Finishing my smart home network
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2023
- Upgrading my comms rack by replacing my hard wired patch panel with some Keystone Jacks, adding some power distribution, moving some Unifi networking components around, tidying up the cabling and generally giving a good old clean out.
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As someone that just transitioned from a retail router to OPNSense and then upgraded to 2.5gb networking, this summarizes the love/hate relationship we all have with our home network well. Nice work!!
Cable managed my mess yesterday took 8 hours, re racked everything to
Looking great 😊 - Just a thought for anyone else watching and inspired. You can get various colour keystone jacks e.g. data, wifi, internet connection, cameras. Instead of a 48 port you could split into 2 x 24 one either side of your switch and smaller patch cables. Wish I had the space for a small rack.
Good work Alan. I like that you just show it how it is and don't cut out the bits where you had problems etc. It gives a more realistic representation of how it will go for other people doing it...and that's why I keep coming back to watch more. 👍
Looks good, a clean rack is so important.
At work we always patch with 1 meter cables, but at home i actually bought ubuiquti cables for the perfect length from patchpanel to the switch, looks really neat.
It started to get so messy with cables i found in the cable bin in the server room :D
Glad to know I'm not the only one who goes ham when the network is down. Dope vid!
Thank you!
I would suggest using flush cutting side cutters when tidying up excess cables on the keystones. Great effort on this rack BTW!
Sadly I don't have any, but yes I agree that would be better!
Not bad. A couple recommendations though. You definitely should have labelled the keystone jacks at the patch panel and on the wall plate. An example of a naming convention I use is: I.D. 1.1 (first floor, wall plate jack 1). I.D. 2.4 (second floor, wall plate jack 4). I usually label all the jacks in one room in sequential order. I.D. 1.1 I.D. 1.2 I.D 1.3 etc.
I would have moved the switch directly below the patch panel and ordered 6" and 12" CAT6 cables. This would allow you to free up more room in your rack and clean up the cabling.
Getting so much inspiration and ideas for my home network. Cable and tools are ordered. The fun commencing next week
I was all set to comment about using cable testing equipment and then you showed the very same tools I use. They've saved me lots of headaches over the years. I put flag-label cable ties on each end of my cables and write their unique identity on each end. I maintain my cable inventory in a spreadsheet with their room location, patch panel location, switch port assignment, purpose, and static IP address when appropriate. During my home's construction, I pulled dozens of cables to every conceivable TV and audio location (coax for antenna, coax for satellite, and multiple Cat6 for possible video distribution through a centralized video switch). The security system is hard-wired. All my security cameras are PoE, and all streamed video is hard-wired. I use wireless as little as possible, so having a well-maintained structured wiring plant like you've made is essential. Great job! You'll soon forget the pain of doing it and will reap the benefits for years to come. Beer will also help dull the pain.
Great job! I imagine the sense of accomplishment after seeing everything ready! I'm going to go through this in a few weeks, I'm already thinking about the back pain I'm going to have :)
Great video. I'm another Londoner doing the same process. I just finished my house renovation so I was lucky enough to have a clear canvas and wired the whole house myself, including external CAT6Es for cameras and doorbell. You are a great source of info and inspiration. Keep it up!
Now I just need time to actually start the smart devices journey. 😂
Thanks for introducing me to Neffex! xD
Keystones for the win ! your outer jacket should be closer to the keystone though.
Try some slim patch cables inside your rack, that made _my_ day when I found out about their existence. Even cleaner / slimmer / more manageable 🙂
Beware it is hard to find slim patch cables that support PoE.
@@marcuscps monoprice cables help a lot tbh
iirc they are fine for poe on the short ones in a rack
Nice job! Looks so much neater and is easier to work with in the future. Well worth the massive effort.
Thank you!
Nice job! Cable management is one of those jobs that, while can be done as you go, is probably best left for when you've finished. Imagine having everything nice and tidy then adding another couple of cables that just won't sit right anywhere. Those keystone jacks look cool, but if you don't plan on adding any more cables anytime soon, then that's a lot of work to make it look "neater". Still, it's done now and will probably pay-off in the long run. Oh, and getting old really sucks when you end up aching for days after a seemingly simple, but length task 😊
I love the rack slides most enterprise equipment has nowadays. You install the rails first, than hang the equipment in the rail and slide it in. If it needs general maintenance, it's most of the time enough to just pull the equipment out, lift the cover and work on it. When done you just push it back. Sometimes this can be done while the unit is turned on. (in example, replacing a fan or a dead hard disk)
Jobs we all love to put off for as long as possible... Nice video!
Great video, there is just so much that if you dont know then you dont know. I wish this video existed before i set up my rack. Thanks
Slim patch cables make a huge difference. Also a wall mounted rack would have saved cables being stretched over the room.
You would have gained floor space and had zero bending plus cleaner setup
I moved into a new build house back in May, and the new builds in NZ have a mini patch panel, so I ran patch leads from the mini patch panel to my rack. Luckily my wardrobe is a triple wardrobe as some of the developers install the patch panels in the wardrobe or a garage for those that have one.
Just did the same thing on moving into a new house. 35 cables and I'm even older than you!! Knees and back, oh my. Did lable the cables for future reference and the use a color coded the patch cables. Super OCD. Add a UPS for backup power and orderly shutdown on power failure. If you have a lot of POE ports, maybe you need an air intake and top of rack fan system. The home server rabbit hole, just a layer deeper than the HA rabbit hole.
👍nice work
Awesome video
Thanks for the video. Its very satisfying when you complete a cabling project and it looks so neat. Ive found a problem that you get is when a cable develops a fault, or you add a new one. Its very tempting to add a new one and leave it "for the next time that you sort the cabling", but thats a road to hell!
That's pretty much what happened last time 🤣
I don't expect I'll be adding many more cables any time soon, so hopefully it stays neat for a while!
Cheers
Nice work man!
I just finished building my own. I put caster wheels on mine - makes it easy to move the cabinet around.
look at those bunch of cable. I would love to see and if you could share the wiring diagram to understand and learn how you design and manage your home network system.
One tip when racking lighter gear by yourself is it use your off hand to support the equipment, then secure the bottom screws first. If you're right-handed, then support with your left hand and install the screws, starting with the bottom-left and working counterclockwise. If you're left-handed, support the gear with your right hand and install the screws starting with the bottom right and working clockwise.
This minimizes the torsional forces on the top ears of the equipment as well as the amount of time you're having to awkwardly support the equipment with one hand.
There are also high-density 48 position keystone patch panels that only take up one RU, instead of 2. When paired with a 48-port POE switch, you can use 15-20 cm patch cords, without any need for a cable manager in-between.
A better choice for the rack mount power strips is to use the IEC variety with appropriate length C13 to C14 cords to the individual devices. They'll take up a lot less space than the British sockets. You can even get ATS versions that can switch back to mains, should the UPS fail (while mains power is still good), allowing for a live UPS swap. A bypass switch could also be used, but they're only able to be manually operated.
Great video.
Great stuff. I love how you celebrate the imperfections! 🎉 🍺
Nice work sir.
Thank you kindly
Looks great mate, when i built my rack i had to put it in the un insulated garage un fortunately i had no space in the house, all my tech and av cabling is ducted out to the garage. My issue is the humidity/dampness in the winter and and heat in the summer justhave to try and manage it with cooling and keeping the heat in the winter. But you got to work with what youve got!
Nice job and a great presentation. There are some comments her for you that I hope you don't take negatively, as that's not my intention but can be perceived as such because of my bluntness. Cable management components are always an excellent addition to any wiring project. Many of my employers required me to make my wiring look like artwork, but it has gotten me in the habit of doing some beautiful wiring. I also use a labeling machine to identify all my wiring for future upgrades and possible troubleshooting. These things add time to every project, but they save time over and over afterwards. The bundle of cables makes me crazy, and I couldn't stand it because of the reasons that I just mentioned. I would need to install some wire ductwork/ conduit like what you used to hide your wiring in the cabinet. The snap on covers allow it to be so easy to access and install. They even make transition pieces for corners and intersections of ceilings and walls that keep everything looking neat and very professional. I'm sure you know about in-line keystone connectors and although I don't like using them unless absolutely necessary, they would tidy up your installation a lot and remove any strain that the cable bundle might be under. It's obviously too late now, but there are flush trim wire cutters that would have made the Keystone connections look a lot better and remove the potential of a wire short under the covers.
I can relate to your back pain since I have some serious spinal issues myself. Honestly, keeping fit with daily stretching and exercising would really help you live a more pain free life and help keep you healthy by boosting your metabolism. I'm a 60-year-old man with a very muscular build because of a back injury in my 30's. It has forced me to stretch & exercise in order to be able to keep moving. If I stop doing those things, I will seize up within a couple of years and become useless as well as headed for a wheelchair.
Consider putting the rack on a stand that's more table height so that you no longer have to bend over to deal with the wiring. You can still have it on wheels, and it adds storage space for a dehumidifier also. Based on the fact that you seem to always mention that you "don't care" (in every video I have seen) about receiving any comments about your shortcomings regarding details or whatever, I doubt you will take any of these helpful tips and implement them, but I thought I would at least mention them, so you have the option to choose to. What you choose to do or not do will have no effect on my life, so I truly don't care, but I do try to help those who don't know any better. Good luck moving forward, and I hope things all work out well in your future.
We’ll done mate!
Good to see you again Alan.
Hi Rick 👋 good to see you too!
Nice setup and good run down of your cable management; I have been avoiding mine like the plague lol. I still need to run more ethernet cable but will be doing the same thing with keystones and two patch panels to finish up my network rack.
I've started in our house, making it smarter.
I've managed to find a 22U HP rack for cheap (£35) got that installed in the cupboard under the stairs witch will house all the networking equipment including 2 servers that will be running various services like a NAS etc.
I've got the first 3 smart plugs installed and working and will be adding more soon.
nice woork! :)
Put a switch to fiber then route that to a better place. Keep your server and NAT out of the humidity and temperature! Add a blank 1U above your patch panel. Then you have 1U to put labels on that you can actually read. Also, one above your circuit breaker switches so that you know what you are turning off and on.
Thanks for the tips!
Feel your pain.. Just spend 2 days running CAT6 for my security cameras... But is very satisfying once the work is done!!!
You did an amazing job. I have to admit, that sort of cable maangement is my least favourite part of home networking.
adding coaster wheels to the bottom of the network cabinet would help with moving it a lot easier if needed and also would provide some airflow from the bottom for equipment that are closer to the bottom also adding little fans to introduce cool air can also help keeping it cool
His rack does have caster wheels hence why he could move it so easily.
Fantastic video (as always). I'm about to do something similar although on not quite as grand scale. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Any chance you could tell us more about your Sonos setup. Maybe a future video?
06:37 most relatable content on youtube right there
Haha - sometimes these projects are just a bit bigger than we hope for
@@HomeAutomationGuy or bigger than our bodies can take
It sure does feel great when you have tidied up a network rack like that, doesn't it. I only wish the cables were a bit longer so you could run them neatly along the ceiling and down and not hanging across like that. I wouldn't be surprised if there exist prewired keystone jacks with a few meter cable and connector for extending cables.
When I used to build racks for audio equipment, I used the following.
Rack shelves (I think that was the name) so any equipment which was deep and had some weight about it wasn’t only relying on the rack bolts at the front to keep it in place.
I also used to run slotted trunking down either side from the top to the bottom for hiding cables.
Let me know if you need anymore help or ideas and I’ll try and hunt out some paperwork which I presented as a project rack build for my apprenticeship 👍🏻
What I do for my network equipment to keep them from relying on the rack bolts its self and prevent them from falling and leaning are the universal rack rails that attaches in the front of the rack and attaches to the back of the rack from there I attach the rack ears of the network equipment along with the rails or the rack at the same time to keep the equipment from shifting and sliding and keeping it in place. While the rack rails make it harder to get into the rack from the side I am ok with it as long as I know I have a piece of mind when it come to the network equipment not being damaged in some way when in the rack
@@HFkepley9312 yeah that sounds like what I used to do, apologies it’s been years!
@@michaelthompson657 there are also rack shelves that can be used for things that can't be rack mount to be able to have them in the rack as well like cable modem
@@HFkepley9312 yes, now you say I’ve used them
I really want to move to keystone jacks from my old patch panel. Would you be able to update the description with links to those jacks you used, they look really good. Thanks. Oh, and am loving the channel, haven't been subscribed long, but the content is excellent.
Have you considered installing a rectangular hallow wooden box that runs from ceiling to the floor in your laundry room so all the cable can be hidden nicely like they’re never there.
I rewired and racked 22u worth of stuff and dam took 8 hours and a lot of cagenuts going under my bottoms server, makeing the wires neat was the hardest but I used 6 velcro straps and its all bundled neat, I also took the back cover off and the heat goes out a exoust fan in my window, and a ac unit cooling the front side. Thinking of maybe getting a a 32 u rack or at this point get a normal 42 u rack?
Cool vid...now I want a beer ;)
Dear Alan, thanks for the video. What is the autonomy in your APC ?
Good work! need some J hooks to hang the cabling. Did you connect a 10gig fiber from the UDMPro to the switch? I did that upgrade.
Finishing is not a word in homelab land.
Haha too true!
Great video! What are the sonoff devices for?
Sorry but am a newbie and have learnt a lot from your video. Couple of questions. How did the keystone jacks actually help? And, what Sonos products are those at the end of the video?
There are other keystone jacks that take a rj45 connector in both sides. It might be easier than the clip on ones you are using.
Or not. That would require attaching the cables to RJ45 plugs, which is a much trickier procedure and takes practice.
Note for newbies: There are two different wiring configuration standards for Ethernet cables. If you are connecting to somebody else's, make sure you know which one was used.
Good tip! Mine was all B standard
While it’s a nice improvement just want to point out that with a 24 port patch panel and any 24 ports or more switch, you don’t need the cable organisation panel.
Buy premade 300 or 500 mm patch leads and go from patch panel to switch port in a nice little loop saves a bunch of U’s
Can you share the manufacture of the keystones and where you got them from?
Frigate and Home Assistant look so good. How do I upload videos immediately to the cloud to ensure evidence is secure even if the device itself is stolen
Nice! (Sorry Lewis!)
🤣
What’s your thought about Ubiquiti UCG ultra + ubiquiti 16 lite poe switch
Got a link or brand etc for the keystone patch panel you used?
Hi, I just watched one of your Home Assistant videos. For some reason i cant seem to find it:) hence writing under this video. I seen that you are with Octopus Energy too and have a quite good looking dashboard. I was wondering if you would be willing to share the relevant Home Assistant config for that please? TIA.
Another great video. Can you link the tool you used for identifying your cable
Proster Network Cable Tester www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SL2DK24
Great channel.
Where did you buy those keystones ?
Amazon
Is there any power usage data for this kit? As a network/Linux/computer nerd, I’m strongly dissuaded from anything too decent at home because of the power bill.
So you know, you can also get keystone jacks with an RJ45 socket on either side, so you can use standard ethernet cables for both sides of the jack. I don't think there would be any speed difference between RJ45 jack and punch down connector, so it's just down to preference (plus it might be easier to keep an ethernet cable connector in shot while connecting/crimping?)
Also, as others have mentioned, you can get different coloured keystone jacks, which can be handy to identify your different use cases of cable at a glance
Attaching RJ45 plugs to the cables is (at least for me) much trickier and tedious process.
why wouldn't you fill the bottom row first on the keystone jacks? genuine question!
Any chance you can share amazon link to your cable tester?
So what do people typically do with a home network like this when you sell your house? Do new homeowner appreciate this setup or prefer that you remove it before you leave?
Nice!! I would love to see how you use this for your smarthome. I need to know if it’s worth it cuz if it took u 7 hours it’s gonna take me 7 weeks 😅
My house gets very little cell reception, so good WiFi is a must for me. I then try and hardwire in as much equipment as I can like my desktop PC, our work laptops, WiFi access points, CCTV cameras, alarm system, etc. The server is mainly storage for photos and RUclips footage, and it runs Proxmox for Home Assistant and my other smart home systems.
It's totally overkill - I could just use an Intel NUC or similar, but it's really fun to have a Comms rack at home. It does use an unnecessary amount of electricity though 🙈
Beautiful job. May I ask how much power does all this use in the time of energy price crisis?
About 4kWh per day, which costs about £1.50 on my current tariff.
I generate about 8-10kWh via my solar panels on a good sunny day, which is how I justify this to myself 😬
@HomeAutomationGuy Amazing. We're in the process of buying a house with a south facing roof. So I'm thinking of solar. Great videos as always. I'm thinking of hibitat with Zigbee. Keep the videos rolling and thank you.
Random question: home come you installed Cat6 over Cat7. Wouldn’t Cat7 be more future proof?
Reason for the question is I’m also on process working on my house and planning to install ethernet cable around the house.
why not use short eth cables? Much nicer to look, and no mess around on the back, between the 2 switches
Tack!
Thank you so much ❤️
having a network rack in the laundry room really isn't smart. WTF was that previous owner thinking?
FOUR Sonos amps?
The house came with speakers in the ceilings and the amps, so I put them in the rack. I don't really like Sonos but they work and I didn't have to buy them separately!
thumbs down for punch down blocks - use keystone jacks
Are you American? Rauter? ;)
Australian! I can't bring myself to say Rooter. That's a whole different thing 😉
For everyone with a home lab/ home network you are never "finished"
Shhhh, don't tell my partner that!
You shouldn’t vacuum electronic components. Sucking the dust through the hose can create static electricity that is then discharged through the components you are trying to clean. Better to blow the dust away.