[kwlug-disc] CAT6 - worthwhile? [Was: Re: Powerline networking - viable?]

[unsolicited]

Desktop switch. Or, if you don't have one, an OpenWRT router with 4-port 
switch. Switch is a hardware beastie, operable aside from the software. 
And you get to play with OpenWRT if/when you're so inclined. (i.e. 
Switch side will just work, regardless of software - proprietary or 
OpenWRT. No need to use the WAN port if you don't want to / until you're 
ready.) Saw either routers or switches for $25 on the web at canada 
computers the other day.

If you added one device, you'll be adding another one at some point in 
the future. (Even if only long enough to prove the problem is that 
device / computer, and not all other bits and pieces between here and 
there.) If you have one switch in the house, having a second one around 
you can swap in at a pinch to prove the first has failed or not is 
invaluable.

Also, if getting to the basement is problematic, you can run the 
horizontally adjacent rooms into it.

Mind you - I double ran to each location in the first place. 4 in any 
area *I* intended to frequent with computers. Plus 2 phone and two TV at 
the same time. (And have double-length nylon/plastic twine in there too. 
In case I have to make another run later. e.g. Speakers / audio media 
distribution, home control units.)

One of the ways in which I'm glad I did - I can run ethernet up from the 
basement modem or switch to where I want to put the wi-fi router/AP, 
then back down from the router to the main basement switch. (To which 
every other room runs to.)

- let's me put the wi-fi AP in the middle of the house, instead of 
needing one in basement and one on the top floor, and having them 
compete in the middle. (I live in a 5 'floor' townhouse.)

In my case, most of the runs are via the forced air heat ducts. In the 
basement, the cables exit at a join / curve in the duct, where they go 
from vertical to horizontal (on their way to the furnace itself).


On 13-10-25 03:31 PM, Chris Irwin wrote:
> I didn't do conduit, but after each wall I labouriously fish cable through,
> I leave a guide string (which will hopefully stand the test of time).
>
> Discussions of upgrading from 5e to 6 aside, I added a docking station for
> my laptop on my desk: Do I buy a desktop switch, or run a second cable
> through the wall? Second cable is cheaper, and doesn't have a wall-wart.