Network Closet & Structured Cabling
Overview
The network closet is located in the Basement Electrical Panel room, which serves as the central termination point for all Ethernet and Coax runs in the house. This is not yet a finished closet — it is an open area with a floor-standing rack in place. Full rack buildout (patch panel punch-down, cable labelling, power management) is planned for Summer 2026.
Status: Work in progress. All Ethernet runs are currently raw ends. Patch panel is not yet installed.
Rack
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Floor-standing |
| Size | 6U |
| Status | In place, not fully secured or built out |
Note: 6U is tight at full population. Current planned rack residents: 24-port patch panel (1U), GigaPlus switch (1U), 5-port PoE switch (1U), PDU (1U) — leaves 2U spare. Consider upsizing before finalizing rack procurement.
Patch Panel
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | 24-port Cat6 keystone |
| Status | Not yet installed — pending cable labelling |
| Blocker | All 18 runs require labelling at both ends before punch-down |
Ethernet Runs — Full Inventory
18 total runs. All Cat6 runs were self-installed post-purchase. Cat5a runs are builder-installed dual-purpose cable.
| # | Room / Zone | Count | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basement Gym | 1 | Cat6 | Single wall plate (unfinished). Feeds Deco AP, TV, PoE injector → Front Yard Camera |
| 2 | Living Room | 1 | Cat6 | Self-run through wall. Feeds unmanaged switch → TV + AppleTV |
| 3 | Front Yard | 2 | Cat6 | Run 1: from Network Closet → Reolink camera (active). Run 2: from Gym PoE injector → future gas meter camera (Fall 2026) |
| 4 | Back Yard | 2 | Cat6 | Run 1: PoE → outdoor Deco X50-Outdoor AP. Run 2: unconnected — reserved for future WAN failover (Starlink or UniFi SIM) |
| 5 | Garage | 1 | Cat6 | ~50–70ft via conduit. Feeds Deco X50-Outdoor AP (PoE-powered from Closet) |
| 6 | Kitchen | 2 | Cat6 | Run 1: Deco BE11000 AP (primary node). Run 2: spare / unconnected |
| 7 | Kitchen | 1 | Cat5a | Builder run — awkward termination position, unconnected |
| 8 | Media Room | 1 | Cat5a | Single wall drop — daisy-chained switches downstream |
| 9 | Guest Bedroom | 1 | Cat5a | Not directly in use for Ethernet — MoCA adapter at desk end |
| 10 | Office | 1 | Cat5a | Feeds Deco XE75 Pro AP + MokerLink switch → homelab + work desk |
| 11 | Master Bedroom | 1 | Cat5a | PoE — feeds Deco X50-PoE on-wall AP |
| 12 | MoCA Network Feed | 1 | Cat6 | Dedicated run from Network Closet to Coax splitter for MoCA/OTA distribution |
Labelling status: Starting from zero. Previous labels have fallen off. Full re-labelling required at both ends of all 18 runs before patch panel work begins.
Coax Infrastructure
A coax network runs in parallel to Ethernet throughout the house, fed from the Network Closet via a coax splitter.
Signal sources at splitter:
- OTA antenna (attic-mounted, amplified)
- MoCA Ethernet bridge (1x adapter at Network Closet end)
Coax-capable rooms:
| Room | Active Use |
|---|---|
| Living Room | Coax present — current use TBD |
| Media Room | Connected to TV (OTA) |
| Guest Bedroom | MoCA adapter → desk Ethernet |
| Master Bedroom | Coax present — not actively in use for MoCA |
MoCA Adapters:
| Location | Role |
|---|---|
| Network Closet | Coax → Ethernet bridge (network side) |
| Guest Bedroom | Coax → Ethernet bridge (endpoint) |
MoCA expansion is possible but unlikely. The Guest Bedroom use case is a unique placement issue where Coax terminated at the right desk location but no Ethernet run was present.
Outstanding Action Items
- Label all 18 Ethernet runs at both ends (Network Closet + room end)
- Install 24-port Cat6 keystone patch panel in rack
- Secure and complete rack buildout
- Verify IoT network isolation method (see Wireless page)
- Install gas meter camera on Front Yard Run 2 (Fall 2026)
- Determine WAN failover solution for Back Yard Run 2 (Starlink vs UniFi SIM)
Last Updated
2026-06-18