Reddit mentions: The best patch panels

The Short answer: Buy a PoE switch or a switch and a bunch of PoE injectors. It doesn't matter how you mount them but a rack is easy, just buy what's cheap. Don't expose any of the cameras externally, provide hard-copy as requested by LEO.

The Longer answer:

> So first, I assume I need to buy a rack for the wire closet to hold a managed switch, the DVR for the cameras and whatever else. What should I get? Open sides? Closed sides? How much power? I don't know anything about racks.

Assuming you have a finished or semi-finished (dry) basement, an open rack is fine. This model is inexpensive at $42 and has a hinged configuration to make wiring easy. 4U will give you 1U of patch, 1U of switch, and 2U for a shelf for the modem or other things. If you want to expand more the price stays pretty reasonable. You might want a power conditioner there if you don't have a UPS on the gear, for example.

> From what I have heard, there should be multiple VLANs. One for the outside cameras which the police and neighbors are always asking for, one for the common areas of the house, and one for the bedrooms which should probably not even be connected to the Internet like the rest of the cameras. I have heard that you can buy managed switches that support hardwired VLAN functionality.

Are you planning to expose cameras in a live feed? I wouldn't. There's no benefit to you, only risk of privacy violation and potential security risk if there's a flaw in the camera's software. What are you using to record these cameras? All of the cameras should go to that, and then you use whatever DVR software that solution provides to connect remotely if you'd like. If police or other want copies of footage you can provide it as an export if you'd like or tell them to pound sand if you don't.

That being said, if you want to make a separate VLAN or subnet for your cameras that's fine - a separate subnet may be easier for you since it doesn't require managed switches to work, but you'd need a router that can handle that kind of traffic (unless you want to use static IPs for cameras). VLANs work fine with a managed switch.

> If this is the case, what PoE managed switch(es) should I buy?

You have two main options here - you can use just about any managed switch and use PoE Injectors or you can buy a Managed switch with PoE built-in. The injector method is typically less expensive - you can use it with any switch - but IMO they're less reliable and more difficult to maintain. The built-in units are more expensive but you get much easier power and cable management. The ones I linked are examples but what you need exactly depends on what model cameras you have.

> Will a Verizon FiOS router support VLAN functionality, or should I replace it with a new router, or a downstream router? If so, what router?

It's highly unlikely it would. You can do port-based VLAN in the managed switch and just pass untagged packets outbound but you'll likely need a better router. I don't have a suggestion on this, it depends on what direction you take things in.


> If you have any suggestions as to the DVR (NVR) for the cameras, which one do you think I should get?

The DVR / NVR is a recorder, it takes the raw data stream from the cameras and records it in a format that you can use to review later. It can also do things like pan/tilt/zoom control on compatible cameras, combined remote feeds to apps or via browser, and adding time & date stamping to footage.

I'm a fan of using Synology DiskStations for NVR use but they are more expensive than alternatives. Ubiquiti has some interesting solutions but afaik they only work with Ubiquiti cameras. You're looking at a lot of channels to record on simultaneously, it might be cheaper to buy two smaller units. Not sure.

edit /u/Oceana3 post done ;)

I swear I just worked on a house this passed week that looked just your setup. I wish I had taken a picture!

Like you said, getting rid of excess cable is the key. Unfortunately, we didn't have access to attic, but since the longest one was about a foot too long, I was just able to push excess into the hole it came out of.

I used one of these to organize all the cables with keystones. (Mounted right below the entry point where cables come in to box)

http://www.amazon.com/ICC-Patch-Panel-Vertical-HD12-Port/dp/B00HEOO8DA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1457360535&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=8+port+blank+keystone+patch

I had a bunch of 18" cat 6 patch cords, so I rotated switch to where all my Ethernet patch cords would turn the top left corner and plugged in to the opposite port on the patch panel number (so in the end, everything was the sorta the same distance)

Velcro tape is your best friend here!

I sketched up a quick diagram of what mine looked like:
https://imgur.com/a/fVko2

Since you have literally the same equipment, you can do something similar. Yes, power cords will be a bitch to find a clean way of organizing. I just velcro'd mine similar to sketch.

The thing where I lucked out is that cable provider was onsite doing some changes, so I asked him nicely to make me a short coax cable. It was around 12-14 inches, so I placed the cable modem where the cable was nicely orientated away from the network cables.

Good luck man.

Damn I didn't see the second and third pictures duh! So if you use that panel I showed you from amazon (or one like it, there's a lot of wires there) this may be a better choice.

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Compatible-TC-P24C6/dp/B0000AZK72/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=patch+panel+wall+mount&qid=1550278079&s=gateway&sr=8-7

This panel will work with cat5 or cat6, I can't tell what type of wiring you have there but you'll need that

You'll also need some way to mount it on the wall, I used one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Hinged-Bracket-N060-004/dp/B000E887XU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=patch+panel+wall+mount&qid=1550278079&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Now with the patch panel, you don't need to put ends on the wire. You use a punch down tool and they go into little clip type things. It makes more sense if you look at the pictures. Here is a punch down tool:

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Punch-Krone-Blade-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=punch+down+tool&qid=1550278185&s=gateway&sr=8-5

you're gonna need some patch cables to run from the patch panel to a switch. You're also gonna need a switch down there to connect all the ethernet cables together.

To mount the switch, you're gonna need a rack mount (to look the nicest, and a 19" rack switch).

A nice mount I used is this: https://www.amazon.com/NavePoint-Vertical-Mountable-Server-Hardware/dp/B01M151AOJ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=vertical+rack+mount&qid=1550278400&s=gateway&sr=8-4

and then a switch, something like this (which I picked more or less at random) https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-LGS124-Rackmount-Unmanaged-Enclosure/dp/B00H1OQBLA/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=rack+mount+switch&qid=1550278467&s=gateway&sr=8-3 will do the job quite well. It's a gigabit unamanaged switch. You can spend a lot more if you want to, but this will probably do the job.

So from there, you need a cable from switch to that box in the first picture with the ethernet ports on the back.

That will give you wired internet in the whole house. Adding access points from there is trivial.

I know it's a lot of information, feel free to ask anything.

Edit: That verizon box in picture 3 looks like it might be more than just a modem, it might be a modem/router. If that's the case you can plug that into the switch. But if it's just a modem, that won't work even tho the ethernet port will physically connect. The best way to tell is that if it only has one ethernet port, then it's just a modem, if it has more than 1 then it's a modem/router.

Okay, I've read through the other comments and feel I still have something to contribute as I've just set this up for my parents and plan to run it at my place some time in the future.

• PoE Switch - If you want to use a PoE switch, you have to get the PRO APs, the LITE and LR only support passive PoE. I was lucky enough to have inherited a Cisco SG300-10 802.3at PoE+ Switch from my former employer when they shut down. It's very convenient to use, but not a necessity. The PoE Injectors that come with APs have a nice mounting plate so that you can attach them to the wall/shelf/what-have-you. If you're dead-set on using PoE, Netgear has some decent, inexpensive offerings. 8-port PoE without VLANs $80, 8-port PoE with VLANs $100. If you're running out of outlets, and are on a budget, I would suggest buying a bigger power strip (Belkin makes a nice one I've used in a lot of applications) (or, if you're moving to rack mount, a PDU plugged into a UPS)
  
  
  
  
• Patch Panel - For flexibility, what you'll want to look for is a keystone panel and then populate it with your own jacks as needed. (If you want to throw in Coax you can, and if you want/need a phone jack in there, just use another CAT5E)
  
  
• Rack - Based on what you said, I think you are looking for something like this? You could also look at making a lack rack, if you're into DIY.
  
  
• Additional thoughts - If you are sharing the internet connection with your tenants in the basement, you may want to look at using a "proper" firewall that can VLAN them onto their own subnet, and keep them out of your internal network (for security reasons). When I set up my parent's network, I put all of the "Internet of Things" devices (thermostat, sprinkler controller, solar monitor, etc) on their own subnet and VLAN because they are something that I have very little control of, and I see as being a big network risk. Just my $0.02
  
  Let me know if any of this didn't make sense to you.
  
  Cheers!
  
  Edit: additions in bold above

Note: This statement only pertains to running cat 5e for computer networking, and not for audio video / other uses.

To write your house for a network, you'll run your wires like you would for telephone back to a central location. You can leave them hanging out of the wall but it's best to terminate them into either a structure wire panel, or into an X by Y wall plate. From there, you would use a switch / hub / router. At that point, you build your network as desired. If you want to know how to build a network, that's a much more involved answer.

An X by Y wall plate is just like any other wall plate in your house, but instead of having 1 or 2 RJ 45 jacks, would have multiple rows of them. A structure wire panel is kinda like a circuit panel for your low voltage stuff (structure wire). If can be a central hub for your Audio Video / Network / Phone systems, or any combination of the three. The advantage of a panel is it puts the wire and some of the equipment behind a wall, giving a cleaner look.

• Here's an example of a panel: http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-47605-140-14-Inch-Structured-Enclosure/dp/B00022749G/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1344121168&sr=8-9&keywords=levitron+panel
  
  
• Inside that panel you would puts rows of these were you would terminate your wires: http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-47606-AHT-Advanced-Telephone-Video/dp/B0007SN5KC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344121168&sr=8-1&keywords=levitron+panel. The one linked has hookups for your Coax (TV), Ethernet, and phone wire. You would build our your own panel based on your needs.

You probably should punch down those ends on a "better" patch panel like this:

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Rackmount-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1466713111&sr=1-3&keywords=patch+panel

It doesn't have to be the exact one, it's just for reference. Keep in mind to keep interference down that can mess with your transfer rates that you will want to keep the amount of wiring that is untwisted to a minimum. Once you are punched down you can get a ton and probe kit, relatively cheap to check that you punched down the wire correctly and that it is terminated correctly on the other end as well, presumably in a keystone jack for a wall. This will also allow you to find which wires go where in your house. Also, you will have to determine which standard for wiring was used, T568A or T568B. You can check this before punching anything down by taking a wall plate out and investigating how the cat5e was terminate at the wall plates.

You can get a cheap line tester like this that will do the job fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Tonor-RJ45-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B00OUFX38W/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1466713437&sr=1-18&keywords=tone+and+probe

I've actually used this exact one at home when I've left my commercial fluke equipment at work. It feels cheap, but it does the job. Good luck, once it's done and done correctly it's very nice to have a wired home with the ability to add wireless access points throughout your home.

There are whole lines of products designed to fit in that cabinet and you can always upgrade it to a larger size (up to 42"). For all of the ehternet lines, use a punch down block like the Leviton 476TM-624 which is made to fit the hole pattern on the back of that cabinet. I can't see the bottom of the cabinet in the picture, but make sure they wired it for power as well since the walls are still open. You'll want the ventilated cabinet door if the builder gives you an option, otherwise is it a simple replacement after the fact.

Any good switch can fit in that cabinet using a universal shelf bracket. If you need to keep everything in the cabinet (once the house is done), you can get a small UPS that fits in there along with firewall and the fiber modem.

The other option I chose was to mount a small (9U) switch depth rack above the cabinet (in my post history there is a picture and equipment list for it). The rack has the ethernet (Cat6) gear and the cabinet has the cable (RG-6) lines along with the cable modem and firewall. It all depends on how much space you have once they are done and how quiet you need that space to be.

http://www.amazon.com/4x4-CROSSPOINT-ROUTING-SWITCHER-SELECTOR/dp/B00N9JH840/ref=pd_sim_23_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41JikD1peYL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0AZPJP7Z83QZ3AHQNVF9

You want this. You dont have to go with this exact one, but its going to be your most reliable matrix switcher you find under $600.

Basically, this would give you 4 inputs and 4 outputs. Your inputs would be, say, chromecast, cable TV, and 2 laptops. Your outputs would be AVR 1, 2 and 3 with each rooms respective display plugged into any HDMI input of your choice on the receiver. Wire the receiver up as you normally would, with the exception of the HDMI sources you would normally plug into your receiver....the matrix switcher handles that now(as previously explained).

Like he said, the easiest remote control(and cheapest) is the harmony remote.

You can put 8x4 matrix switchers(8 inputs, 4 outputs) and beyond, they just get very pricey.

Yeah, I noticed the cost I just quickly searched for rj45 pass through patch panel and grabbed the first one I found, there are a few that are cheaper I found after looking again, but I think personally I would either just plug them directly into the switch or do like you were thinking of getting a normal punch down patch panel. The only time those would come in handy in my opinion is if you were going to be moving the order of what was connected where in the back. If you're like most, once you have everything connected, your not going to be moving them around a lot around if at all.

Probably more expensive in the long run, but I ended up going with this as you can get colored keystones to help identify what it is, such as a red cat6 keystone Jack for your wan before it goes to the switch, blue keystones for poe IP cameras, and black for your normal wall jacks, this way it's easier if you implement vlans or something or just quick identification

C2G 03858 16-Port Blank Keystone/Multimedia Patch Panel, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002GWPTG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0Hv1CbA5QZ61J

Last time I checked, Ubiquiti uses a different voltage for PoE so I had to use their included injectors. Made for a messy wiring setup but is fine otherwise. I never ended up using the PoE ports on the switch. You're also going to want to get a patch panel and a punch down tool. That way your home wiring goes to a patch panel (which you should test and label each port when you wire them- trust me), and then you use super short cables to go from the switch to the patch panel. This is much cleaner long term. Also, get a wall mount rack. Black looks cooler, but is much harder to see into:

Rack:
https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Enclosure-Switch-Depth-SRW6UW/dp/B00DROZC04/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1491773209&sr=8-20&keywords=wall+mount+rack

Patch Panel:
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Connectors-Color-Coded-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491773263&sr=8-3&keywords=patch+panel

So you're saying I add something like this to the panel:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003SSX1Q6/ref=twister_B00TS85WWQ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

And then the daisy chained outlets with two cables (I believe the one in my pictures is an example of that), I terminate with 2 RJ-45s, and can plug it into itself if I don't want to use that outlet, but would prefer to use an outlet further down the line? If I do want to use the outlet, I need a switch at the outlet? What does that look like? Thanks for your help.

Well maybe. Home Depot is hit or miss with network equipment. I've spent a lot of time there lately bc I'm building a house. Amazon has some good pricing on network equipment and I've found some good deals on monoprice as well. You want to buy either a patch panel like this...

Monoprice 107253 110 Type 24-Port Cat6 Patch Panel (568A/B Compatible) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0069MHLCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_K0EAybZ5ST5AT

OR...

Just go straight for a switch and there are many good brands. I use netgear and ubiquiti for switch equipment. Netgear is more reasonably priced for solid equipment. I bought this one.

NETGEAR GS724T v3 ProSAFE 24-port Gigabit Smart Switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I5W5EGA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u2EAybMVP0SPZ

I have a two story house with lots of ports. You may need a switch half that size.

I think you asked about line out...it depends on the device but typically that is a connection to send information from the device to another. If you give me more info I'll try and answer better

Stereo

So that's my current setup underneath the stairs. It's not pretty, but it works and I'd like to clean it up. I'm getting a new receiver and speakers, which means even more wires and it'll just be worse.

I have a ps4, shieldTV, harmony and TV box as well on that rack. On the other side of the wall to the left is the TV etc.

So on the left 2x6s I'd like to mount a patch panel inside them. The above linked one from amazon might work.

​

Or maybe above the rack I could install these 2:

panel

wall bracket

They may be using an rj45 keystone but that is most definitely not cat5 or cat6 (Ethernet) cable. First off Ethernet cable has 4 pairs... So 8 copper wires(orange white, orange, green white, blue, blue white, green,brown white, brown jacket colors). From what I see there's only 4 single cables present here...

I've not got a damn clue what this is... Some electrician may have tried to save a few bucks and used cable they already had for something...

What's more perplexing is that they terminated it in that block. I'm truly at a loss and I've done networking for quite some time....

Edit: theoretically you can use that cable and get 10/100 mbps out of it. But since you're missing half the pairs your not going to get gbps. It is wired into the keystone to support 100mbps if I'm reading it right...

Edit 2: in that configuration you'll never get them to talk, the only option i know of that may get you a result is clipping those terminators of, punching the wires into a patch panel like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003SSX1Q6 , then hooking the patchpanel up to a switch. Based on your picture light blue is orange-white, people is orange, white is blue-white and blue is blue.

Edit 3: i think the other guy is right.

You need to get some sort of patch panel. You can either go for a modular patch panel and terminate both your Cat6 and RG-6 onto it using removable keystone jacks. Something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Panduit-NKPP24FMY-Category-6-24-Port-Modular/dp/B00AJMTLLS/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474478784&sr=1-2&keywords=modular+patch+panel

or you can terminate your RG-6 straight into a coax splitter and just do the patch panel for your Cat6 with something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Rackmount-Wallmount-48-Port/dp/B0072K1P8C/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474478737&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=patch+panel&psc=1

I personally prefer the modular patch panel for the home, then run a RG-6 patch cord from the patch panel to the splitter. This keeps every cable run as point to point and makes it easier to do something else with some RG-6 (ie have one set of RG6 for cable TV, one set for over the air HD, and then some point to points for security cameras, etc)). For the cat6, you would then have a ethernet switch in your media panel (or right under/above it) that you would run a patch cord from the patch panel to the switch.

They used Cat5 because it's about the same price as Cat3, but you can reuse it for Ethernet which is a major advantage.

Any reputable brand of panel should do and yes you will need a switch if you want all ports to work.

Something like this would work : TrendNET patch panel

My original plan was to build a small Ryzen server to run some VMs on. That plan eventually turned into looking at small racks and deciding I want to run ethernet throughout the house, so naturally I need it all to come together at one location. I bought a 6u rack (can technically hold 8u), a pdu, a tplink patch panel, and I got a free switch poe from Aerohive that I plan on using to power some security cameras. I found a 3u short rack mount computer case that can be mounted "backwards", which helps with air flow in these short racks and allows easy access to all of the io ports.

My Ryzen idea turned into a Theadripper build because of some crazy deals I got, and ended up being its own stand alone build. So I still don't really have a machine setup in the 3u case. I have a Dell board installed with an i7, but the psu has some weird proprietary connectors and the cables are too short for where the psu mounts, so I'll just look into replacing the board and psu at some point in the near future. I then plan on running proxmox and having this run part of a test lab, and maybe eventually act as a router.

I really, really like the pdu, but it's way over kill for this thing, so I'll probably just replace it with a nice surge protector, which will plug into an external battery backup.

I installed two exhaust fans into the top of the rack which run directly off the pdu. I could mount the patch panel 1u higher but the cables running into it would clash with the extra long screws the fans came with, so I will probably Dremel those screws in half when I get time.

The rack itself isn't bad. I had to get the first one replaced because it got destroyed during shipping. Other than having to tighten a few screws on the second one, works very well and came in great shape. I like this rack because it can be mounted on a wall or you can mount wheels to the bottom, which is comes with, and it looks nice while not weighing a million pounds.

Parts I'm using so far:

• Rack: V7 RMWC6U-1N
  
• Patch panel: TRENDnet 24-Port Cat5/5e Patch Panel
  
• PDU: CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector
  
• Fans: AC Infinity Axial 1225
  
• 3U case: PLINKUSA RACKBUY 3U
  

They are probably different colors so the installer knew which speaker went to which room. A piece of tape on the cables in the garage does about the same thing but I digress. Looks like 4 rooms worth of speakers? 4 separate bundles of cables? Looks like 8 total speakers, or at least 4 stereo speakers (meaning the left and right both go to 1 speaker).

Make sure you don't hook up all 8 to 1 source without something in the middle. I don't know the math, but each set of speakers changes the resistance causing problems with the amp. Use one of these to hook all the speakers up, then hook up a receiver.

https://www.amazon.com/Niles-VCS-HUB8-Control-Distribution/dp/B00092LNWI

If you want to control each room separately, you'd need to wire in volume controls for each set somewhere, but that's going to be more work.

https://www.amazon.com/Wall-Mount-Control-Knob-Wall/dp/B000V52CP0?ref_=ws_cp_c41569dcdeb0866f82ca_p_3_i_p

• Buy on of these: 8-port Cat 5e Patch Panel
  
• One of these: Economy punch tool
  
• One of these: Trendnet economy gigabit switch
  
• And a few of these: Cheap patch cables
  
  Pull the cable free from each of those grey blocks. Punch each cable down on your new Patch Panel with the tool. This video will help you. Set your 8 port Switch inside that box. Run one of the Patch Cables you purchased to each port on the Switch to each port on the Patch Panel that you punched cable down on. Connect your switch to your cable modem, dsl modem... whatever you use for internet. Power on the Switch. You should be good to go for under $100 and no more than an hours work.
  
  If you want, message me and I will help you with the install.

Search for either Monoprice or Cable Matters patch panels on Amazon. Assuming you are in the US, a 24 port patch panel is only $30.

I personally have two of those Monoprice ones, and they work great.

For the switch, I would say either the EdgeSwitch or Unifi switch from Ubiquiti. The former is if you want to tinker, or the latter for the "single pane of glass" management interface with the AP's. I myself would prefer the ES.

Both of those will have you well under $300 USD. ;)

I was thinking something like this.

You could mount it with the jacks facing the network switch, or even right on top of the network switch if the box is deep enough. All of your ethernet would patch right into that instead of the punch downs that you have there.

You would have to relocate the coax in your picture, but it would give you some nice straight lines.

I mean ICC makes keystone blank panels that sound like they would fit the bill? I guess I’m having trouble perfectly visualizing what you’re looking for.

How’s this?

https://www.amazon.com/ICC-Patch-Panel-Vertical-HD12-Port/dp/B00HEOO8DA

Lol I hate to break it to you but that is worth close to nothing, 10 bucks new on amazon http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-Go-03859-Multimedia/dp/B00006MJFB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464457737&sr=8-1&keywords=2u+24+port+patch+panel free if you look hard enough

More than likely this is the case. The Blue is terminated and connected to what looks like RJ11 copper wires (phone). The Grey is attached to some sort of switch/router (ethernet). And the box looks like a Leviton box for which Leviton has a ton of accessories (Switches, Routers, Mounting hardware, patch panels).

Leviton Gigabit Switch - https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-47611-8GB-8-Port-Gigabit-Switch/dp/B00L3CEXU2
Leviton Patch Panel - https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-476TM-524-Twist-Mount-Patch/dp/B003O84ZW4/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1482957791&sr=1-2&keywords=leviton+patch+panel
Leviton RG6 Splitter - https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-47690-6C2-Passive-Video-Splitter/dp/B002VJKAVM/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1482958294&sr=1-2&keywords=leviton+splitter

Do not get their routers or access points. Get your own router (e.g. Unifi EdgeRouter X) and mount it in there and get a POE injector or two (if your router doesn't do POE) and mount it in there as well and then connect it to your Access Point (e.g. Unifi AP) at one of the Cat5E keystone jacks.

And while you're at it, I'd take the time and replace all the keystone jacks with Cat5e or Cat6 keystones.

Now is nearly to late to make this decisions. - Or better said some fundametal decisions hae already been made...


Your ethernet Ports will likely terminate in some kind of network cabinet.


if you are lucky they already installed a Patchpannel for you - If not that would be the first task.
Count the ports in the rooms - that is how many ports you will have there

You Need additionally a switch with the same number of ports there - better have some spare to put additional Hardware like a NAS there.

​

This is also where the router is placed. Please get a deacent router and not a cheap consumer grade...

​

WiFi will be distributed via Acces Points AP - either on the ceiling (better option) if not available (because someone did't put the neccesary cables there) some in wall APs

​

Here is a List of some hardware - please nothe they are purely guesswork because you did't speccify what is there and has been installed:

I quessed not to big an install with nothing installed but also no ceiling mounted ports for APs...

​

24 Port Patchpannel 28$
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Connectors-Color-Coded-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=patch+panel&qid=1558956172&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Network Rack 6U 98$

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Connectors-Color-Coded-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=patch+panel&qid=1558956172&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Switch 24 Port PoE 399$

https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifiswitch-24-250w

Router/firewall (no modem) 344$

https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-security-gateway-pro

3x inn wall AP - Relpacing a network port 3x199$

https://store.ui.com/collections/wireless/products/unifi-ac-in-wall-pro-wi-fi-access-point

I use this one, but wish I would have gotten a keystone model instead. Otherwise nothing wrong with the TRENDnet.

Wiring looks fine to me, and yeah you have the right idea.

If that 19" patch panel is too big, you can get a smaller one that accepts keystone jacks: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009AMTW8

Fill it up with these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003L171FW/

You could get one of these. There are taller ones as well.

I see on Amazon it says your panel works on the wall or in a rack but on the TRENDnet site it gives no indication they make equipment suitable for wall mounting.

If you are not familiar with standard practice, it is customary to mount a sheet of plywood to your wall to provide suitable grip for whatever you wish to mount without having to worry about where the studs are. It does not have to be a full 4x8 sheet unless you have some monster telecom/data needs.

Alternatively, there are 2 post racks (freestanding) for mounting telecom gear (as they are much ligter than servers) or 4-posters for servers, switches and other data handling equipment. There are also multiple-U "boxes" (racks) and brackets (like the one I linked) for mounting a relatively small amount of data handling gear on a wall.

I mean, this could be over a 1k build...but here's what I recommend:

48 Port Poe Switch:
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi-Switch-Managed-US-48-500W/dp/B00OJZVBXC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536874342&sr=8-3&keywords=ubiquiti+48+port+poe+switch

Cloud Key + Access Point + Firewall:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Cloud-Key-Control/dp/B07C87SQ9W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536874985&sr=8-2&keywords=UBIQUITI%2BCLOUD%2BKEY&th=1

You WILL want a Patch Panel!

Keystone patch panel:

https://www.amazon.com/2U-High-Density-Blank-Patch-Panel/dp/B00FNSTBYU

Cat6 rated keystones:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-50-Pack-Keystone-Punch-Down/dp/B00LPK5W66

Wall mount rack:
https://www.amazon.com/Navepoint-Wallmount-Cabinet-Enclosure-16-Inches/dp/B00JZVUBFE

$1,329.93 total cost for above gear, you'll also need short patch cables.

If you plan to do wireless access points you can use a poe switch to power them. With a managed switch rebooting the access point is as easy as turning the port on and off from the switch management. Always run 2 cables at least to each location. You will always find more things to plug in.

You will need a punch down tool for the keystones. Also to make it correct you should have a patch panel at the switch location to terminate the cables. punch down tool
Patch Panel
Patch Panel mounting bracket

What you want to use is keystone jacks, where you terminate the cable and it leaves a female connector.

See https://www.cableorganizer.com/learning-center/how-to/how-to-wire-keystone-jack.htm

If you want to do it really right, you'll also put a patch panel in your attic; see https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Rackmount-TC-P08C5E/dp/B003SSX1Q6

This will leave the cabling "in place" and allow you to connect and utilize any end point equipment or switches you want.

No you can get any brand you'd like, as long as you follow the same wiring scheme of B (T568B to be exact) it will all work. You can get something like this that lets you connect a standard keystone jack into the panel.

The ones I linked are examples, you can get whatever you like and home improvement stores will have everything you need to connect them.

This video shows how to punch down the wires. The person in the video has all the specialized tools to do the job, but you can fake it with a pair of wire cutters, and the little plastic punch they include with the jacks. Be sure to trim the long gangly ends sicking out on the left and right sides of the jack once you punch them down and that any exposed copper doesn't touch.

Looks like this. You terminate the wires into this, and then use a male to male patch cable to connect your wiring to your switching.

Seems fine to me. Only thing I would do different would be getting a regular patch panel and terminate the runs to it instead of separate keystone jacks. I think it is a cleaner look than a keystone patch panel.

> Can anyone recommend a high quality.patch panel

Panduit.

https://www.amazon.com/Panduit-DP24688TGY-Category-6-24-Port-Punchdown/dp/B001Q0WD26/

or

https://www.amazon.com/Panduit-NKPP24FMY-Category-6-24-Port-Modular/dp/B00AJMTLLS

Which will require these:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-25-Pack-Keystone-Punch-Down/dp/B00IO3HJGI/

Not OP, but here's one on Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000E887XU

This is my setup, hardwired for audio/video only. You still have to figure out your keyboard/mouse, I like an RF or Bluetooth remote control.

I have a 4x4 HDMI Matrix with 4 inputs and 4 outputs. This allows me to send one of 4 sources (Computer, Xbox, Off Air Tuner, RetroPi) to any of my TVs.

It can also split a single HDMI source, and send it to four TVs at the same time. (If you don't care about multiple sources, the same effect can be achieved with a powered 4-way HDMI splutter). I then use HDMI over Ethernet extenders to bedrooms and office.

I added another TV, so now I have the HDMI matrix feeding an HDMI splitter, which feeds two sets of HDMI extenders. 5 TVs with the same source.

For gaming, I also have a DVI connection straight from PC to my TV, bypassing the HDMI devices to avoid any latency.

I think you could use VLC player to directly watch the stream locally. Giving you a local LAN view of the stream. You would still need a device that displays it all the time so not sure how helpful that would be. We use Pearl encoders for production stuff and they have been really reliable. I know you said you have to stick with the gear you have but if that changes.... Epiphan Pearl Mini All-in-One Video Production System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G4HXPX9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_S5fXDbYTHRBE7

> but I'm more a function over form guy for most things,

Yeah, me too.

> I'd never do something like that for a business

No, it looked like a total hack, I've never seen anything like it... But again, this isn't my area of expertise.

>Terminate the Cat5 cables with a standard RJ45 connectors

I appreciate the advice. My problem is... I used to have RJ45 connectors and one of the special tools to connect them to cat5... Try as I might, I never managed to make them correctly. :( Might sound ridiculous, but I dunno. Just never got the hang of it, got frustrated, and just started buying premade cables.

So... I'm thinking one of those port things might be better, simply because I know I can't F it up. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Rackmount-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3

Use a small patch panel with female to female jacks.

https://www.amazon.com/PatchPanel-Blank-8Port-Vertical-Flush/dp/B0009AMTW8

https://www.amazon.com/Listed-VCE-5-Pack-Keystone-Coupler-Black/dp/B016O9SXCM

Patch Panel

looks to be this one to be exact.
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Connectors-Color-Coded-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1496594086&sr=1-4&keywords=patch+panel

Are you talking about quickport plates? Or just a regular patch panel?

http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Rackmount-TC-P48C5E/dp/B00008AWL4/


http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-16-Port-Keystone-Multimedia/dp/B0002GWPTG/

If you can do $25 shipped I'll take it. For the price you're asking I'd rather just get it off Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Hinged-Bracket-N060-002/dp/B000E891P8

>Couple that with the extra piece of equipment you can sell (48 port Cat5e patch panel is in the neighborhood of 200 bucks)

Or maybe just $53?

Nothing handy (I'm at work). I have an open shelf above a closet in my living room where I installed a 4-gang box with ac, speaker connectors, keystone and a pass-through for the ethernet cables. I installed this tiny patch panel vertically to the left of the gang-box. I color coded keystones from each room to the patch panel, and used the keystones in the gang box for cable, HDMI, IR, subwoofer connection and have my cable box, receiver, cable modem, router, and switch all up there.