Network Wiring Diagrams
also view:
Your home network should be wired using any good category 5E or 6 wire.
Category 5E or 6 wire consists of four pair of wires with the
colors white/blue blue/white white/orange orange/white white/green green/white
white/brown brown/white (listed in the correct termination order). Category
6 has an extra center material separating the twisted pairs. There are
many options for the actual wire run; drop ceilings (if you have them)
or raceway. Raceway is a thin pvc which is easy to cut with a utility
knife and has double sided tape pre-attached for easy installation. The
station jacks can be installed in external boxes or internal boxes or
brackets,which self mount in a sheet rock wall. Run all your stations
from their various locations to a central place such as a closet or any
out of the way location as long as there is power available for your hub
or switch. Once each station is terminated at both ends you will connect
patch cables to the hub or switch ports. The station ends connect to the
Ethernet cards in your home PCs and your home network hardware is complete.
This
illustration shows the stripped end of a category 5 cable with
four pair of color coded wires showing. Notice the heavy amount
of twists in the pairs.
This
photo shows the category 5 wire coming up from the floor below.
These boxes can be used with raceway as well.
This
photo shows a single gang faceplate mounted flush on an internal
box.
Trace the inside of the bracket or box on the wall, then cut it out with a razor knife. There are wings that are used to attach them to the sheet rock. Internal boxes and brackets are easy to install when the wire is able to be passed down through the wall such as from a drop ceiling.
When purchasing the jacks and patch panel, you must match the panel and jack specification. To make it clear, if you buy a patch panel that uses the pin locations of 568B, then you must make sure the jacks are also labeled for 568B. These are two different standards and quite simply means that the color to pin numbers on both sides will match.
This
photo shows the back side of a single faceplate with one category
5 jack mounted next to a blank insert with the middle and bottom
slots filled with blank slot inserts. To the right is the top
view of two jack modules snapped into a single slot, double module
holder.
With this modular faceplate you could add telephone,
speaker or video connecters in addition to the ethernet connection
(for a total of six).
This
photo shows a Leviton category 5 jack insert with both labeling
for A and B. The included terminating tool is shown. The Leviton
kit was purchased from my local hardware store.
To terminate the wire on the jacks shown you could
also use a standard 110 blade on a punch tool. Place the wires
in the matching color slot ( as shown) and press in firmly with
the terminating tool. Snip off any excess wire. Just follow the
wire colors starting with white/blue blue/white and so on. Be
careful to maintain the twists in the pairs as far up to the
punch point as possible.
Diagram
from a "Leviton" kit 
This
photo shows a section of a category 5 patch panel and a hub.
Both are standard 19" rack units. Some patch cables are
in place .
The back of the patch panel is where you terminate
the other end of your station runs. The example shown uses 110
connections that are color coded with the same white/blue blue/white
etc. Again, just punch the four pair of wires to the same colors
on the block. Be careful to maintain the twists in the wire pairs
as far up to the punch point as possible. Wall
mount brackets can be purchased along with the panel. Get one
large enough to mount your ethernet hub as well.
If you have only a few stations you could replace
the patch panel with a jack box for every six stations. You can
mount the jack box near the hub.
Ethernet uses RJ-45 cables to connect the computer
network interface card (nic) to the jack on the wall. Short RJ-45
cables connect the ports in the patch panel to the hub or switch.
RJ-45 is an eight pin cable with ends that look like wide telephone
connecters. They are wired straight through.
This
photo shows the end of a standard category 5 patch or station
cable.
For connectivity, you could use either an Ethernet hub or switch.
You may also choose between speeds of 10 or 100 megabit for the switch
or hub. A 10-megabit hub will do but a 100-megabit switches and interface
cards are quickly becoming the norm. Many Internet sharing routers will
also include a built-in hub or switch. See "Internet Sharing " for specifics.
Links to home networking products
Links to home networking information
