HomeNet

Disclaimer: I'm not a network engineer. I've worked in and around network departments, initially focused on telecom, then VoIP, and now security but I am in no way an expert.

During COVID-19 lockdowns, I fast-forwarded my plans to remodel my home because I own a short-term rental cabin from which I can remotely work. It's a full house remodel, stripped to the studs, providing an opportunity to fix a long standing connectivity issue with gusto.

Built in 1941, my house was constructed with a curious mix of first generation drywall, wire mesh and plaster. The drywall is thin by today's standards, and according my contractor was untrusted technology leading to the continued use of mesh and plaster. I don't know the first thing about constructing a faraday cage, but based on 6 years of fighting Wi-Fi signal issues, I think I'd start by using steel mesh and plaster. Hypothetically, with the mesh out of the house I should be able to plop any decent Wi-Fi router in any central location and cover the two-story 1,800 sq.ft. house with ease. But, why not aim higher?

Wiring

Armed with a leftover box of cat-6, I ran wire from a central mechanical closet in the basement to high and low outlets in each of three locations where TV's will go. I opted not to run cable to bedrooms or potential office locations because neither my wife, nor I, run from desktop computers. I ran two cables to a central location in the ceiling upstairs. For future use, I also ran Smurf tube from the panel in the mechanical room to the attic and the outside of the house.

Pro-Tip: Wire Selection! Don't run exterior grade ethernet through the interior of your house. I had 500ft of the stuff and thought I'd use it up. I ended up needing to replace all of it after I was done because the inspector said the exterior shielding is toxic, giving off during fumes during a fire. In my haste and frustration, I replaced with it riser grade cat-5e. Riser is the least expensive type for normal use, Plenum grade can be run through heating ducts. I'm old, and dumb and thought Wi-Fi wouldn't exceed GigE speeds anytime soon. Um... Wi-Fi 6. Oh well, that's why I ran the Smurf tube. I'm sticking with the cat-5e until some future day when Wi-Fi 6 speeds are appealing. Photo's show exterior cat-6. I did not retake after rewiring with cat-5e.

I installed a plastic panel in my basements new mechanical closet. The Smurf tube was later secured in place, and the wire replaced with riser grade cat-5e (see above). At bottom right is Romex for an interior power outlet. 

 

Pro-Tip: Panel Selection & Wiring: Choose plastic because metal panels block radio signals. I do not plan on installing a Wi-Fi router here, but may in the future. I've seen better looking wiring jobs since installing with all of ethernet entering in one corner, and other wire types in other corners. I wired for convenience, not beauty. You do you. I did not label either. I'll do this later with a loopback adapter.

Update: When I rewired, having begun regretting the cat-5e choice, I did not run the attic line routes through the smurf tube (as shown) and instead zip-tied to the outside leaving the conduit open with an orange string (shown) for pulling new wire.

For the basement television connections, I ran two wires back to the panel (upper/lower outlets). Upstairs above the fireplace, I only ran one line.

For future use, I ran smurf tube to the exterior of the house and installed a small panel outside. That tube leaves the panel at top-right. The second run goes to the attic. As noted in update previously, the new runs of cat-5e don't use the conduit. The rest is similar, two runs to one outlet incase I want to switch from an enterprise access point (EAP) to a router; one for uplink one for downlink. Though it's like likely not needed, I left drops (coiled extra wire) in the attic incase I need more cable later.

Design

My primary goal is simplicity. I intended to put a normal Wi-Fi enabled router on the ceiling in the center of the house and just a switch in the mechanical closet, connected to the internet service provider (ISP). As you can see there's no power on the ceiling outlet; because I planned on using power-over-ethernet (PoE). 

The cylinders represent the Smurf tube (not databases), UP is for uplink, the rest can be assumed.

Upon research, PoE routers are either non-existent or rare-AF. Thus, I've settled on this design. The switch may not be required. I'm not certain if I will be required to use my ISP's router or how many ports it will have available.

The cylinders represent the Smurf tube (not databases), UP is for uplink, the rest can be assumed.

Products

After much research, and cost analysis, I've settled on TP-Link. I've had past issues with Cisco and Netgear which run the gamut. Ubiquiti is an unknown and more expensive. I've had good luck with TP-Link.

ISP: CenturyLink Fiber (1gb)

Router: CenturyLink (or TP-Link)

	TP-Link Safestream Multi WAN VPN Router (Amazon) Notes: If I can find an 8-port version, and don't require CenturyLink's router for AAA, then I can remove the switch from the design. This product also indicates it has 802.11n which I don't need.

EAP (Interior): TP-Link AC1350 (EAP225)

	TP-Link Omada AC1350 Gigabit Wireless Access Point (Amazon) Note: I compared this to the TP-Link Omada AC1750 (EAP265) which does have higher throughput but the constrictions seem isolated to use cases with 100+ connections. It's half the price and I think it'll do the job nicely.

PoE Adapter: TP-Link

< not pictured >	Any; See: (Amazon) Note: According to the product description of the AC1350, "EAP225 supports both 802.3af/at PoE and Passive PoE power supply, can be either powered by a PoE switch or the provided PoE adapter, making deployment effortless and flexible." Thus, I'm not ordering one. Alternately, I may opt into a PoE Switch (see below).

EAP (Exterior): TP-Link

	TP-Link - EAP225-Outdoor Omada AC1200 Gigabit Outdoor Access Point (Amazon) Note: My backyard and garage have terrible Wi-Fi signal, but enough to keep my phone from switching to LTE. Not pictured in my diagram is a run through the exterior cabinet to this exterior access point.

Switch: TP-Link

	TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit PoE Switch (Amazon) Note: I'm hoping I won't need this, but I've included it since it was in the design above.

Other: Cabinet, Patch Panel, Mounting Hardware, etc.

	Leviton 49605-28W 28" Structured Media Center Cabinet (Amazon) Note: Because I chose this cabinet, I searched for patch panels, mounting hardware and shelves which fit the design. Do the same.

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