Ethernet cable advice (outdoors)

NotAnotherOrange

I have a new 1gb connection installed in the house where the modem is in the kitchen.

I'm looking to run a cable up to the office upstairs, but I think it would probably be easier going outside of the house and then back in rather than up the stairs.

I could drill out of the kitchen and put the cable on the under side of the wall, then it would need to come up the back wall and in.

What kind of ethernet cable would I need for that? Do I need to cover it over with anything?

Side question - could I then use a ethernet switch in the office to extend the number of ports without affecting speed?

Would it also be possible to run a access point from the switch to increase wireless coverage to upstairs?

theteal

There is external cat5/6 cable, not expensive either. I have a run from ground floor to attic behind a drain pipe. Tacked to the wall but not covered. Terminate both ends properly and you can connect switches, APs whatever. You'll likely need a POE switch to power any APs.

NotAnotherOrange

theteal wrote: »

There is external cat5/6 cable, not expensive either. I have a run from ground floor to attic behind a drain pipe. Tacked to the wall but not covered. Terminate both ends properly and you can connect switches, APs whatever. You'll likely need a POE switch to power any APs.

That sounds complicated (although hopefully isn't).

Do I just search for external cat6 cable, or is there a fancier name?

Anything you'd recommend to tack it?

What does terminate both ends mean and what's a POE switch?

Wanderer78

would home plugs provide you with the necessary bandwidth, or do you need as much bandwidth as possible?

NotAnotherOrange

Wanderer78 wrote: »

would home plugs provide you with the necessary bandwidth, or do you need as much bandwidth as possible?

I'm currently using powerline adapters - Devolo magic 2 wifi.

They get me the max upload I can get (100mb) but they only get around 150mb download, versus the 1gb connection I have.

In reality this is probably fine for what I do (the upload is the most important thing to me), but I'm noticing some devices in particular are having trouble with the wifi signal upstairs. For example I have an Elgato key light that just doesn't connect every time to the modem downstairs. Phone is perfectly fine.

The setup is currently:

- Modem in kitchen
- PC in kitchen powered via magic 2 wifi plug
- magic 2 wifi plug in front room - ethernet to Sky Q and PS4
- Magic 2 triple LAN adapter in office upstairs - PC/PS5/Sky Q mini

Perhaps I should just buy another magic 2 wifi adapter to get the signal upstairs.

But long term I think I'd prefer to have a proper cable to my office to give the max download possible, whilst also using it to provide wifi to upstairs.

theteal

I'll get the link for the cable I bought in a bit, hands full just now.

Terminate just means that the cable has a fixed ethernet port on the end e.g. a wall port that you would plug adjoining ethernet cables into.

A poe (power over ethernet) switch is just like a normal switch that can provide power to devices that can make use of it e.g. APs, cameras etc. Nothing complicated but will be a little more expensive.

EDIT - here's the cable I got

blackbox

theteal wrote: »

There is external cat5/6 cable, not expensive either. I have a run from ground floor to attic behind a drain pipe. Tacked to the wall but not covered. Terminate both ends properly and you can connect switches, APs whatever. You'll likely need a POE switch to power any APs.

If you are prepared to drill a slightly larger hole you can use a pre-terminated cable that makes the job much simpler.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multi-cable-Networking-outdoor-Direct-Ethernet/dp/B00I461X6M/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Outdoor+cat5e&qid=1613553658&sr=8-2

dubrov

SoupBanana wrote: »

Side question - could I then use a ethernet switch in the office to extend the number of ports without affecting speed?

Would it also be possible to run a access point from the switch to increase wireless coverage to upstairs?

On the first question, yes you can. However they will all share the same line. E.g. if the cable is Cat5 and supports 100MB/s, each device connected would share the 100Mbps.

On the second question yes, but be aware most wireless access points run on PoE now so need power over the ethernet cable. A PoE switch could provide this and provide extra ports at the same time.

By the way, wireless speeds are very high now. I have the TP-Link AC1750 Wireless Access and it gives excellent range and I believe supports up to 1300Mbps on 5GHz. I am getting the full 250Mbps wireless supplied by Virgin anyway. If you can run an ethernet cable from the router to some say the hallway roof upstairs, it would solve your network connection issues.

NotAnotherOrange

dubrov wrote: »

On the first question, yes you can. However they will all share the same line. E.g. if the cable is Cat5 and supports 100MB/s, each device connected would share the 100Mbps.

On the second question yes, but be aware most wireless access points run on PoE now so need power over the ethernet cable. A PoE switch could provide this and provide extra ports at the same time.

By the way, wireless speeds are very high now. I have the TP-Link AC1750 Wireless Access and it gives excellent range and I believe supports up to 1300Mbps on 5GHz. I am getting the full 250Mbps wireless supplied by Virgin anyway. If you can run an ethernet cable from the router to some say the hallway roof upstairs, it would solve your network connection issues.

That doesn't seem too expensive, that might be the answer I need then, at least for now.

Eventually I'd like to run an ethernet cable straight up to the office still so my PC and PS5 can get the maximum speed possible.

But for the wireless perhaps I will try that.

So would I just need an ethernet cable directly from the fritzbox 7530 router, plugged directly into the TP-Link AC1750? No other setup needed?

Would any devices stay connected to the network as normal and allow us to move around the house, or would they have to connect directly to the TP link?

seamus

SoupBanana wrote: »

Would any devices stay connected to the network as normal and allow us to move around the house, or would they have to connect directly to the TP link?

You can configure the same WiFi network details (network name & password) for both the TP Link and the Fritzbox, and devices will connect to the strongest signal available as you move around the house.

niallb

seamus wrote: »

You can configure the same WiFi network details (network name & password) for both the TP Link and the Fritzbox...

Make sure you use different channels, perhaps 6 and 11 depending on local interference. Don't leave them on auto or you will get issues in the future.

dubrov

SoupBanana wrote: »

So would I just need an ethernet cable directly from the fritzbox 7530 router, plugged directly into the TP-Link AC1750? No other setup needed?

The setup I have is the router is in the utility. An ethernet cable runs from that to the PoE adapter which is plugged in. Another ethernet cable runs from the PoE output to a small hole in the hallway ceiling upstairs.

I then attach the Wireless access point (WAP) to the ethernet cable and attach it to the ceiling with the bracket. The ethernet cable provides network and power to the WAP. It all looks fairly neat like a ceiling fire alarm.

Both the ceiling bracket and PoE adapter came with the WAP.
If you have many PoE devices (e.g. CCTV cameras), you could replace the PoE adapter with a PoE switch which would also require a plug.

The wireless coverage is much better than the supplied Virgin Hub router but you can run both if needed.

The WAP I referenced supports 5 and 2.4GHz. I have the Virgin 250Mb broadband package and get the full 250 on 5GHz and around 80-90 on 2.4HHz.

Johnboy1951

Some Fritz!Boxes have the capability to create a mesh system when more Fritz!Boxes are present ........ might suit your needs?

So would I just need an ethernet cable directly from the fritzbox 7530 router, plugged directly into the TP-Link AC1750? No other setup needed?

NotAnotherOrange

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Some Fritz!Boxes have the capability to create a mesh system when more Fritz!Boxes are present ........ might suit your needs?

Cheers might be worth looking at.

I've just come across moca adapters as well - supposedly able to carry a 1gb connection via coax.

We actually have coax ports in every main room of the house but I don't really see too many discussions on this forum (might set one up).

Has anyone tried it?

The good thing I guess is nothing is being used over those lines versus the electric lines.

Although they don't seem very easy to get hold of in Ireland, mostly in USA from what I can see.

dubrov

SoupBanana wrote: »

Cheers might be worth looking at.

I've just come across moca adapters as well - supposedly able to carry a 1gb connection via coax.

We actually have coax ports in every main room of the house but I don't really see too many discussions on this forum (might set one up).

Has anyone tried it?

Interesting. I hadn't realised you can run ethernet over coax. The reviews seem to be pretty good too. They may interfere with TV signals running over the same wire but otherwise seem like a decent option.

NotAnotherOrange

dubrov wrote: »

Interesting. I hadn't realised you can run ethernet over coax. The reviews seem to be pretty good too. They may interfere with TV signals running over the same wire but otherwise seem like a decent option.

Yeah. Wasn't expecting them to be quite so (potentially) good

I have Sky so no interference from TV.

Only issue seems to be getting hold of the switches. Plus you need one for every place you want wires of course. Still cheaper to run cables if possible which I'm still looking into!

Johnboy1951

I think for the home ethernet over coax is quite a bit of overkill

https://www.startech.com/en-ie/networking-io/eoc1110k

Triax do a range of products for this

https://www.triax.uk/products/ethernet-over-coax

smuggler.ie

SoupBanana wrote: »

Yeah. Wasn't expecting them to be quite so (potentially) good

Price vs speed
https://sgcdn.startech.com/005329/media/sets/eoc1110x_manual/eoc1110k_r.pdf

Performance
Maximum Data Transfer Rate
Up to 112Mbps @ 2,952 ft (900 m)
Up to 64Mbps @ 1.5 mi (2.4 km)

unless there is really no other options...

NotAnotherOrange

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I think for the home ethernet over coax is quite a bit of overkill

https://www.startech.com/en-ie/networking-io/eoc1110k

Triax do a range of products for this

https://www.triax.uk/products/ethernet-over-coax

Oh wow...

For that price I can probably just get an electrician out!

Given cables are so cheap.

Sierra Oscar

I wired a cat6 cable from one end of my house to the other up and over the roof (outside) to connect a main Sky Q Box to a Sky Q multi-room box due to dodgy wi-fi issues. Cable has been exposed to the elements for 4 years now, no issues yet.

Like you, I was using it as a temporary solution to prevent having to do some messy cabling work indoors. Decided to just leave it as it is considering it works fine.

NotAnotherOrange

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

I wired a cat6 cable from one end of my house to the other up and over the roof (outside) to connect a main Sky Q Box to a Sky Q multi-room box due to dodgy wi-fi issues. Cable has been exposed to the elements for 4 years now, no issues yet.

Yeah, we have a wire from top of roof to back wall then office.

Not sure if it's ethernet but it's connecting the fixed wireless aerial to the modem we had before FTTH was installed so definitely happy with outside cables

Have contacted an electrician to see what the cost is for wiring whole house, but if it's crazy I'll just do the out and back in and only have ethernet in my office.

Johnboy1951

tphase wrote: »

first network I set up was over coax. 10Base-2. Couldn't even spell gigabit in them days

I recall recently seeing a PC card with the BNC (?) connector in my junk drawer, and also a termination connector (I think).

It is amazing the sh1t one does not dispose of ........ hehehehehe

niallb

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

...and also a termination connector (I think). ...

Keep that safe. Absolute pain soldering 50 Ohm resistors directly onto the plugs :-)