Budget Home Network Tour/How To

This is a tour and a sort of checklist and simple guide to show you how to setup an inexpensive home network. A little knowledge of the basics is assumed, but comment if you have a question.

TP-LINK AX1800 Router:

TP-LINK TL SG1024 Switch:

Startech 6U Rack (Closest to the NavePoint):

NavePoint 1U Patch Panel:

Network Cable Wall Plate:

Rackmount Power Strip:

MonoPrice Punch-Down Tool:

[mrsteama]

Finally!! A straight to the point video tutorial that shows everything needed to run a simple home network. I think i'm gonna follow your model and build my home network. Thanks for the video!!

[bradydavidson]

I liked your setup so much that I mimicked it almost entirely. I have a few more devices that I put on some shelves in the rack as well. Thanks for the video.

[michaelbrannelly]

Just finished a new build house. This and your patch panel video really helpful. I now have very similar set up plus all TV/Sat connections. Looks so neat and professional and works reliably.

[ecur]

Your video was one of my few inspirations 2 years ago to build my home network.

[austinfarley]

My budget is ask my boss if i can take stuff home that is being decommissioned. I love and hate the 3 year rule.

[bigsabertoothbunny]

Tip: Do not use zip ties. The sheathing on the network cable can swell and shrink based on temperature shifts which will cause the zip ties to cut into the cable. Instead spend a couple of bucks on a roll of velcro and cut strips of that to manage your cables.

[Big_Gregg_B]

I've explored and watched numerous videos like yours, all in hopes for setup ideas... yours is the best by far. Thx

[toedSloth]

Love the neatness. I've done a bunch of office network cable installs and here are a couple of quick notes:
1. Run the cables from the hinged side instead (to the right in the video). This allow you to punch them down, tie them up, and then rotate it back into place with the cables fully mounted.
2. That seems like a lot of metal to mess with your wifi hotspot/router's antennas. Might be better to mount it somewhere away from the rack. The other walls inside the closet, for example.
3. Cable labels are your friend. :) Maybe they're done and I'm not seeing them in the vid? I won't do any kind of install without them anymore (not even car stereo). In very big setups we will write on the cable itself before heat shrinking on something more permanent once the final length is determined.

[hermis]

That's a marvelous job in cable management and setup. I appreciates you sharing this that way I can learn.

[networkingallday]

I really enjoyed this video. It also shows people they do not have to spend thousands of dollars to create a decent network, good work!

[funkydunky]

Nice walkthrough of the install. I went through this in my house with a budget of around 500. I had a few more criteria to hit, mainly i wanted a lockable cabinet because I plan to keep a surveillance nvr in there. I did use the same switch and patch panel.

[FamspecPerformance]

I did this after watching this video in 2020.. Cant be happier! nice to have the whole house on wired and take the massive strain off the wifi with so many devices.

[wesleycameron]

Wes Cameron
Your video was helpful and I was able to completed my task and it pass the wife test.

[koimenou]

It's great to have a home network, and I think it's the best thing you can do on a budget.

[PoeLemic]

Very good looking setup. I need to do something like this, but I have just thrown mine together. And, I'm still working out the bugs. But, glad you walked-through it and had the time to do it right !!! Good job ...

[TheRockmtns]

Nav Rack was setup upside down (top is facing down), the smaller hole on rack should face up.
Very Nice work and explanation of setup and gear.

[davebell]

One element I picked up from watching pro vids on networks is the "service loop", a loop of cable that gives you the spare length if you need to fix something. There are other choices that can be used, though they cost more money, such as Keystone connectors which need very little untwisting of the twisted pairs.

General electrical safety: keep your network cabling clear of mains power cabling. I'm in the UK, where we run at 240v, and maybe the electricians in my family made me a little over-cautious.

Some things you show would be difficult here in the UK, because of different house-construction methods. The Keystone system is available here, with connector modules for aerial and audio connections, but there is a different size standard, working in a similar way, that also gets called Keystone by some.

Again, different UK standards, but I would use a PDU that had standard UK power sockets, rather than the IEC types (which you can see on a desktop PCs PSU). It makes it easy to add a wall-wart to power something such as that wi-fi, or a PoE box, or just to provide a USB charging point for a phone.

[wisetekniquez]

Simple and to the point. Now I understand this whole lab a bit more

[reallunacy]

Just a suggestion for others I recently found out about. They offer keystone compatible patch panels that make working on the patch panel more convenient. It also helps if a port dies because you can replace instead of just having to mark it as dead.

[joseph_b]

You mounted your switch with 4 screws on each bracket. I see you don’t like to live dangerously.