[mushoss]

I am planning on wiring my home for ethernet to each room with cat 6. The living room presently has 3 devices that require ethernet and may require more in the future. Another room now requires 2 connection and possibly more in the future. I am presently serving the existing devices with powerline adaptors and wireless. I want to future proof this as much as possible. So I am asking for recommendations. My router is a motorola sbg6580 cable modem/router combo, it has 4 ethernet ports. I realize I will need a switch somewhere in the setup. My question is; do I run one cable to each room and use like a 4 or 5 port switch in each room to connect devices.
Or do I run multible cables to each room and use one 12 port or larger switch at the modem.

[joelbaby]

Because of the extent of the cabling, you should hire someone to do it for you.
They will install a central switch, plus put the ports in the wall in each room, plus run the wires invisibly around your house.
Not all Gigabit switches are the same, because some have a better 'backplane' which essentially means faster data transfer.
No need for a switch in each room.
Also it will be harder for a novice to make leads out of bulk cat6 cable than cat 5e.

[mushoss]

Because of the extent of the cabling, you should hire someone to do it for you.
They will install a central switch, plus put the ports in the wall in each room, plus run the wires invisibly around your house.
Not all Gigabit switches are the same, because some have a better 'backplane' which essentially means faster data transfer.
No need for a switch in each room.
Also it will be harder for a novice to make leads out of bulk cat6 cable than cat 5e.

Thanks for the reply Joelbaby, I agree with the novice category !!! However I am an electrician by trade an I know how to route cabling concealed and down walls to outlet jacks. The part about attaching the connectors on the end of the cat 6, I figure I can learn. I have the necessary tool for this. I would appreciate a link to a central switch you would recommend, that is where I have no clue.

[prae5]

Don't bother with cat6, run cat5e - its easier to pull and terminate - really is no point for home use. Terminating and punching down is straight forward - shouldn't take you long to pickup.

Ideally run multiple cables to each room and terminate at wall plates. Terminate at the other end on a patch panel. Then patch from patch panel to a switch - you can pick up a reasonable 12/24 port switch for not too much money.

[hick]

You will want to have a cat5e/6 run to each device (cat6 is unneeded), I would just pull 1 more than needed and and if push comes to shove you could add a 4 port switch in the field when/if needed.
Terminating ends is just as easy and wiring an outlet, you should have 0 issues. http://www.swhowto.com/CAT5_Ch1.htm
Being an electrician you will probably come by a demo that they are tossing out their old patch panels, have co-workers look out for some to keep the cable neat at the head end.
For home use just about any switch will do great (make sure its gigabit) personally I stick to name brands but you I doubt I would notice the difference.

[joelbaby]

However I am an electrician by trade an I know how to route cabling concealed and down walls to outlet jacks

Good. An important tip is: don't run long lengths of data cable alongside electric cable.
There's nothing wrong with them being next to each other in some areas, or crossing over each other perpendicular, but avoid long parallel runs.
You don't want the e.m. fields interacting, or your data won't work.

If you want to make it look a bit more Pro, then you get a patch panel at your central point. All the leads from around the house go into the back of that.
Then a short lead runs from the front of the patch panel to the switch (put the switch under or above the patch panel) in a rackmount.
Now you can plug and unplug different ports around your house via the patch panel.
You could even have some leads going from the patch panel to the telephone system instead of the switch.

Oh, and you'll need a crimp tool, and some patience. The terminations can be easy to get wrong. Buy a normal lead, and use it as a reference. Test out each lead you make, because each wire needs to be pushed in just right.

[trent33]

As an alternative to cabling, consider a 5Ghz wireless net. I've been doing this for years in various homes I've lived in and I'm able to get consistent throughput that I couldn't get on a 2.4ghz net. Not sure what your throughput requirements are, but I have no problems streaming large MKVs, sharing files, etc.

If I were to start from scratch today, I'd get a few dual-band 802.11ac routers that supported DD-WRT, and set it up that way. Then you just need one router (acing as a wireless client) at each location where you need network access, assuming your client devices don't have wifi.

The only time I've run cable in the past 5 years was to install a HDMI over ethernet connection to get my TV over the fireplace, and I used cat6 STP.

[mushoss]

Thanks for all the great responses. I can now feel confident in the project.