Cabling required

[safesys]

Hi,

I need someone to come in and cable my house as I don't have the time to do it myself.

Essentially the internet connections currently terminate under the stairs and from there there is an RJ45 cable running through the wall to a server downstairs, and another RJ45 cable running up the stairs into the office where it goes into a hub that all the machines and the second server in the office run off.

I would like to get the servers moved into the loft for noise reduction purposes and I would also like the cabling sorted so that it is more permanent than my heath robinson approach which, although it works, doesn't look particularly pleasing. I'd also like a gigabit infrastructure so I can shift large backup files around quickly. I don't need you to supply the switches or NICs but I need the cabling to support it.

So basically, I'd like maybe 2 points in the loft (I also need power in the loft which there is none of currently) 2 points under the stairs, and probably 4 points in the office. Depending on the cost, just for future use I might get a few more points dotted around in bedrooms etc should the need arise. I'd like the cable hidden in the wall cavity if possible rather than going around skirting boards etc.

Could you please PM me with an idea of cost if you can do this and any references for work you have done in the past. I am in Oxfordshire. Also, even if you are not a cabler but have any recommendations for me I would be very happy to hear them.

Many thanks in advance.

Chris

 

[andysv1k]

Id be very cautious putting your IT equipment in the loft, the temperature and humidity will fluctuate widly over the year, may not cause a problem in winter, but you may have a cooling problem in summer. You could find it reaching 40-50 deg c in the height of summer, your PC's wont like that at all.

Andy.

 

Agreed re the temp and humidity - you would need to actually make some sort of enclosure to keep this regulated. It will add to the price quite a bit unfortunately.

 

[kevr6384]

Also be careful on the amount of weight you put in the loft !

Generally the joists are there to hold the ceiling up not for holding servers up !

 

[stugster]

Or you just make sure your servers are replaceable i.e. they're not that much value.

Temperature wont be too much of an issue, and you can always hook up MBM or something to email you when they exceed the usual limits.

Weight on the joists wont be too much of a problem... it's putting your foot through the space in between!

 

[safesys]

Thanks for the feedback - fret ye not, the loft is cooled and dehumidified by an independent system and the floor in it will more than support the weight of a few servers

 

[Xteach]

As it is your house, and you are quite a few miles away from me, have you thought about power over electric?

much cheaper and prettier than cabling in a house, I stream my TV through it and get really good quality, and have my server connected to it with no problems, go for the faster one though.

 

[confused]

power over electric

?

I think you are probably reffering to one of those horrible gadgets that maplins and the likes sell ? The ones where you plug them into a mains socket, plug a network cable into it and it
tries to route? Personally I'd rather stick to tripping over a cable. They work fine for someone that needs no throughput and doesnt realise the speed loss that comes with them.

 

[Xteach]

trust me I wouldn't ever use one in a business, but for a home I would, and do. much better than wires all over the place for home needs.

if you go for the quality ones they work well.

 

[safesys]

trust me I wouldn't ever use one in a business, but for a home I would, and do. much better than wires all over the place for home needs.

if you go for the quality ones they work well.

Thanks for the suggestion Xteach but I work from home so these servers are somewhat business critical for me. And I'd struggle to get 100Mbps over one of these, let alone the 1Gbps I need for my backups.

 

[Rienne]

Have sent you a PM with a recommendation for a company run by a friend of mine who have done work for me for 15 years including a 100 user network.

regards
Jeff