Help please!

Can someone give me some guidance on designing a data network for a block of student flats?

There are three flats, each with three bedrooms. I'd imagine that each student will have a computer and will want BB access. I guess I'll also have to have a landline phone in each flat too. So 9 computers at least plus 3 phones (12 outlets in total).

I think the easiest way would be to have one BB link in from the street, to a network switch, to a patch panel, then wired in a star network to each room.

Unless there is a cheaper way (apart from wireless). Your advice most welcome.

Mike

For me when I set up my network at home I did it as follows:

Cable line in to a modem. The modem then outputs to a router (as its NTL no router installed) then run a 30 meter ethernet cable out to the PC. The router also runs cables to other rooms. I also have a hub off the router to which the Xbox 360 and PS2 connect.

To hide all the cabling I bought polystyreene coving to run around the top of the walls and some cable ducting which I ran up the walls. If you have a nice clean start you could try chopping the plaster out and burying the cable in the wall.

to get the cable into another room, I bored a hole in the wall slightly larger than the RJ45 plug then fed the ethernet cable though that. As its behind the coving I can't be seen.

All in all cost me about 50 quid + coving (though I was going to do that anyway I don't count, but say an extra 50 quid).

Coursework ?

to reduce cable, you can run telephone and data in one cable as only 2 pairs of the 4 are needed for data and 1 pair (analog) or 2 pair (isdn) are needed. Still need 2 outlets per room off course, but they can be wired from 1 cable.

a regular cat5 cable would be used like follwing:

1 (orange-white) data
2 (orange) data
3 (green-white) data
4 (blue-white) phone
5 (blue) phone
6 (green) data
7 (brown-wite) unused unless isdn is used
8 (brown) unused unless isdn is used

At router/switch side cables 1236 go into a RJ45 and into your router/switch

and 45(78) go to RJ11 (analog) or RJ45 (isdn) or just hardwire them if you don't have any sockets at where the line enters the house.

On the other end (each room) you will have dual RJ45 sockets as RJ11 and RJ45 combined don't exist and 2 single boxes are far more expensive than 1 dual one.

Here you just wire for example the left one for data and the right one for phone and use a RJ45 to RJ11 cable to plug directly into the phone or fax or whatever is there.

Also with the unused cables used for phone you cannot destroy equipment either by accident.

I'll try to make up a drawing later.

You will also need a router with integral switch or a seperate switch connected to the router to have enough connections available.

[Edited on 28/1/07 by Werner Van Loock]

If you are offering this as a service you will need to use a decent router as the access point coupled to a switch that can support .1q private trunking, you can get DSL modules for Cisco boxes now so that is probally the way to go.

If you just bung in a cheap hub then anyone can run a bit of sniffing software and watch what everyone else is doing.

You do not want to be held liable if you get a security break so use a switch that supports VLAN's.

You then build VLAN's for each room and assign to switch ports. The router will act as a DCHP server and punt out the IP address ranges so allocate a small IP range per room.

The router will then route these LAN's to the WWW.

No need for firewalls like this, the main thing is to ensure that room 'A' cannot sniff room 'B'.

Regards Mark