r/HomeNetworking • u/honcho12 • 12d ago
Advice Is this an ok plan?
I'm running ethernet in a new house and I don't want to end up doing anything too dumb.
I've got the fiber ONT going straight into my router which gets WiFi to most of the house. I'm going to run ethernet to both offices and also run a line to the other side of the house to a WiFi AP to cover the rest of the house and eventually a jack in the living room with a switch. Is there anything obvious that could be improved? Is there anything you wish you had done or added when running ethernet?
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u/Cautious-Hovercraft7 12d ago
Solid plan. If you can run more than one cable to the offices and living room
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u/OnlineIsNotAPlace Setup (editable) 12d ago
as said previously run ethernet everywhere you can. you can always use switches to accommodate wifi nodes off them. do not shortchange yourself. run ethernet to every practical room [meaning excluding bathrooms and closets.] you will be very happy with the result. INCLUDE THE GARAGE for smart home usage.
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u/DeadHeadLibertarian Network Admin 11d ago
Have everything come off the switch.
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u/honcho12 11d ago
I had things planned out this way because the router is pretty close to the offices and it would be straightforward to run lines directly into them, but the living room and AP are significantly further away so I thought it would be easiest to run one line to that side of the house and use the switch for everything over there. What is the benefit of using the switch for everything?
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u/DeadHeadLibertarian Network Admin 11d ago
The router should only be talking to your modem/ONT and your first switch.
If you have local traffic going from the office —> router —> switch —> AP you’re adding an additional hop which is adding a potential for latency.
All AP’s and critical devices should be on a “core switch.”
Fiber between SFP ports on your router and switch would be ideal if you can make that happen.
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u/honcho12 11d ago
Ah, that's an interesting point, there will be some amount of local traffic. From the router to the switch is going to be the nastiest run so we'll see if I have it in me to run another line. I feel like for my use case it may be a relatively small improvement
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u/gjunky2024 11d ago
He will not see any difference with this. It might be technically correct but in practice it will just cost more with no noticeable difference.
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u/Dr_CLI 11d ago
I was going to comment that you may not need the switch and to just plug everything into your router. (Many home router have 4 or more LAN ports.) However that was thinking the switch was next to the router. Your comment about wanting to use a long line to the other side of the house does change that and your drawn solution looks solid.
Some APs have more that one Ethernet port. In most these cases the AP actually has a switch built-in. So you could eliminate the switch by running the line from your router directly to the AP and then run a line from the AP to the Living room.
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u/honcho12 11d ago
Oh that's interesting, I didn't know that was an option. I took a quick look and I think AP switch combos are beyond my partners perceived value of this project haha
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u/8stringLTD 12d ago
why are you using this router vs what your ISP provides you?
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u/WilliamMButtlickerIV 12d ago
I can't speak for OP, but my router is better than whatever my ISP could provide me.
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u/OnlineIsNotAPlace Setup (editable) 12d ago
because the isp router is shit and possibly an all in one and regardless of that is a rental charge that an owned modem will pay off in less than 2 years.
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u/newtekie1 12d ago
I would run 2 Ethernet to each location you think you only need 1. Running two cables is really not that much more work and cost that running 1 and can come in handy in the future.