# OnQ Network Wiring?



## Klikini (May 7, 2013)

I moved into a house with ethernet & phone ports in several rooms, and I found the main box in the wall of a closet. I was wondering if the box was wired correctly to give internet access to all the panels? The router is not close to the wiring, but maybe there is an ethernet port near it that goes to the right place?

Pictures (on TinyPic, sorry):
Wall Panels
Wiring Access
Telecom Panels
Network Interface

Thanks in advance, and let me know if you need more information/photos.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Hopefully you have the panels labeled by room - the wall plate doesn't look like it is. If not, you may need to invest in a cat5 tester (monoprice or HD/Lowes) and figure out which is which. If it's less than 10 years old, it's probably cat 5 on both, so you can probably use either for network.

Back-feed from your router location into the closet and put a 8 or 16 port switch in the closet to go to other rooms. 1.5' jumpers from monoprice are extremely cheap.

I'll add that you can backfeed from your dsl / cable modem to the closet and put the router in the closet. . . again with short jumpers to the ports going to the room connections. If the closet is more central to your house, the wifi will probably be better from there.


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## Klikini (May 7, 2013)

I thought that the Network Interface panel was a switch, is it not? The cables coming down of the left are labeled by room. Also, the wall panels say CAT5e (not sure if the cable matches, though).

Now for the STRANGE part:

There is an ethernet/phone/cable wall panel right by the router. We have AT&T U-verse for internet and TV, and Vonage for phone. AT&T requires that we use the 2WIRE gateway (modem/router combo). Because it has horrible connectivity/compatibility/speed/etc, I have a Belkin router connected to one of the ethernet ports. The 2WIRE sees the router as just another ethernet computer, and the router sees the gateway as just a modem. The Vonage device is connected to an ethernet port on the Belkin router. No problems. However, when I went to plug the router into the ethernet wall panel, all 3 ports (ethernet/phone/cable) were taken. Get this-- the ETHERNET port had a cord from the phone output on the VTA, and the phone port had a data cable from the phone output of the 2WIRE gateway. This makes no sense to me, as AT&T set it up without anything from me. There is a standard house phone connected to another phone jack in the house, and it works with Vonage. Why the 2WIRE's phone output is in the wall and why a standard CAT5e cable has a phone plug on the Vonage end, I don't know.

If this is confusing you, understand that I have no better idea and I will try again to explain it.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

This is confusing to say the least!! It sounds like whoever hooked it up is using the phone wiring interchangeably with the network. In general, if it's CAT5, that's ok.

Those interfaces are just 'patch' panels - not switches. If you aren't using the 2-wire voice line, just disconnect it.

And the Belkin connected to the 2-wire. Router to router (Wan Port) is generally a no-no. You can make the Belkin a Wifi access point, just plug it in Lan to the 2-wire Lan. And turn off DHCP on the Belkin.

Basically, disconnect what's not needed, remember how things are connected and get one thing at a time working again.


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## Klikini (May 7, 2013)

Yes I know, I get told that a lot. But it's been working for 2 years now. Another network no-no that works: using a range extender as the _same network as the router, with the same SSID_, so that when you connect to, for example, the router, then move closer to the extender, your computer automatically switches over to the extender's network.

What annoys me the most is the phone-to-cat5 cable that just _appeared_. I _did_ set up the Vonage system, because at that point AT&T was not touching anything without an extra payment.

Wouldn't a patch panel still work to connect all our "computers" (router included, it will hopefully connect as one) together?


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

So this has been working for 2 years?? From your initial post, "I just moved to a house". . .

Range extenders or additional APs SHOULD have the same SSID and security, just on different channels.

A patch panel is just that, connect something to a port and it appears on the other end. Just wire.


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## Klikini (May 7, 2013)

Different house with the same gateway configuration, but no in-wall ethernet.

After some 2WIRE/AT&T searching, I found out that the cable going from the 2WIRE to the phone jack is a VDSL cable.

The Belkin instructions said to set it up with a different SSID, like a new network, so I went with the other approach.

I guess the in-wall ethernet will have to wait until Google Fiber wires here. Then the ethernet will operate at a faster speed anyway. Thanks for the help!


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## Klikini (May 7, 2013)

I was looking on some other network sites, and I found out the actual purpose of a patch panel: organization & easy swapping.

So, I would need a switch, and a bunch of short ethernet cords to go from the ports on the patch panel to the switch, correct?

Right now I have this computer on a powerline connection (much faster than Wifi through the extender), and even if I do get the in-wall system connected, there isn't a port in here. That probably wouldn't be too hard to fix, as this network access box is in the wall behind the computer. There's even already a hole for cable, but that's not running.

Would a powerline network be fast enough to be the signal supply to the switched ports (there is an outlet in the cabinet: one plug for the switch, one for powerline)?

EDIT: Would this switch be adequate? I know there's only 5 used ports in the patch panel, but I would need another from the router, plus it's always nice to be able to use it elsewhere.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Powerline performance varies greatly with the units and your home wiring. It can work for email or browsing but may not for video streaming or MRV.

That switch is fine, you may find better pricing or a sale at buy.com or newegg. Monoprice is an excellent source for short (or long) Cat 5/6 jumpers. You can buy many for the price of 1 at a local store.

In general, don't stack more than 3 switch/devices in series. (Router / Switch / Switch)


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