Does having multiple RJ45 jacks degrade the Internet signal a lot?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:58 -0800, miso wrote:
> I'm a bit confused here. It should be one device per line, so what are
> you paralleling?

I think I'm confused too so that's why it's hard to help me.

Mainly I was worried whether I should BREAK the line at the entrance to
the house (and put the POE there) or if I should keep the cat5 line
continuous to the middle of the house (another 25 feet snaked about).

I was worried whether the break adds appreciable degradation?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:10:20 -0500, Justin Time wrote:
> Centralize a wireless router and forego wiring the house.

That's essentially what I'm attempting.

I'll wire from the WISP antenna to the house (~ about 75') and then from
the house to the center of the house (~ another 25') where I'll put a
Linksys WRT54G wireless router.

I was mostly wondering if it was a good idea to BREAK the line at the
point where it entered the house (and put a jack there plus the POE power
supply) ... or ... if I should strive to keep the line intact up to the
router in the center of the house.

On Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:19:16 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:29:24 -0800, Oren <Oren@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>>Using a ring topology means more troubleshooting.

> Cannot run ring topology ethernet except on Co-ax.. AKA Slo-ax

Well, not exactly:

Methods of using Ethernet in a ring topology
<http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/43116>
There's also RRPP (Rapid Ring Protection Protocol), RRST (Rapid Ring
Spanning Tree), and others designed to facilitate ethernet rings.
However, they are all intended for metro LAN's and large server farms,
not for home use.

Incidentally, don't under estimate coax cable. I've run 10base2
(10Mbits/sec) for about 1500ft using RG6a/u coax and a pair of
dedicated transceivers. Yes, it's 75 ohms, not 50 ohms. With
10base2, it's called CheaperNet.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:39:30 -0800, mike wrote:
> You can have two sockets and a jumper wire. Remove the jumper to use
> the connector in the middle of the run, but that disconnects the rest of
> your system.

That was what I was wondering.

I 'could' put a socket at the wall where the wire enters the house. I'd
put the 15 volt Ubiquiti POE there (to shorten the length to the WISP
antenna 75 feet outside).

Then, the jumper would go from the POE to the center of the house where
the router sits.

That gives me the option of connecting a router either at the point where
the wire enters the house 'or' in the middle of the house (but not both
at the same time).

I 'am' confused - but I was mostly wondering if it badly degraded the
signal to add that jumper as opposed to stringing the outdoor cat5 cable
all the way to the center of the house unbroken.

> If one of those devices is a router, you can use one router port to
> continue the run while you use another router port to "tap" the signal.

May I reflect on that?

I think you're saying I can put the router itself at the point where the
wire enters the house.

Then, from the four LAN ports of the router, I can continue the 25 feet
to the center of the house.

From another of the four router ports, I can tap off to another portion
of the house.

My question is if I do that - I would want to have permanent jacks in the
wall.

So, I'd go from the antenna to the wall of the house where I'd put a jack.
Then, I'd go to the router INPUT port with a short jumper cable.
Then I'd go from one of the four router OUTPUT LAN ports back to the wall
at another jack next to the first jack.
Plus, I could go from another of the router output LAN ports to a third
jack in the wall, which connects to another portion of the house.

This makes sense to me, and fits my needs.

But are these three jacks next to each other at the wall of the house a
signal degradation issue?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:32:21 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> But a lot depends on what it is he's intending to do, the various uses,
> how easy it is to run cable, etc. For at least some of the uses,
> wireless may be a better option

I was remiss in not stating the intention.


I have a typical home setup (kids, wife, etc.) on computers.

Very little data is between devices (except to the wireless printer).

Some rooms are just too hard to wire - so - I just need to wire the game
room (for the WII) and the office (for the VOIP phone & desktop computer).



I think I like best the option

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:32:51 -0500, clare wrote:
> If you want to split the cable where it enters the building best
> practice would be to install an active switch

Thanks for that idea!
I had not thought of the option of an active switch...

Does this makes sense?
- Start at the WISP antenna Bullet M2 radio (set up as a router) outside
- Wire goes from that radio/router (set to serve as DHCP) to just inside
the house
- Just inside the house, that wire goes to the 15 volt Ubiquiti POE
- From the POE, the wire goes directly to the 'active switch' also just
inside the house
- From that active switch, I presume I can have four (or more) ports
- So, one port goes to the 25 feet to the center of the house to a wall
jack (placed where I drilled the hole in the picture)
- At that wall port, I can put the central WRT54G wireless router for the
house
- I assume I can send another wire out of one of the four ports of the
active switch at the wall of the house to the game room (where the WII
sits).

Would that work?

I think the IP address of the WII would then be different than the IP
addresses of the devices on the other end of the WRT54G router ... so
that's why I ask if this would work?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:12 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> The basic idea is to build a "star" (also known as home run). Everything
> comes to a central location, where you locate a 10/100baseT ethernet
> switch.

I now realize a 'star' topology is what I want (but I didn't know that
until now).

I was initially thinking of using my Linksys WRT54G router as the center
of the star!

That's why I was asking about additional jacks.

I was going to go from the four LAN ports of the WRT54G to the WII in the
game room (via additional wall jacks).

I think now that was a bad idea (right?).

The 'better' idea, as you noted, is to use an 'active ethernet switch' as
the center of the star. Right?

Drawing it on paper, does this make sense of what you suggested?
1. WISP antenna ~75 feet from the house
2. Ubiquiti Bullet M2 radio set up in router mode & DHCP server
3. POE just inside the house (it's an indoor Ubiquiti 15 volt POE unit)
4. Active 10/100 Ethernet switch just inside the house
5a. Out of the switch, one wire goes to the office (25 feet away)
5b. From there it goes to the Linksys WRT54G wireless router
5c. From there, the signal goes to the wireless devices scattered about
6a. Out of the switch, another wire goes to the game room (25 feet away)
6b. From a game room wall jack, a jumper goes to the WII
6c. This will be a different IP address - but that should be OK (right?)

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:12 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> Most WISP system use PoE to the radio/antenna on the roof,
> and ethernet to some manner of power injector.
> From there, you run ethernet to a local router, and then to the
> central ethernet switch. The router might be built into your
> unspecified model WISP radio. Note that I said
> "switch", not "hub". You do not want a hub.

I had to look up hub versus switches versus routers.
- Hub: What goes in one port goes out all the others
- Switch: What goes in one port is 'intelligently' sent to another
- Router: Connects two networks to share the Internet connection

My desired setup is similar to what you've described.

- The 19 dBi planar antenna is outside on a pole pointed at the WISP AP
- (The antenna is not on the roof because I break tiles every time I go
on the roof!)
- Connected to the antenna is an outdoor Ubiquiti Bullet M2 radio
- That outdoor radio is currently configured as a router (not a bridge)
and it is set up to serve DHCP addresses and perform NAT
- From there the outdoor cat5 cable connects to a Ubiquiti 15volt POE
- From the POE, is up to me.

All I need is two wired points inside the house:
- The office (which is in a central location & where I'll put the WRT54G
broadband wireless router)
- The game room (which has a WII that I'd like to connect by wire)

I'd like the 'star' topology previously mentioned.

I'm confused if I need the "active 10/100 Ethernet switch" because I'm
wondering if the Linksys WRT54G is 'already' an active 10/100 Ethernet
switch.

Is it?

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:12 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> Hopefully, you didn't run 75ft of coaxial cable between the radio and
> the antenna. That's much too long. Cable losses at 2.4GHz are quite
> high.

I don't currently have any coaxial cable.

The Ubiquiti Bullet M2 radio is actually screwed directly onto the back
of the antenna at the top of the mast. (Later, I'll add a ten-foot
pigtail coaxial cable to bring the radio to the bottom of the antenna for
ease of maintenance.)

From the radio at the top of the antenna, it's all outdoor cat5 cable
(twisted pair, UV protected, 24 AWG, solid conductor, $75 for 500 feet at
Home Depot).

The only reason the antenna is about 75 feet from the house is that's the
highest point. The roof is clay and I keep breaking the tiles when I go
up there so I vowed to not put anything on the roof itself!

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:12 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> While it's nice to have the outlet box attached to a stud, it's not
> necessary. There are rework PVC device boxes, that attach to the
> drywall.

You're clever.

I had not mentioned it, but, you noticed I went to a lot of trouble to
locate the drill hole next to a stud so that I could attach the cat5 box
to the stud.

I actually drilled DOWN from the wall to the crawl space even though the
picture shows the drill bit coming up (so I could show the drill bit).

> For wall entry, cable entry with a drip loop.
> There are some tricks involved (such as slightly angling the hole
> in the wall upward so accumulated water drips outward).
> Also, leave a service loop for anything that you install in the wall.

I haven't drilled the entrance hole to the house yet - so that's
EXCELLENT ADVICE!

I don't plan on putting anything "in the wall" - but - I might put the
POE and/or the suggested ethernet switch in the crawl space (there is
power cabling all over the crawl space but no actual outlets).