Wired Network, patch panel/switch/router/N1 wireless router/cat 6 cable

Good drawing Quori - what tool did you use to generate it, if you don't mind me asking?

Matt

lol thanks - is ugly as sin, but is too darn early to make things look pretty.

I used Microsoft Visio.

I thought so, I really must get a copy from somewhere!

I use it for all my diagrams - AD designs, network infrastructure designs, structured cabling designs, routing dataflow designs, file system designs.

From each port of 4port router, I would run cable to 4 location closer to the  "PCdevices cloud", where is 4-16 port switches would be located, dont really see use of patch panel.
It i s cheap and efficent as it can be. One simple rule- not to exist 3 switches in a row, and use them in "star topology", where is the router is "backbone" switch.

The whole point of utilising a patch panel is to keep cables tidy running back from wall sockets. It is the standard setup in every properly wired network - if a patch panel is not used, you have to do long cable drops and then crimp a connector to each end. By making use of a patch panel, the cabling is neat, tidy and a LOT more organised than the configuration without. Plus, it would appear the author has already wired the wallplates back to the patch panel anyway.

Another problem is that making use of a star topology on the switch connections is OK if you have expensive smart/managed switches, which can shut off any loops. For the cheaper end of the switches which would be perfect for a SOHO situation, these are unmanaged and cannot detect the loop, thus pulling the whole network down.

-tigermatt

$30 switches connected to each port on 4port router, it can be achieve right at panel location.
There no loop will be present , as long all cable is "home run".
In this case patch panel replaced by 4 cheapo switches, having placed them physically instead of patch panel.
For the furthest room (above 150 feet), better move switch closer to this room, and have benefit of having only one cable run, to that location.

dkarpekin,
Adding more switches, and physical connections, rather than a patch panel, adds more points of failure and makes troubleshooting more complex.

The diagram provided is the best solution.  One large gigabit ethernet switch is the "core" switch for all equipment.  It has the greatest amount of switched bandwidth available.  If you need 8 ports, buy 16.  If you need 16, buy 24.  One switch is generally better than two in a small office or home environment.

Making the internet router the core is inadvisable.  It has less switch bandwidth available, and is usually the cheapest and least reliable component in a network.  As the center of a switched network, you are increasing workload on its tiny CPU, overloading its switch fabric with Gigabit-speed traffic, and introducing larger amounts of latency to hop between multiple switches.

A patch panel can be installed, punched down, tested, then left alone for twenty years.  If proper cable support and strain relief is provided, you will not have to question the physical connection between wall jack and patch panel.  If you crimp down plugs and send them straight into a switch, you've got strain relief and cable movement to worry about.  Solid wire is meant for infrastructure, not for patching into network equipment.

Stranded wire patch cables should be used to patch from wall jack to computer, and from panel to switch.  They are flexible and have strain relief boots to avoid stress on physical connection.

Patch panel is good for production, due flexability and constant updates.
Here it is just a "fifth wheel" .
Other than that, all combination, makes not much diffrents.

Patch panels are stable infrastructure.  Patch panels, grounded equipment enclosure, keystone jacks, line filtering UPS units...all are borrowed from commercial installations, and have valid use in a residential or mixed-use structure.

agree...........
very usefull tools, when u need to come up with "pricee" proposal/estimate.

Thanks tigermatt some good info there and thanks Quori I am pretty sure that i am going to set up in the way shown in your drawing. Before i close this question and award points are there any more comments regarding:


1) Netgear ProSafe GS116 16-port Gigabit Switch vs anything else
2) Belkin network card vs Netgear
3) Panasonic BL-C1 vs Axis

4) will the Belkin N1 Wireless Router be good enough for this network as it was bought mainly for its wireless capabilities.

Thanks everyone that's commented so far its been interesting.

oh and the patch panel is already set up so it would be pointless not having it there, thanks anyway dkarpekin for the alternative methods.

1) Netgear ProSafe GS116 16-port Gigabit Switch vs anything else
2) Belkin network card vs Netgear
3) Panasonic BL-C1 vs Axis

I would highly recommend the Netgear switch for the switch, although if you can see all 16 ports being maxed out, you may want to upgrade it to a 24 port switch. Netgear are a good brand and that switch has a fast switching backbone, although bear in mind it is not a smart or managed switch - these you would usually only find in businesses, because they do come at a price. For a home network, management capabilities on a switch probably aren't necessary.

For part 2, either brand is going to do. I've not had good/bad experiences one way or the other. If I were doing it, I might go for the Netgear cards just to keep everything the same brand, but they are all based on standardised protocols so any manufacturer's cards should work.

For part 3, the part I particularly like about Axis IP cameras is that you can monitor them using desktop software, and they are easily expandable. You could easily add up to 25 cameras to the monitoring software if you wanted to, and they do proper CCTV systems - i.e. cameras in domes etc. - if you ever needed it. If this is just to go at home, then I'd probably go for the cheaper Panasonic camera option.

-tigermatt