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My wife and I are having a new home built, should be done by mid-july. Yay!

I've bit the bullet and paid for the builder to install an "On-Q" system in the house and cat 6 wiring to every bedroom and most of the common area rooms. All of these locations add up to a unfortunate number of ports for switches: Nine.

For the price the builder charges for all of this work you'd think they include the switch. You'd be wrong. So, I've been searching the interwebs for small form factor 16 port gigabit switches; it has to fit in what will probably be a tight enclosure in a wiring panel. I've been able to find some small 8 port switches, and I could probably get along fine without every port being hot, but my preference would be to find a 16 port solution.

Any recommendations for SFF 16 port gigabit switches? Thank you in advance.

If you can list the dimensions of the "wiring cabinet" that will help. If it is really a standard server rack then there will be a ton of choices.

Basically you are looking at either a thin profile (1x16) vs a 2-row stack (2x8) configuration. I would say any of the reputable vendors like Netgear, Trendnet, Tplink, Cisco/Linksys, D-link should be ok.

Or, if you are looking for a "narrow but ok to be taller" setup, you can always stack 2 8-port switches with one on top of another.

Flying Fox wrote:

If you can list the dimensions of the "wiring cabinet" that will help. If it is really a standard server rack then there will be a ton of choices.

I wish I could tell you the dimensions of the wiring cabinet but I don't know what they are. Because of that I am planning for it to be small, much smaller than server rack size. I'm thinking the 8x2 port configuration will probably be the smallest and two 8 port switches are probably out because of the need for 2 power packs.

Yeah, if size is a constraint, you can link two very compact 8-ports together. The downside is that there will be a bit of an internal bottleneck if multiple things on one switch want to send a lot of bandwidth to something(s) on the other switch, as they'll all be sharing the same 1Gb/s link.

Otherwise, in terms of 1x16, these are robust unmanaged switches and about as compact as you can get:
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-16-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Desktop/dp/B01AX8XHRQ



If you must go 2x8 in one box, this nasty plastic thing is the closest I've found, not sure about US availability though:
http://www.dlinkmea.com/site/index.php/site/productDetails/508

I like Chrispy's suggestion, but thought I would point this one out too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833122672

edited for reading comprehension fail

Chrispy_ wrote:

{snip}
If you must go 2x8 in one box, this nasty plastic thing is the closest I've found, not sure about US availability though:
http://www.dlinkmea.com/site/index.php/site/productDetails/508

That one's 10/100, Chrispy, but you can get a similar gig switch from them - looks a little wider but not much
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 1K02E38659

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys. I like the Netgear switch, if the cabinet has enough room. Also, I don't mind D-Link switches, I've had a few and they've never let me down.

Just a side note, that "GS316" that Chrispy linked, and its family friends, will be easier to find on Amazon if you search by "Netgear Prosafe." Which is probably the lowest-end you want to go for a whole-house system and the corresponding reliability needs.

Something to think about: the switch doesn't necessarily have to be inside the cabinet, provided the incoming cables are correctly terminated to a distribution hub, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Wired-Home-WH8NDH ... 82&sr=1-84

In that case, just get one or two blank knockouts removed and edge-lined to prevent chafing, then mount the switch external to the cabinet and feed back inside using short patch cables. The switch will appreciate the ventilation.

How is the ventilation in the wiring cabinet? If it is completely enclosed this whole idea may be a non-starter, as the switch is probably going to need at least some convective airflow.

ludi wrote:

In that case, just get one or two blank knockouts removed and edge-lined to prevent chafing, then mount the switch external to the cabinet and feed back inside using short patch cables. The switch will appreciate the ventilation.

I'm not picturing what you are suggesting in my mind. I'm thinking these knockouts would lead in to the open wall, that surely can't be what you are talking about, can it?

just brew it! wrote:

How is the ventilation in the wiring cabinet? If it is completely enclosed this whole idea may be a non-starter, as the switch is probably going to need at least some convective airflow.

That's a good point. I certainly hope the cabinet has some ventilation because I'm not paying a bunch of money to have worthless cat 6 in the walls and no way to connect it. But getting information out of the builder, especially technical or very specific information, is nigh impossible. It's an unfortunate consequence of the almost toxic sellers market in the Seattle area.

Not sure on the brand. Really need dimensions:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833181152

Can pass cables though a wall plate designed for it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 8AW3166681

Here is an example of what these cabinets can look like. I have no information that this is what mine will look like.




As far as dimensions go I'm just looking for smallest at this point.

I'm going through something similar. I've recently purchased a house but it doesn't have Ethernet in everyroom. So I've gone the DIY route: ordered a dedicated patch panel, 1000 ft of bulk solid copper Cat6A cabling and accessories wire up the outlets. Everything in the house will run to a central point in the basement.

From there, they'll be patched into a 24 port HP ProCurve Gigabit managed switch I picked up from a local business upgrading their equipment. That'll rest in a 7 foot, four post rack frame alongside several servers, my cable modem and a router.

the wrote:

I'm going through something similar. I've recently purchased a house but it doesn't have Ethernet in everyroom. So I've gone the DIY route: ordered a dedicated patch panel, 1000 ft of bulk solid copper Cat6A cabling and accessories wire up the outlets. Everything in the house will run to a central point in the basement.

From there, they'll be patched into a 24 port HP ProCurve Gigabit managed switch I picked up from a local business upgrading their equipment. That'll rest in a 7 foot, four post rack frame alongside several servers, my cable modem and a router.

I'm curious, the reason I'm will to pay our builder to much money for the cabling during construction is because I really didn't think it could be done after the fact. At least not with all the cables in the walls.

Everything posted has been unmanaged switches. If you're looking ahead, grabbing a managed switch or layer-3 switch can provide some additional administrative capacity, like segmenting off WiFi from your On-Q traffic. May I recommend the Cisco SG series? There's the SG200-10 and SG300-10. Ten copper ports with 2 SFP modules on the final two meets your 9-wire capacity requirement. Both will do VLANs, and the 300 can do Layer-3 inter-VLAN routing. There are PoE options as well so you can throw an AP somewhere and not be limited by AC plug location.

mac_h8r1 wrote:

Everything posted has been unmanaged switches. If you're looking ahead, grabbing a managed switch or layer-3 switch can provide some additional administrative capacity, like segmenting off WiFi from your On-Q traffic. May I recommend the Cisco SG series? There's the SG200-10 and SG300-10. Ten copper ports with 2 SFP modules on the final two meets your 9-wire capacity requirement. Both will do VLANs, and the 300 can do Layer-3 inter-VLAN routing. There are PoE options as well so you can throw an AP somewhere and not be limited by AC plug location.

I'd given a few thoughts to a managed switch. It appeals to the geek in me but I'm honestly not sure I'd need what it can do. It would be good experience for me though. The fact that it is 10-port is nice for my situation. Thank you for suggesting those.

I'm in the same boat as you, almost exactly. The builder's wiring contractor installed a box into the wall, just like the one you posted. It doesn't have any ventilation, unless you consider the airspace inside the wall to be "ventilation". So that rules out putting heat-generating components inside the box.

Instead what I'm (in the process of) doing is mounting a fire-resistant board on the wall above the panel. To this board I will mount my router, switch, patch panel (exact same 12 port panel as the one in your pic), phone modem, power strip and/or small UPS.

As for the switch - I also have a total of 9 ethernet outlets in the house, but I bought an 8-port switch. I am planning on using 1 of the switch ports to connect to my router. 7 of the switch ports connect to the "main" rooms. The remaining 2 rooms will just plug directly into my router, which has 4 ports (one of which is occupied by the above-mentioned connection to the switch). Those two rooms will be ones in which I don't anticipate any intra-house traffic.

If you're interested in any further details, let me know. I'll post a picture in this thread when it's all done.

nerdrage wrote:

If you're interested in any further details, let me know. I'll post a picture in this thread when it's all done.

Oh yes, definitely post pics!

mac_h8r1 wrote:

Everything posted has been unmanaged switches. ....

This one is managed and should meet the "small" requirement I hope.

frumper15 wrote:

I like Chrispy's suggestion, but thought I would point this one out too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833122672

adampk17 wrote:

ludi wrote:

In that case, just get one or two blank knockouts removed and edge-lined to prevent chafing, then mount the switch external to the cabinet and feed back inside using short patch cables. The switch will appreciate the ventilation.

I'm not picturing what you are suggesting in my mind. I'm thinking these knockouts would lead in to the open wall, that surely can't be what you are talking about, can it?

I was envisioning a surface-mount box, but if it's finished into the construction, it wouldn't be quite that easy.

Not impossible, though:
http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-Go-404 ... wall+plate
http://www.amazon.com/DataComm-45-0001- ... wall+plate

The termination box is likely mounted between two adjacent studs, with open air space above and below, so assuming all the cables enter from the top like in that picture, your patch access plate could be immediately below the termination box. Properly mounting the plate would also require one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-SC10 ... e+old+work

What's all this termination? I am too newbie to understand. Don't you just connect from device <-> wall <-> wall <-> switch?

I had to check this OnQ stuff out.

It looks like they have a variety of sizes:
http://www.homecontrols.com/On-Q-Legran ... gory=77280

Why don't you just make sure they put the largest one in? It can't more than a hundred bucks to jump from the smallest to biggest size.
This is infrastructure that you won't be able to easily change going forward.
Assuming you live here for several years you will be glad you did when it comes time for the next technology upgrade or just to make finding the switch today an easy job.

videobits wrote:

I had to check this OnQ stuff out.

It looks like they have a variety of sizes:
http://www.homecontrols.com/On-Q-Legran ... gory=77280

Why don't you just make sure they put the largest one in? It can't more than a hundred bucks to jump from the smallest to biggest size.
This is infrastructure that you won't be able to easily change going forward.
Assuming you live here for several years you will be glad you did when it comes time for the next technology upgrade or just to make finding the switch today an easy job.

All of your thoughts are reasonable, but unfortunately, those details are unavailable, and you risk losing the deal because you're not just willing to accept what they give you and you're a bother. Yes, the market here is that bad.

And it should be a couple hundred dollars max for the bigger box, but when the difference between a RJ11 jack and a RJ45 jack is $25 each, you may get a rude surprise.

Flying Fox wrote:

What's all this termination? I am too newbie to understand. Don't you just connect from device <-> wall <-> wall <-> switch?

Per the sample picture provided, the second "wall" in your path is actually that row of ports inside a central termination box, which may or many not have enough room to install a proper-sized switch...and which doesn't appear to have good ventilation, i.e., it might be preferable to mount the switch on the exterior wall and route the patch cables back inside somehow.

adampk17 wrote:

For the price the builder charges for all of this work you'd think they include the switch. You'd be wrong. So, I've been searching the interwebs for small form factor 16 port gigabit switches; it has to fit in what will probably be a tight enclosure in a wiring panel. I've been able to find some small 8 port switches, and I could probably get along fine without every port being hot, but my preference would be to find a 16 port solution.

Any recommendations for SFF 16 port gigabit switches? Thank you in advance.

I would think the builder would include a bunch of crappy wiring since they used their electrician to run the cabling, and electricians generally have zero clue what they are doing in regards to cabling. You'll be lucky if those morons put the correct version in the walls let alone certify the runs with an actual tester, and I'm not talking about a connectivity tester. For what it's worth, I have yet to meet a company that lives up to my standard, and that includes a company servicing a multi-million dollar contract at a datacenter.

You'll have 200m of cable to work with, and you're probably not going to get close to that in a house. Accept that your going to have to do some improvements, and buy a wall mount rack, like this. This will allow you to mount normal sized 1u switches, or abnormally sized stuff with with the correct adapters or via shelves.

With that being said, Netgear and Trendnet are the two brands I look at for cheap switches. I have a TrendNet TEG-S16DG servicing my home network. It's bigger then an 8 port switch, but not as big as a 48-port switch. You could step up to the 24 port switch and stay within the same footprint.

adampk17 wrote:

the wrote:

I'm going through something similar. I've recently purchased a house but it doesn't have Ethernet in everyroom. So I've gone the DIY route: ordered a dedicated patch panel, 1000 ft of bulk solid copper Cat6A cabling and accessories wire up the outlets. Everything in the house will run to a central point in the basement.

From there, they'll be patched into a 24 port HP ProCurve Gigabit managed switch I picked up from a local business upgrading their equipment. That'll rest in a 7 foot, four post rack frame alongside several servers, my cable modem and a router.

I'm curious, the reason I'm will to pay our builder to much money for the cabling during construction is because I really didn't think it could be done after the fact. At least not with all the cables in the walls.

Eh. I've helped my dad with this sort of stuff - the house was built in the 60's (electricity, grounding, phone; no ethernet), so we went through the crawlspace (no basement) and ran ethernet, sprinkler timer wire, etc through there (stapled it to the ceiling). There's a conduit going up to the router in one room. On the other end, if we were lazy, we drilled a small hole in the floor and ran the cable through. If we weren't as lazy, we ran a fish tape through, ran it through a hole in the sheetrock, and connected it to a wallplate.

I will also say that Netgear prosafe switches have been pretty bulletproof in my experience: http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-G ... 00023DRLO/ (this one is unmanaged though)

localhostrulez wrote:

adampk17 wrote:

I'm curious, the reason I'm will to pay our builder to much money for the cabling during construction is because I really didn't think it could be done after the fact. At least not with all the cables in the walls.

Eh. I've helped my dad with this sort of stuff - the house was built in the 60's (electricity, grounding, phone; no ethernet), so we went through the crawlspace (no basement)...

Most homes and hotels aren't built with any sort of consideration in regards to cable maintenance, and running cables is best done at build time or during a remodel when all the walls and insulation can be ripped out. There is a reason most people run cables outside the house and drill through the outside wall, and there is also a reason Wifi is the home network of choice.

Horizontal run in older single story ranch-style homes with crawlspaces and decent attics aren't too bad, but vertical runs are always a pain. Inevitably there is horizontal brace that gets missed, and you end up with a hole that has to be patched.

Forget about running cable in modern slab homes and multi-story houses.

Flatland_Spider wrote:

, and there is also a reason Wifi is the home network of choice.

I don't know, to me, Wi-Fi is to be avoided wherever possible. It's great for smart phones, tablets, and laptops but in my house if something can be hardwired that's my goal.

adampk17 wrote:

I don't know, to me, Wi-Fi is to be avoided wherever possible. It's great for smart phones, tablets, and laptops but in my house if something can be hardwired that's my goal.

I used to feel this way as well. The latest generation of WiFi is changing my mind. It's "fast enough" for everyday use, and unless you're doing something intensive like torrenting Linux ISOs over a fast Internet connection, you won't notice the difference.

just brew it! wrote:

adampk17 wrote:

I don't know, to me, Wi-Fi is to be avoided wherever possible. It's great for smart phones, tablets, and laptops but in my house if something can be hardwired that's my goal.

I used to feel this way as well. The latest generation of WiFi is changing my mind. It's "fast enough" for everyday use, and unless you're doing something intensive like torrenting Linux ISOs over a fast Internet connection, you won't notice the difference.

or unless you live in an old house with brick or stone internal walls
or unless you live in an area where all the wifi channels are very busy

I suffer from both of these problems