My current home network setup is Plusnet router > NAS + TP Deco Mesh WiFi + Powerline adaptors to 3x upstairs gaming PCs. I have been thinking about adding Ethernet to my house as the powerline adaptors drop out sometimes and looking for any advice. My house is a 1930s 4 bed, so no long runs required, but no cavity walls.

It would be a simple network of Plusnet Router > Cable through wall and up the outisde of the house > Un-managed ethernet switch in loft > NAS in loft + cable dropped into each upstairs room for PCs. I don’t plan on hardwiring the mesh WiFi as they work very well as it is.

My questions are:
Does it matter what cable is used? Cat6 fine?
Any recommendations of RJ45 connectors to use? Are they all similar quality?
I was planning on investing in some KNIPEX 97 51 10 SB pliers for the RJ45 crimping (£30). I’ve always invested in better tools where required, any thoughts? I’ve never crimped a RJ45 before.

Cheers and stay safe 🙂

Does it matter what cable is used? Cat6 fine?

You’d be better off with CAT5e. See my comments here from yesterday.

Then, buy a pre-made cable instead of rolling your own. Crimping Ethernet is fiddly and easy to get wrong, there’s a definite knack to it.

If you must run raw cable, terminate it in wall sockets rather than plugs. Aside from being the proper way to do it, punch-down terminals are considerably easier to terminate than crimping cable.

Shopping list:

You’ll need a tool for stripping the outer cable insulation and a Krone-type punchdown tool. Eg:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Stripping-Stripper-Cutter-Coaxial-Yellow/dp/B07HQCQHYH

These aren’t the best but exponentially better than the 99p disposable tool you usually get, and there’s little point in spending vast amounts of money for a one-off job. The official Krone branded tool is like £40 on its own.

Or there’s this, which has a bunch of other tools and a (pretty shit) network tester which could come in handy for troubleshooting:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Network-Ethernet-Stripper-Connector-Accessories/dp/B07T6G5F5M

Then you’ll need an Ethernet socket at each end. Two of these along with a pair of standard back boxes like you’d use for mains sockets or light switches:

https://www.euronetwork.co.uk/white-single-gang-cat5e-krone-wall-plate-

Oh, and sufficient Ethernet cables to run from sockets to devices of course.

If your attic gets as warm as my attic does, I’m not sure I’d want to leave a NAS in it!

The house we almost bought last month was owned by a BT engineer and he’d basically done this: tough outside-friendly cable running up the wall to join the floors together, and a high up shelf in the hallway upstairs with a switch etc on so it’s typically out of the way.

I’ve made my own cat5 in the past and it *is* a bit of a pain, especially when you think it’s fine but if you push it in the wrong direction the contact is lost. If you make it yourself, be careful, methodical, and check every cable well.

I did this successfully when we moved house, and I’m rubbish at stuff. Cougar is right that pre-made cables are less faff. But if you want/need to terminate your own it only really takes 20 minutes to learn. Just make a couple up of practice ends up with a cuppa.

CAT5e is fine. Don’t get CAT5 without an e, it won’t work properly, but there’s no advantage in CAT6 either (and there are potential disadvantages).

I bought unbranded cables, wall plates etc from kenable, and used a kit just like cougar linked to, plus a draper punchdown tool off amazon, for fitting. Those tools are plenty good enough for an occasional hobbyist (they lasted and worked for my whole house, 20 odd cable runs, and I still have them for any modifications I make in future).

you want/need to terminate your own it only really takes 20 minutes to learn.

Put it this way,

I wouldn’t entertain making my own patch cables without access to a cable tester – hello intermittent, hard-to-trace and really bloody annoying network issues – and it’s one of the first skills I teach apprentices so that I don’t have to do it any more.

Don’t get CAT5 without an e

Can you still get CAT5 even? I’ve not seen actual CAT5 in decades (and that was probably CAT5e mislabelled). I think I’ve come across CAT3 more recently than CAT5.

I wouldn’t entertain making my own patch cables without access to a cable tester – hello intermittent, hard-to-trace and really bloody annoying network issues – and it’s one of the first skills I teach apprentices so that I don’t have to do it any more.

This. A week of my life was wasted trying to figure out what cable in the cabinet was causing problems.

I guess the advantage of running your own cables, as opposed to ready terminated ones, is that you can make any holes you drill a lot smaller and end up with a neater job, i.e. the diameter of the cable rather than an RJ45 connector.

Even then, you only need to crimp one end.

But like I said, it’s a ghetto solution, install wall boxes.

Aways get a bigger switch than you need as the price has dropped over the years. And cougar is correct your better off with back boxes. Although I like crimping ends they aways get broken

My advice: Ditch the mesh, run more Ethernet, use a PoE switch, have PoE access points and terminate to back boxes. I have UniFi in-wall APs that provide both WiFi and Ethernet upstairs. If you use PoE you can also add additional PoE-Powered switches wherever you need more connections off a single main Ethernet connection to your master switch.

I have Modem->firewall->PoE switch near the Master BT socket. Then 3 runs of cat5e out the wall, up behind a drain pipe, along the gable and then down into various places. Various additional PoE switches and APs hanging off Those

Ran a few cables from my router when the extension was being built so easy to route cables while the builders had ripped all the plasterboard off the walls and ceilings. Not sure it counts as a network.. Unfortunately used cat 6 cables and they are a PITA so don’t go for CAT6. All working and terminating is really easy just a bit fiddly. Got a cheap ish tools off eBay including a tester to test each cable.

But after all that I only use one cable and everything runs off my TP Link Deco mesh wifi which has been brilliant since I installed it. No gaming in my home so might not be man enough for gaming…don’t know but running about 4 or 5 devices all streaming at the same time it doesn’t miss a beat.

What Cougar says basically. I’ve networked a couple of houses.

Normally you run solid core in the walls to the sockets and crimp connectors onto flexible stranded core cables for the patching. Punch down terminals work poorly with stranded, crimped work poorly with solid core (as I’ve found out to my cost).

Buy the toolkit – I’ve that sort of set of tools and that crappy tester spotted a few mistakes.

Good point about the loft temperature – I’ll leave the NAS connected to the router downstairs where it currently is.

I was trying to avoid wall sockets, as it means lots of messy DIY. Both rooms upstairs have tall cupboards so I thought it was easier to just drop cable through the ceiling behind them. Also means I only have to work with stranded core cables.

Thanks for the links, I’ve ordered a network tool kit. Will try crimping the cable myself, as certainly one of the holes needs to be as small as possible.

Crimp your own so you don’t have to drill bigger holes in the wall to fit the RJ45 connector. As for crimping get a decent tool and def get the pass through RJ45 connectors as it’s much easier to see if you’ve got the wires in the right order!

Modem, router, switch and 2 x nas all in the loft for ~7years no issues yet, I’d do it again.

def get the pass through RJ45 connectors

Ah wow, I never knew such things existed. That’ll take a lot of the pain out of it. Neat.

We ran the ‘flat’ cat 5e cable up to my son’s room, where he has a few switches (for gaming machine and his Pi cluster), and then another flat cat5e into my daughter’s room. It’s great for running under carpets or up the side of a door frame.

Mesh for the rest of the house/garden.