good for.

802.11n can... although the kit is pricier and your existing wifi enabled stuff probably doesnt have n adaptors...

Still easier than nobbing around trying to lay cat5 throughout your house.. it'll look a mess.

[T84]

It's a relatively new (2005) house so I was wondering whether the upstairs and downloads would be on the same ring? It's a 3 storey building with garages on the bottom, the circuit breaker is on the bottom too, and then the 2nd floor with living room, etc, and the bedrooms upstairs... I would've through with the circuit breaker being downstairs it'd all be on the same ring?

[Scott W]

T84 said:

Sorry, has to be able to stream HD video, which Wifi is no good for.

Definitely look at the Homeplug route then as it is simple to install and setup. We have this in our house and stream 1080p films from our PC to the PS3 without any issues whatsoever.

[T84]

I'm looking at the Devolo AVEasy at £77 for 2... I need 4 which is a shame but I'll bite the bullet tonight, reckon I'll be able to take them back to the shop if they don't work as expected?

[sjg]

200MB homeplugs work fine for me on HD. Real-world speeds are in the 80-90Mbit range.

I've done home cat5 before and it's OK if your carpet has the wooden gripper rods around the edges - just put the wire alongside. Tedious job though, and I wouldn't bother in a rented place.

[Arese]

T84 said:

I'm looking at the Devolo AVEasy at £77 for 2... I need 4 which is a shame but I'll bite the bullet tonight, reckon I'll be able to take them back to the shop if they don't work as expected?

Run Cat5e. It's cheaper, probably quicker if you've got a gigabit switch, and will just work.

Get white cable if you're going to have it running around door frames, and a box of those white cable tack things. Go under carpets around the edge of rooms where you can. One of the first things I did when I moved into our house 9 years ago was run CAT5 throughout, and it certainly isn't messy. I wouldn't be allowed to let it look messy.

Edited by Arese on Wednesday 25th August 15:58

[T84]

Ok,

Is it likely to cause problems only connecting one port of the router to the homeplug, but attaching more than one device?

I mean, is this likely to cause problems?

[Fume troll]

T84 said:

Ok,

Is it likely to cause problems only connecting one port of the router to the homeplug, but attaching more than one device?

I mean, is this likely to cause problems?

Mine runs like that (only with a printer and backup drive on the same port).

Cheers,

FT.

[Scott W]

Mine runs in a very similar way as well without any problems. I got a Solwise starter kit from Broadbandbuyer for £60 or so.