How do I use existing cat5e wiring to distribute internet in my house?

Question

Description

My current setup is I have a single router/modem combo in my living room connected through DSL. Internet is distributed through the house via WiFi.

The upstairs rooms have all been run with Cat5e cable from the cable box and terminated with 6pin connectors. Important to note that even though all the rooms have been run with Cat5e cables, I can only plug the modem/router into one of them to get internet. So something is already wrong.

Ive recently finished my basement and had the contractors run Cat5e cables from the new rooms to the current box in my utility room.

I would like to have each room to have 8 pin (RJ45?) connectors with internet. I would also like to have the router and modem in the utility room (unless convinced otherwise). The utility room is pretty centrally located in my house.

I am also hoping to be able to identify and name some of the things in the cable box to help me better understand what is happening.

Questions:

1. In the first picture, what is the white board(labelled A) called?

2. How do I trace cables?

3. Why do I have 7 cables going into the board if I only have 3 outlets upstairs?

4. Is there a reason other than material availability for why some of the cables are yellow and some are blue?

5. Can I just swap out the upstairs 6pin connectors with 8pin RJ45 connectors?

6. How do I hook everything up and distribute internet throughout the house?

1,2, and 3 are the cables run from the basement. 4 was existing and just tucked behind the cable box.

Thank you. Feel free to point me towards any helpful resources as well.

Answer 1

Ho Le Crap! most of the pics you are showing involved phone service, not in house Ethernet / LAN. Your 6 pin connectors are for RJ16 jacks/plugs (3 line phone service). RJ45 requires 8 conductors and an 8 pin jack/plug. cat5e or cat6 can be terminated on a patch panel, but not a punch down block ("A" in your pics).

It can be pretty simple: Connect all the cat5e cables to a patch panel and then choose which ones go to a router/switch. Alternatively, you could simply not use a patch panel and just install plugs on the ends of the cat5e cables and plug them into a router or switch.

Bottom line: You need to separate your Internet (coming over POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service) from your Ethernet connections.

Answer 2

Answering your questions in order to the best of my ability:

1. Your cabling is currently connected to a telephone style punch-down block. For standard computer networking, I would purchase a RJ45 patch panel instead, and connect each cable to its own patch panel jack. I will defer to other commenters on how to best avoid interfering with telephone service while doing so. You then would use short cables to attach your router and modem directly to the panel. It'll make replacing routers, etc quick and easy in the future, although you may have to order additional hardware (such as a network switch) in order to have enough ports for all your rooms. This other StackExchange post has some other people's example home network installations which show patch panels in use.

2. I will defer to this other Stack Exchange post which recommends connecting the wires at the room end and then testing from the utility end with an ohmmeter or multimeter. This is a good method for identifying loose wires like yours. Be aware that you'll need to disconnect them at the punch-down block end or they'll always read as connected.

3. One of those cables is probably the service line from the telephone company, but that leaves 3 still unaccounted for that I can't identify.

4. My experience is with server wiring, not home wiring. Normally CAT5 cable sheathing is cosmetic only, but I'm not familiar with cables rated for in-wall installation. The printing on each cable may give you more information.

5. 6-pin RJ11 outlets are no good for Ethernet - those are telephone or DSL connections only! Fortunately, it looks like they used Cat-5 cable, and the extra wire pairs seem to be coiled up behind the outlet in your picture, so you can probably install a 8-pin RJ45 outlet instead without any issues. The outlet should be labeled to show you which wire colors go where.

To summarize:

• You need to put Ethernet connectors on the ends of the cables in the utility box - preferably outlets or jacks in a patch panel for convenience. You may need to purchase some tools, such as a punch-down tool or crimper.
• Trace the wiring before doing so so you don't accidentally disconnect your telephone service. Label the cables permanently so you don't have to do it twice!
• You need to connect each cable to your router, via an Ethernet switch if needed to provide more ports.
• You need to replace 6-pin RJ11 outlets with 8-pin RJ45 outlets as appropriate, then run cable from there to your computers, game consoles, etc.

Answer 3

Even though the cable is good enough for Ethernet transport, you need to change the topology.

Basically, your PC, routers, etc... all expect to be connected point to point. PC at one end, router at the other end, for example.

Right now, you have all the endpoints connected together.

Buy a network switch or hub, install it where all the wires connect. For each wire, install an Ethernet Jack at both ends. Plug one end on the switch, the other in your device. Lather rinse repeat for each wire.

Answer 4

In the first picture, what is the white board(labelled A) called?

That's called a 66 block. They're used to patch phone lines together.

How do I trace cables?

Tone generator. You can find these online. You get a generator you hook to one end, and then a "wand" for the other. When hooked up, it makes a EMF "warble" that the wand can find just by being close to the wire. A decent one should give you clips, RJ45 (Ethernet) and RJ11 (phone). If I were you, I would want one that does wire testing as well. You're going to need to know if you missed a pin somewhere.

Why do I have 7 cables going into the board if I only have 3 outlets upstairs?

While each Ethernet cable can supply up to 4 phone lines, most likely you only needed one per run. The other runs may go to boxes that had blanks installed over them

Is there a reason other than material availability for why some of the cables are yellow and some are blue?

Ethernet jack colors can vary. It's possible the colors meant something to the installer. The color has no meaning if you're going to use them as Ethernet.

Can I just swap out the upstairs 6pin connectors with 8pin RJ45 connectors?

Yes. It's the basement that will need more work.

How do I hook everything up and distribute internet throughout the house?

You can use the 66 block, but it's not advisable. Your Ethernet is filled with twisted pairs. If you look at, say, Cat 3, you'll note they aren't twisted at all. Why? Phone lines aren't concerned with something Ethernet is: shielding. Untwisting the wires and peeling back the insulation has reduced the shielding of those wires. Ethernet is more susceptible to interference than phone. The 66 block could work, but your mileage may vary.

The other hack to avoid here is crimping a RJ45 jack on (it's far too easy to mess them up and shorten your cables too much).

While a punch board is the easiest route, you might not need all 7 wires used for Ethernet. If not, you could just end the wires you want with a simple Ethernet keystone. These are much easier to find (punch boards at your local hardware store are almost always overpriced anyways) and they keep the shielding intact. Then you attach a patch cable between your router/switch and the wire keystone. Note that you can use Cat6 on Cat5e wire (they're just slightly more expensive due to more shielding)

Answer 5

I would second most of the existing answers. However, from an ease of use standpoint, getting a pair of MOCA adapters, and plugging one into the coax at the bottom and one at the coax in the room would allow you to distribute internet to one room with very little effort or cost.

Answer 6

As already mentioned, you need to put Ethernet connectors on the ends of the cables coming into the utility box. You'll need a CAT 5 crimper tool with some ethernet plugs to do this. It's kind of a pain to do this as a novice, but you'll get better with experience. Then you will need a switch. It doesn't look like you have many cables, so a 5-port switch might work. They go for about $15 on Amazon.

Here's a picture of what this will look like. I have an 8-port switch, which is the box with the green line running across it. One of the lines going into the switch is connected to the Internet router. The other seven lines are distributed throughout the house. Hopefully your setup will be a lot neater. I have coax, ethernet, and phone coming into that box, and I've sworn for years that I would clean it up. Someday it might actually happen. Probably not.

Answer 7

Like most home wiring environments cable run identity is non existent. Harbor Freight sells an inexpensive cable toning kit to quickly ID your cables; it is for phone cables but works for Ethernet as well. Once ID'd you can label both ends with numbers or names on masking tape. CAT 5E cable is capable of handling 1gb Ethernet if terminated correctly. There are 2 wiring standards A (older) and B (current) standard. Make sure if you terminate the cables yourself you use the same wiring standards on both ends. Pull your identified cables off the 66 block (labeled a in your picture) as it does not support Ethernet communication. You can terminate using an RJ45 male or female; both require an additional tool to properly terminate and you might well purchase both tools. RJ45 males use a crimper to compress the RJ 45 over the cable pairs (called terminating). The color sequence for B standard is: orange/white, orange, green/white, blue, blue/white, green, brown/white, brown inserted from left to right with the locking mechanism pointing down. RJ 45 females use an impact tool with an RJ blade on the end to terminate the pairs in the cable. The female RJ45’s normally have a color guide with both A and B wiring too show you the proper order to terminate the pairs in the cable. Important note: If you are color blind or cannot deferentiate the cable pair colors get someone else to terminate the cable for you. There is nothing more frustrating than terminating a cable wrong and it not work. Harbor freight, Lowe's, Home Depot, or Amazon/newegg.com has RJ45 crimps (males), crimpers (tools), RJ45 females, and impact tools for terminating female RJ45 ends. They also have wire testing kits to make sure you terminated the cables correctly. Oh btw the Levetron face plates you showed are available with open let's to insert RJ45 females and/or coax cables. Good luck or hire a professional to get it done.

Answer 8

I agree with everything George Pearson said, except for toning you can just hook a switch up where all the wires are joined in the basement connect all the cat5e wires to rj45 ends and plug into the switch, and connect a computer or other hard wired device to each port that you know exists 1 by 1 and the switch will light up telling you which Port on switch equals that port in that Room of your house. That becomes a cheap toner that works perfectly.