Friday, July 31, 2020

Patch Panel Help Requested

I moved into a condo unit and was disappointed to find that only 1 Ethernet port was the WAN for my gigabit fiber ISP - the rest are not usable. I’d like to hardwire components in various rooms that are pre-wired for Ethernet.

What do I need to do to enable that, in a basic patch panel? I assume I need to add a router w/ an adequate number of ports next to the patch panel (a switch might be overkill) and to the various Ethernet cables that are terminated at the patch panel. For this, I would need to hire an electrician to add a power outlet in the closet, I think, for the router. The existing patch panel box is small, I’d imagine I’d need to switch to a larger box that can neatly fit a router w/ a decent number of ports and the additional wiring. Then just add a WiFi access point via one of the various Ethernet ports throughout the house.

Man, this seems like a PITA for home owners. Why do builders do this? Don’t pretty much all home buyers want a turnkey solution in place. My setup basically means I have one working Ethernet port, a WAN port, for my ISP, and a box with a patch panel that is too small to do anything with - and lacks a source of power - that seems so dumb.

I’d probably want to hire this out, to appease my nanny state HOA. What would this sort of work cost, ballpark? Would I hire an electrician to do it?

Having gigabit speeds neutered by Netgear Orbi WiFi means I see like 150 Mbps in other parts of the house, vs the 900ish that I get when hard-wired to the router. Would Wifi6 solve my problems cheaper?

Thanks!



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