Suggestions for moving server closet to the basement (extending a dozen shielded cat6 10-15 feet) (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by ch00f@lemmy.world to c/networking@sh.itjust.works

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So I need to move my server closet out of the guest room closet and into the basement so the closet can be used as a closet again.

I’ve got like 15 shielded cat6 with insulated risers patched into the back of a rack mount patch panel.

My goal is to end up with all of the existing cable extended 15’ or so to the new patch panel location, with maybe some kind of small door in the wall of the original closet so I can access the splices if anything goes wrong.

I invested in shielded cat6 when networking the house to future proof everything, and I have solid home runs to every location. I’m currently only running gigabit speeds, but I’d like to preserve the integrity of the original cables as much as possible.

With that in mind, what’s the best method for this extension? I’ve seen shielded punchdown junction boxes as well as female/female inline couplers. Keep in mind that there will be a bunch of them, so any advice on keeping things organized is appreciated.

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[-] JWBananas@startrek.website 6 points 8 months ago

Do you have room to keep one quiet switch in the existing closet? Maybe mounted to the ceiling?

Can you run 4 uplink cables from the closet to the basement?

Fanless managed switches with 4x 10G uplink ports and at least 16x 1G access ports are reasonably cheap (minutes transceivers, of course). For example:

https://www.fs.com/products/134655.html?attribute=8032&id=289447

If you can fit the cost into your budget, use CAT8 for your uplinks. That way if you ever do decide to upgrade your access network to 10G, you can bump your 4x uplink up to 25G without having to rewire.

Not that you'll probably ever need that much bandwidth in a house in the next decade or two.

[-] ch00f@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Oooh an uplink is an interesting idea. I’ll have to look into it.

The switch is already a fanless ubiquiti with an SFP. I could probably use that and run a single fiber, right?

[-] JWBananas@startrek.website 4 points 7 months ago

If you're going to run fiber cables, run two or three. At least two.

You don't want to do that twice if you don't have to. And if you need to troubleshoot your layer 1 at some point in the future, it's a lot less frustrating to have a good spare versus having to run more later just for testing.

I would go with 2 in aggregate (if you have the ports) + 1 spare.

But yes, fiber would definitely be a better option if you have enough clearance to run it without kinking it. Might even be cheaper depending on the cost of copper these days. The real cost is usually in the SFP+ modules.

Definitely do some research on the switches that you have before you buy the modules and cabling. Certain modules can be finicky with certain switches.

this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023

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