Nevermind the computer.
Sure, we all surf the internet and check email but you probably use, or have heard of, home entertainment services like Netflix streaming or Xbox games played over the internet. Increasingly our home internet services are being asked to do simultaneous tasks and all these things together use a lot of bandwidth – especially video streaming. A robust home network will allow you to do your streaming, surfing and playing without the headaches of slow load times and even worse, stalling or crashing.
What is to come.
Services like On Demand, Xbox streaming video and gaming as well as Netflix are pushing consumers to tap into the pipeline for your home entertainment needs. Watching movies on your media room system is great on a Blu-ray but soon you may be connecting to the internet instead of popping in a disc. Video rental stores are almost gone, Nexflix is changing its pricing structure, and the availability of titles in the “red box” is limited so we turn to streaming content. It is only a matter of time before the streaming video is of Blu-ray quality and every movie is available in this way.
Don’t Go Cheap!
Picture your frustration when you sit down to watch a movie and your network crashes. A $49 router could easily cost you more in the long run with constant problems, crashing networks or calls to your computer fix-it guy. Spending a little more and having your network properly designed will save you this picture of frustration.
Security
Lastly, a properly designed network will help protect you from hackers and other malicious attacks.
Here are some components of a good network:
- Robust router with a firewall for security
- Password protected network
- Wireless access point(s) with complete coverage throughout your house
- Wired connections for more secure browsing
- Parental controls for children
For the network, how many line drop should there be throughout the house? Should it be one for each room? I am assuming that it is all cat 6e, which is what I have pulled.
Maurice S.
Calgary, AB
One more question regarding routers, do you recommend a heavy duty one, like a Cisco, or will an Apple Airport Extreme suffice?
Maurice – thanks for the great questions! As far as the number of drops, it really depends on what your intentions are, as far as computer networking and home automation. We believe that every bedroom, office, playroom, etc should have at least one drop of networking and coaxial cable, sometimes two. Additionally, hidden network drops in closets or under stairways are great places to hide wireless access points. As far as cat-5e or cat-6, we select whatever is appropriate based on the length of each run, and the client’s needs. We standardize on cat-5e, as it supports gigabit ethernet up to 330 feet, and most homes have drops well under that length. We will happily pull cat-6 if a client requests us to do so, and we always pull Crestron’s Digital Media Certified cat-5e cable for their video systems, due to superior shielding and support from Crestron.
The routers question is again dependent on the use-case. We sell plenty of Apple Airports as the main routing and Wi-Fi in homes. When systems get more complex with heavy media streaming, lots of IP-based control, or Digital Media, we will step the system up to a more heavy-duty grade of router and switch product such as Pakedge.
Thank you for reading!