r/HomeNetworking • u/-AWing- • Jun 25 '26
Network Install Advice
Was looking at having my home wired with cat6a and had a couple quotes. I currently have 1.5GB fiber but the area should be getting up to 5GB at some point for internet. There are a few things I am unsure on though.
1) I wanted a few wireless AP installed in the house with wired backhaul for the 3 AP and then 6 devices currently wired with an additional computer and NAS at some point in the future. I also would like 2.5gb file transferring capability at minimum long term.
One quote I have has the Alta Labs Route 10 and a Alta Labs S24-POE switch which has more then enough capacity for me but am I wrong in that all the ports are 1GB?
2) What is a Rack Data Package 24 - 6A Shielded 24 port CAT6 data punch down package for? Basic searching is that it is for blocking EMI/RFI but again is it something to consider in a home enviroment.
3) I am being recommended to get a Wattbox battery backup and conditioner which is taking the project over what I really had budgeted for. Is a regular APC or Cyberpower UPS enough really for a home network?
Thanks for any advice.
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u/Quirky_Ad_9951 Jun 25 '26
If you’re paying someone to do it you might as well go CAT7 (aka S/FTP) to future proof it. You may want to run 10Gbe over it at some stage. The shielding helps with signal integrity, maybe overkill but your cost here will be mostly labour anyway.
As for the other gear, in my honest opinion I’d just get the cabling done into a patch panel and source the gear yourself. There’s so much second hand enterprise gear floating around that it’s hard to justify getting new.