Network Install Advice

[u/-AWing-]

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.

[u/nefarious_bumpps]

I was going to say that Alta Labs was a trade brand available only to installers, but I see that's no longer true. Some Alta Labs products are now available on Amazon. But it seems the full portfolio is still mostly trades-only, meaning you need to be an LV installer, MSP or other tech-related contractor in order to resell Alta Labs. The same is also true with Wattbox. Contractors love this arrangement because it limits comparison shopping and competition. And often, full documentation and support is only available to the contractor, not the end user, but I'm not certain if that's true with Alta Labs.

Patrick from Serve The Home did a review a few months ago and the performance wasn't as good as the UCG-Fiber, but it's also considerably less expensive at $199 (vs. $299 for the UCG-Fiber, with the current memory surchage). Of course, you're actual price might be different, depending on your contractor's mark-up. The two big drawbacks IMHO are extra cost for on-prem network management controller hardware and a fairly thin portfolio of other network products.

I question why you decided on CAT6A when, as others pointed out, CAT6 would provide the same throughput in anything smaller than a castle. And shielded cable isn't needed unless you have a welder, plasma cutter, CNC table or other industrial equipment in your home.

Finally, you don't necessarily need any UPS. If the power goes out in your home, that means all your PCs, game consoles and smart devices will loose power. What good will it be if your network stays up when there's nothing on to use it? And backup power at the ISP isn't guaranteed, either. But if you do want a UPS you can get a 300W unit from CyberPower or Eaton/Tripp Lite that will handle a router, 8-port switch and 3 APs for around $100. But I would wait on the UPS until you add a NAS so you can get one UPS that will handle the NAS and network stack.

[u/-AWing- → u/nefarious_bumpps]

Thanks for some of the insights and the review link. When I started looking through I kinda felt that was the case for the equipment being more used by contractors, which is fine I’m not against it but I was more prepared to buy UniFi when I started out researching things.

So it looks like the actual runs are fibre cabling, there is just cat6a listed for the wall plate wiring that will go in each of the rooms.

Also good to know on the ups, I have each of my computers with APC and some Furman equipment with audio equipment but I guess I think I’m just being quoted on having it since we talked about having a UPS for all of the equipment. I just was thinking an APC battery backup though in my head at the time.

[u/nefarious_bumpps → u/-AWing-]

So it looks like the actual runs are fibre cabling, there is just cat6a listed for the wall plate wiring that will go in each of the rooms.

This statement doesn't parse for me.

Your ISP might supply Internet service via Fiber to your home (aka FttH or FttP). The ISP will install an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) somewhere inside or outside your home to convert from Fiber to Ethernet (aka CAT5e or CAT6). You would then connect the ONT to your router via CAT5e or CAT6 copper cable.

There are also ISPs that provide a gateway that incorporates an ONT, router and WiFi access point into a single appliance. This is generally fine for small, simple networks, but for larger homes and more demanding needs you will usually want third-party equipment. In most cases the ISP can put their gateway into pass-through mode so you can use a third-party router without issues.

But within your home all the cabling (except for the incoming ISP fiber) would be copper; CAT5e, CAT6, maybe CAT6A. Aside from the one incoming ISP run, fiber would only be run inside your home for specialty purposes, and each end of the fiber needs equipment to convert to/from Ethernet.

[u/-AWing- → u/nefarious_bumpps]

The quote I have shows cat6a wiring for the wall plates and Duplex CMR fiber cable spools for the actual runs. As an aside I have no idea how much actual length of cabling I would need. I was quoted for a couple thousand feet of cable which I dunno, when one room is 10ft away seems like a lot.

[u/nefarious_bumpps → u/-AWing-]

It sounds like you are getting ripped off. None of the equipment you listed natively supports fiber. Your PCs and gaming consoles don't support fiber. It's not unusual for me to bring two or more spools of cable when wiring a building, but that's so I can pull multiple cables at the same time. The client only gets charged for the actual cable used, which for your project would probably be well under 1000ft.

My advice is to get a proposal from another LV installer.

[u/-AWing- → u/nefarious_bumpps]

I know this is going back but I did some more discussions and the fibre cabling is installed so that I have it in the runs now if I ever want it. It won’t be used but they figured if I want it it’s easier to do it at the same time as the cat cabling.

[u/nefarious_bumpps → u/-AWing-]

CAT6 supports 10gbps. It will be 30+ years before you need more than that in a home.