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| Home >> Cases & Fans >> Resources - Cases >> BYO: Build Your Own >> How to Build a Home Network? >> |
Part III. Network CablingCustomer Reviews: " Gives a fairly good overview of the process of crimping with good illustrations. " Click here for more reviews.How to build a Home Network? By Jerry Saeva Now that you have chosen a network configuration and generally know where your computers and cable/DSL modem will be located, you can run the network cables. This section describes what cable to use and how to add connectors to the cables. NOTE: if you are using a phone line or wireless configuration, you can skip this section. What type of cable to use? To connect your computers to the network (i.e., another computer, a hub or a router), you need to use the correct type of cable with the proper connectors. The most common network cable used today, that will support up to 100 Mbit connections, is 8-wire "category 5" cable. This cable is abundantly available in electronics stores, computers stores, home improvement stores and even on-line.  As with any type of wire, the price per foot decreases as you purchase more. For example, here at Directron, 100' is $29 (29 cents/foot) while 1000' is $59 (5.9 cents/foot). It is most advantageous to buy all your cable at once and in bulk to get the best price. Some cable can be purchased with connectors at both ends, while "bulk" cable does not contain any connectors. Having the connectors on the cable is convenient because you do not have to put them on yourself, but they can become a problem (possibly breaking off) when you are running the cable through walls or in your cellar or attic. Furthermore, it will be more difficult to get a volume discount price. The recommendation is to buy all your cable in bulk and apply the connectors yourself. Of course, your situation may vary and it may be more economical to by the cable with connectors. This manual will discuss how to put on the proper connectors. How Much cable do you need? Ironically, the best time to run network cable in your house is when you are building it. Before the wallboard is applied you have great flexibility as to how the cable is run, using the minimum amount necessary to get between rooms. If you are building a home, it is strongly recommended to get a large bulk amount of cable (e.g., 1000 foot bulk box) and run a line from every room in the house (probably skipping the bathrooms) to a central location. In this central location, you can connect any or all the rooms to the router or hub giving your whole house network access. You can even tell your friends you have a "network closet" in your house! Assuming you do not have this "luxury" you have to estimate your cable length based on which rooms in the house require network access. There really isn’t any good "formula" to use, but keep these things in mind when you are estimating:
Adding connectors Almost all modern NICs, hubs and routers use a type of connector called "RJ45" This is an 8-pin plastic connector that looks like a large version of a telephone connector. To put these connectors on the cable, you will have purchase or borrow an RJ45 crimping tool. The tool is necessary because it not only clamps the connector onto the cable, but also pushes the teeth of the connector into the individual wires of the cable. Do NOT attempt to apply these connectors without the proper crimping tool.  Although the task of installing the connectors on the cable looks complicated, it is quite simple. Here are the steps to install and crimp the connector. Step 1: Stripping the cable. The crimping tool has cable stripping blades and a "stop" on one side. Insert the cable so the end hits the stop and gently close the clamp to cut the outer insulation. Gently pull the cable from the crimper. Warning: if you apply too much pressure when closing the blades together, you may cut into one of the individual wires. If this happens, cut the stripped part of the cable off and try again.  Step 2: Choosing the correct Pin-out. Most cat-5 cable contains 4 sets of "twisted pairs" of wires. Each pair is a combination of a solid color and a "striped" color (white with a stripe the same color as the solid wire). The colors are orange/orange-white, green/green-white, blue/blue-white and brown/brown-white. The "pin-out" refers to the order of these wires at both ends of the cable. This order depends on which type of cable you are attempting to create, either "straight-through" (for computer-to-hub connection) or "cross-over" (for computer-to-computer connection).  When creating a "straight-through" cable, the order of the wires must be the same on both ends of the cable. Although the colors used in each position is not truly critical, the standard order used is like the picture to the left (note that the clip of the RJ45 connector is on the bottom):  Step 3: Inserting the cable into the connector. Once you have moved the individual wires so they are in the correct order (matching the proper pin-out chosen in the previous step), carefully insert the cable into the RJ45 connector. The individual wires should slide into grooves inside the connector. Since the connector is clear, you should be able to confirm the wires are still in the same order. It should look like the picture below.  Step 4: Crimping the connector. : Insert the RJ45 connector into the crimping tool with the connector’s clip fitting into the guide built into the crimper. The gold teeth of the connector should be facing the teeth on the crimper. Make sure the connector is pushed all the way into the crimper until it cannot go any farther. This ensures the teeth of the crimper are properly aligned with the teeth of the connector. Close the handles of the crimper firmly together. Test the connection by gently tugging on the cable to ensure it does not come out of the connector.  Using other types of jacks If you want your cable to terminate into a wall jack or flush mount receptacle, there are many jacks and receptacles available to help make your home network look more "professional" For example, you may have a laptop with its own network card/cable that terminates with its own RJ45 connector. In this case, it is easier to place an RJ45 jack on the wall instead of terminating the cable with an RJ45 and using a "coupler" There are two items of interest. One is a single wall jack that is self-contained in its own small case. The case can be screwed to the wall or secured with double-sided tape. See photo for an example of this. Another option is the use of "keystone" jacks and wall plates. If you have an existing outlet box or are running wire prior to the wallboard being installed, you can use this system. This system allows you to put multiple jacks in the same outlet box.  Both of these types of jacks come with a set of slots where the each wire of the cable is placed, then a clip (or sometimes two clips) are placed over the wires and when pressed in, forces the wires into clips that also cut into the insulation to make the contact. This eliminates the need to strip each individual wire.  NEXT: | Part IV: Installing and Configuring the Hardware | Part V: Configuring the Software |  BACK: | Part I. Introduction | Part II. Choosing a Network Setup |
OTHERS: | Go to Top | Directron Home | Other System Manuals | Informative and Useful - Apr 7, 2005 Reviewer: --- Gives a fairly good overview of the process of crimping with good illustrations Pleased with the information - Dec 18, 2003 Reviewer: Wayne De Groot This review has confirmed my decision to wire my house. I have two children and all three of us are online enough at the same time and with this information I can get rid of the bulky cables now runing through the house. Thanks for the help. Wayne Network Cabling - Apr 4, 2003 Reviewer: Jeff Excellent with great picture and details. |
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