[Techtalk] Networking options

[Maria Blackmore]

hi

On 17 Nov 2002, arashi wrote:

<snip>

nice diagram, btw, it's a shame the quoting mashed it up

> We're trying to figure out ways to use ethernet without the cables
> getting in the way of closing the bedroom doors.

Doors usually have a gap at the bottom

> We also need to keep the cables out of the dog's way - she'll put them
> out if she decides she doesn't like them trailing across the floor.  

There's no need to have them trailing across the floor, you can run them
around the edges, sadly this will only work if you own the house, or if
the owner of the house doesn't mind a few tiny holes in things.

> Can anyone suggest ways to hide the cables?

I would invest in a cable tacker suitable for CAT 5, you will need to be
careful about what sort you buy, since some may be sufficiently powerful
to either crush the cable or chop it all the way through.  You could also
try cable clips, but these are bigger and may be unsightly.

You can tack the cable around the floor to go through the doors, since
there is always going to be a gap on the bottom of the door so that it
doesn't catch on the floor.  If you run the cable out through the hinge
side of the door, that will stop it being damaged so easily by the door
opening and closing.  If you have a sliding door, put it on the side where
the door is when open.  If there are runners on the floor, you might well
be out of luck without a little more ingenuity, or a power drill :).  Once
in the hall, you can tack the cable around the outside of all the
doorways, to keep it out of the way, and along the floor or skirting board
in between.  One tack every 30 cm should work well, but tack closely to
each side of a change of direction.

If there is a carpet, you can probably run the cable underneath it at the
edge, if it's too bulky you can buy CAT 5 cable that only has two pairs,
and so is thinner.  Alternatively, you can take off the outside sheath for
the section under the carpet, so long as you keep all the pairs twisted
together.  You can also keep in mind that you only need the orange and the
green pairs to make an ethernet connection work.

Failing this, I would be very tempted to run it along the outside of the
house, if this is possible, either along the wall if you aren't against
another house, or if you are on or near the top floor you can run it over
the roof

> Or should we consider wireless or phoneline networking instead?

You could do, but wireless networking is additional cost, possible
security implications, and may be significantly slower, especially if in a
densly populated area.  Phoneline network may be feasible, if the wires
are of sufficient quality, once again this could well be slower.  If there
are a spare pair of wires running to sockets in each room, you may be able
to connect them together at a junction box, and then use baluns to run
10Base2 over the telephone lines.  If you think this sounds like a likely
possibility I can probably look up something suitable, but I have no idea
of the cost or even if they would be available where you are.

Good luck

Maria