When we moved into our last house, we did a fairly extensive renovation and in the process, opened up quite a few walls. I took the opportunity to run quite a bit of internet (Cat 6) and coax cable (RG6). All these cable runs terminated in a small closet under the basement stairs, where the central vac and water heater were located. Once all the cables were run, I wanted to come up with a way to keep everything neat and out of sight, so I decided to install a network panel.
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| Internet and Coax Cables run to Network Closet |
Smarthome sells a selection of panels - I selected a panel 18" x 60", and had it shipped to my house. It had openings in the top for cables to enter, and I ended up cutting holes in the bottom to install some electrical outlets to power all the equipment installed, and ran those outlets from a small UPS. In the photo below, my Wifi router has its antennae installed, I ended up purchasing external antennae which would allow me to place the antennae outside the panel, where signals wouldn't be affected.
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| Laying out the network components in the panel |
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| Installing the network components using zip ties |
Once everything was installed - telephone patch panel, router, switch, and powered coax cable repeater, I then turned my attention to cable management. Velcro ties allow you to bundle your cables easily, and if you make any changes its quick and easy to open the ties and adjust your cables. The small black box in the bottom right of the panel is my ISY-99i Home Automation controller - I put in a 40' Cat 5 cable to connect the ISY-99i to the PLM, which I located right next to my main breaker panel - to try to optimize the signal strength of my Insteon commands throughout the house wiring.
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| Cable management - Velcro Ties |
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