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seems a bit more complex / fiddly than wiring a plug.
should I be doing cat 7 / 6 / 5 (with various letters after them?) and what decent tools do I need. a huge amount on amazon with varying reviews of quality.
life is too short to save a few quid on a tool and find out it's crap and doesn't work properly, so looking for stuff that works first time on crimping etc...
Why crimp? Punch down face plates at either end in normal wall/patress boxes then premade patch cables.
I don't know why crimp, I'm looking at stuff on amazon and screwfix, no mention of punch down stuff?
off to Google now...
I have not done this before, zero knowledge, its next weeks job before I fit skirting
Putting plugs on cables is a pain. I'd avoid that if you can. The faceplates can be fitted like a telephone face plate. Like this;
As above, cheap krone/punch down tool - for a few sockets a cheap one will be fine.
Cat 5, avoid CCA (Copper Clad Aluminium)
Punch into face plates and use premade patch cables
This thread has reminded me I really need to do the same. The current cat5 between fttp modem and primary mesh router is not up to the job somewhere along the line and we loose 1/4 of the available speed.
To this properly you will need:
Suitable cable. For horizontal cable runs you should be using solid-core cable (stranded is for patch cables). You don't need any bigger numbers that CAT5e. If it's in spec then it's in spec, (IMHO) it doesn't matter if it's made from reconstituted Laughing Cow cheese triangles unless you have additional concerns such as running in a plenum (suspended ceiling space) or outdoors.
A socket for each end. This is a wall box exactly like you'd use to install a plug socket; a punch-down (aka "Krone") block as mentioned earlier; and a faceplate to mount the module in the back box. For the difference in cost and extra hassle I'd run two side-by-side, you can get a faceplate which will fit two modules into a single-width socket.
A punch-down tool as mentioned above. You can bodge the fitting with a small screwdriver but for the price of the correct tool it's not worth it.
Optional but handy for a neater job, a coaxial cable stripper.
Optional but worth its weight in printer ink, a cable tester to fault-find / verify it all works.
YouTube instructional videos. 😁
Avoid anything that requires you to crimp patch cables. It's a magnitude of difficulty higher than punchdown fitting and you shouldn't need to do it.
Err cat 5e not cat 5, as said avoid cca cables, run two lines to the office (redundancy & resilience), either punch down or toolless keystone jacks & associated face plates.
You're the second person to say that now. What's wrong with CCA?
I think I'm going to disagree on this point unless you know something I don't (which is entirely plausible, I'm not a network engineer). I don't believe it matters.
It’s a fire risk when used with Poe, it’s not compliment with ieee standards.
heres how to install the toolless keystone jacks
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oEkpaDQrrWI
it’s not compliment with ieee standards.
Then it's not CAT5e and shouldn't be sold as such. No? Or is it not that simple?
Then it’s not CAT5e and shouldn’t be sold as such. No? Or is it not that simple?
Your right it shouldn't be sold as CAT5e
but it is
eBay and amazon are full of junk like this that will show up if your searching for cheap CAT5E
It’s a fire risk when used with Poe, it’s not compliment with ieee standards.
Its also more prone to faults/line errors/FECs/CRCs etc
Copper is nice and bendy
aluminium as we all know from bike frames frames doesn't like being bent back and has a tendency to snap/crack.
Ive had freshly installed sub 10m CCA links that couldn't run at more than 100mb with out erroring
CCA/Aluminium cabling is why the national telecoms provider is moving to fibre connections. There are a lot of manky rural lines that struggle to hold 1Mbs download speed.
eBay and amazon are full of junk
Well, yes... 😁
as above, why are you looking for networking infrastructure off eBay/Amazon marketplace 😂
where should you buy from then? you are talking from a position of knowing something about this topic to someone who has bugger all......assume screwfix don't see tat?
yeah Screwfix is OK, online I've used BroadbandBuyer & Kenable, both been v good.
For cable, sockets, patch panels & leads & the like I’ve always found Kenable to be helpful, good quality & reasonably priced.
screwfix has also been fine for small orders, needed asap.
Are there any downsides to the tool free keystones @captmorgan has posted above?
We need a STW share tool shed for things like this.
Used to have one of these, was amazing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234896077513? SO good for people that can't crimp properly or use cheap cable. Will automatically scan the cable, tell you where the break is, or what part of the crimp you have messed up.
@captmorgan Being fiddly, causing flaky connections/PoE issues? Otherwise look a lot easier than ones needing punchdown tools.
Used to have one of these, was amazing:
I have one of these - doesn't tell you where the break is but does tell you which part of a crimp is not working. I paid £6!!
@ratherbeintobago As ever it depends on the wobbly fleshy thing making the connection more than the connector type.
If you were doing 100’s of drops day in day out I’d likely go with a good old style crimp tool & or punch downs.
20 or so domestically with some other cable types thrown in toolless all day long & twice on Sundays.