I pulled back the plates on the phone jacks around my place and it turns out the cables are all cat5, so it should be a simple matter to rewire the end points into ethernet jacks.

However, I don't know how construction is generally wired, so I haven't been able to figure out where the end point/network hub is in my house. I don't have a smart panel, though if all the cables run to a central point then I'll happily create my own.

Has anyone else done this?

10/27/2011 3:07:11 PM

Just use the power grid, don't bother with the old phone cords.

10/27/2011 3:13:44 PM

^^

If you don't have a smart panel, or some sort of structured wiring, your wiring may terminate in your garage, or on the outside of your house.

I've rewired the cat5 into ethernet in my old house, but it all terminated inside a closet.

First thing you gotta do is find where all of that cat5 terminates.

10/27/2011 3:56:49 PM

since phones are all "hubbed" you might have everything terminated into a simple tie down board.

10/27/2011 4:06:59 PM

You used to be able to wire-hub ethernet together. Anyone know if you can do that today or has that ability been abandoned?

10/27/2011 4:45:18 PM

That has never been possible with cat5. Phones don't work like computer networks.

10/28/2011 9:35:18 AM

Excellent reading comprehension.

10/28/2011 11:58:16 AM

Friend of mine did this with his place. It's wired in a ring pattern like (b) below:



They're obviously not using token ring, but it's all wired together with switches in each like this

10/28/2011 1:43:48 PM

so..


what is the point of the ring?

STP is going to block one of the links anyway.

"for redundancy" only makes sense if you're running a business. It's pointless in a home network.

10/28/2011 1:54:30 PM

well, one room is wired to the next room, which is wired to the next room, and so on. The house never had a phone line run to it, and I don't know if/where everything might actually terminate. Just think of all the room beings connected in serial.

10/28/2011 2:39:41 PM

That's terrible. I shed a tear for you and this endeavor.

11/2/2011 1:07:27 PM

I was about to make a loopback joke but then found this: http://www.ossmann.com/5-in-1.html

11/3/2011 1:17:00 AM