On Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:04:45 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:39:35 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:12 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
I think I'll add the active ethernet switch (although I'm confused
whether the Linksys WRT54G router is 'already' an ethernet switch).

All ethernet devices are "active". The last time there was a
"passive" hub was with ARCNET. It's just an "ethernet switch".

Not totally true. There were ethernet hubs. You likely can't buy one
any more.

from "state of the art netwoking":

By default hubs are single broadcast and single collision domain,
which means a device transmitting at a time, transmits to all the
devices in the network i.e. it broadcasts every time and every device
on the network listens to that broadcast and the one which it is meant
for picks it up. Its anyones guess that how efficiently it will
work, its okay with one or two or three devices in a network but with
network scaling up and more and more devices being connected to it the
network dies down. How often we listen the complaints in office or
home that the network being slow or down, if there are hubs in the
picture thats what going to happen, because there is no way with hubs
you can control LAN traffic congestion. One way to make an ever
increasing network is to segment a network in smaller part and thats
when the switches come into picture.

Switches are much more than multi-port repeaters, they are quite
intelligent in a way that they recognize the devices connected to it
by their addresses, so there is no need to broadcast every time one
device want to share something or exchange information with another
device. Its like now when hubs are gone I can talk to my friend by
addressing him by name, otherwise with hubs it was like I had to shout
from the rooftop for everybody to listen even though they didnt want
to, what I wanted to say to my friend. So the above explanations make
switches a single broadcast and multiple collision domains. It
broadcasts only in one scenario in which it does not have information
about a device in its mapping table for which a particular piece of
info is transmitted, so it broadcasts that info that one time and
after finding about the device which accepts that it updates it table.

Also hubs operate in half duplex while switches can operate in full
duplex mode too. Adding a switch adds a lot of functionality to the
network and improves the efficiency of the network too. You can still
use hubs as per your networking needs but try using at least one
switch in case of a multiple hub network by plugging the hubs to the
switch, but an all switched LAN is just always better and I think Ive
provided enough evidence for that.



The added ethernet switch is there simply to allow for more ethernet
ports than the 4 provided by your WRT54G router.

I think I'll double the amount of wall jacks that I think I need.

This will require a bit of planning. If this was new work, the idea
would be to have a jack on every wall. That's often overkill for
rooms that are unlikely to need more than one. The balance is to have
a jack on each wall that straddles a door. That's because it's rather
awkward and messy to run cables across a doorway. Therefore, try to
locate your wall jacks so that any cords do not cross walk ways,
doors, and traffic lanes.

And, if the POE isn't involved, I'll put two jacks on a single cable.

I suggest you spend the money and use separate cables to each wall
jack. Eventually, you're going to install an NAS (network attached
storage) server, for storing such things as videos, photos, music,
apps, and junk. Gigabit ethernet is the way to get decent speed out
of NAS servers. It's also useful if you use a DVR that allows saving
shows on a PC. Anyway, gigabit requires all 8 wires.

Unfortunately, you bought your CAT5 at Home Despot and therefore
overpaid. Depending on your topology, my guess is about 50ft per
cable run. At that rate, your 500ft roll will not be enough cable. If
you're short on cash, split the cable between two jacks, but my
recommendation is to spend the money on more cable.

1. 19 dBi WISP antenna
2. Ubiquiti Bullet M2 router (Radio mode, DHCP server, NAT turned on)

Holdit. We may have a problem. It appears that you are using "double
NAT", where you have two devices doing NAT (the UBNT M2 and the
WRT54G). If you're going to do anything that involves incoming
connections (VoIP, remote desktop, games), you'll probably find it
easier to have a single easily configurable NAT device. I suggest you
turn OFF the DHCP server and NAT in the UBNT M2 radio, and leave the
NAT to the WRT54G. This way, the UBNT M2 delivers a single routable
IP address from the ISP to the WRT54G which then provides non-routable
IP addresses to all the home devices. Note that there's really
nothing fatally wrong with double NAT. It's just easier to deal with
single NAT.

3. No pigtail currently - but a 10-foot N pigtail would bring the radio
down to ground level for ease of maintenance

Maybe. At 10ft, I suggest LMR400 cable and Type N connector. At
2.4GHz, 10ft of LMR400 has a loss of about 0.6dB or about 10%. Good
enough. If you go to the next size smaller cable, LMR195, the loss is
1.85dB or about 35% loss. That's still acceptable depending on how
strong a signal you're getting from your WISP.

However, the UBNT Bullet M2 radios were not designed to mount or
operate in that manner. They were made to screw into the back of the
antenna panel. There's also a risk of getting water into the coax
cable, which will dramatically increase losses. You'll need to
waterproof the RF connectors. I use 1" wide PTFE plumbing tape (1/2"
will work and is easier to find) around the connector and partly up
the coax cable. Then, wrap the PTFE tape with common electrical tape
to keep it in place. Spray with clear Krylon for UV protection.

4. From the bullet, out comes RJ45 outdoor cat5 cabling

Careful with the grade of cable. Outdoor can be anything from UV
proof CAT5 to gel filled, armored, thick jacket, and shielded cable. A
non-penetrating (extra thick) outer jacket is probably all you'll
need.

5. That goes to a 15 volt Ubiquiti POE which must be located inside the
house (it's not an outdoor POE)

Note that most UBNT PoE is not 802.3af compliant and is therefore
non-standard. This is not really a problem, just a warning to be
careful what you plug into the device. Ubiquiti claims that they went
this route to save costs.

6. I'll drill a hole (upward at an angle) into the garage wall to enter
the house.

Think about using some kind of tubular feed through. Don't forget the
drip loop on the outside. Nail the cable to the wall with something
like this:
http://www.cablegiant.com/default.aspx?p_id=4&product_id=1490
Black is probably better than white for UV resistance.

7. At that point, I can add an inexpensive 10/100 four-port active
ethernet switch (any recommendations on which one?)

You don't need an ethernet switch here unless you want wired internet
access in the garage. The easiest way is to just attach an RJ45 plug
to the end of some more CAT5. Plug it into the PoE adapter and
continue to run the cable into the house.

However, if you want ethernet in the garage, there's an IP layout
problem. The cable run between the UBNT M2 and the WRT54G WAN port
will have a single IP address from the ISP on it (if you turn off NAT
in the UBNT M2). If you install an extra ethernet switch in this
line, there's only one IP address for 2 devices to fight over, which
won't work. The right way(tm) to run ethernet in the garage is to
bring a 2nd cable back from a LAN port on the WRT54G back to the
garage for users. I wouldn't bother.

I don't really have any favorite ethernet switches. I like Netgear
switches because of the metal case, which is easier to mount and tends
to survive better than plastic cases. Netgear also tends to use 12V
power supplies, which I find more reliable than 5V power supplies. 12V
is also better for battery backup (12v gel cell and charger). However,
even the 12V supplies have problems:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/repair/slides/Netgear%20DSA-12R-12.html

8. From that central point of the star, I can send one cable with two
connectors on it to the office in the center of the house so that there
are two female ports in the wall where I've already drilled a hole.

If you must... I would still suggest running 2 cables.

Incidentally, I've found a LAN cable continuity tester especially
useful for catching my wiring errors.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220895828757

8a. At the office, I'll connect one of those two ports to a Linksys
WRT54G router to serve the wireless devices in the household.

Close. One CAT5 cable from the PoE adapter in the garage to the WAN
(internet) port of the WRT54G. The rest of the house wiring
originates from the LAN ports on the WRT54G. The 2nd CAT5 cable,
going back to the garage, goes to one of the WRT54G LAN ports, and
might be used run a 2nd wireless access point.

9. From the ethernet switch, I can send another cable to the game room
where another two ports can be placed in the wall.

I'm assuming this ethernet switch is in the same general area as the
WRT54G. Essentially, it's a port expander. My guess is about 8 ports
minimum. 16 ports doesn't cost that much more.

9a. From one of those game room ports, I can connect a cat5 cable to the
WII

Total equipment:
- cat5 cable (outdoor rated, 24 AWG, solid conductor, 500 feet available)
- basic 10/100 active Ethernet switch (to act as the center of the star)
- one cable with two plugs going to the office
- two-port wall plate at the office (one port connected to WRT54G router)
- one cable with two plugs going to the game room
- two-port wall plate at the game room (one port connected to Wii game)

One question that remains is that with this setup, all the devices except
the game room devices will be on the other side of the home WRT54G router.

But, the game room will be only on the other side of the radio/router at
the antenna.

See my comments on the cable run between the PoE adapter in the garage
and the WRT54G WAN (internet) port. It should not have any additional
devices connected to this run. ALL (and I do mean ALL) user devices
connect either to the 4 LAN ports on the WRT54G, or the ports on the
nearby 8/16 port ethernet switch. That puts them all on the same side
of the router.

I think that means they'll both be on non-routable networks - but that
the game room will be behind only one router (the one on the antenna)
while the office equipment will be being two routers (the antenna radio
plus the Linksys WRT54G).

Well, I can make a drawing and post it if necessary, but I think the
previous paragraph is clear enough. It would easier if you did the
necessary documentation (because I'm lazy).

Does my understanding of the recommended setup make sense given all the
advice provided?

Mostly yes. However, it's difficult to offer advice when you severely
limit your descriptions. I like numbers. Model numbers, distances,
sizes, lengths, distances, heights, and all the other stuff it takes
to make real calculations. The quality of the answers you receive
will largely depend on the quality of the numbers that you supply.