How to Wire a House for Internet Access

by Robert Cook

Overview

With the growing availability and popularity of high-speed Internet service, as well as the growing number of computers in each home, the need for wiring homes for Internet access is also growing. It takes some time, planning and effort, but wiring your home for Internet access has many benefits, not the least of which being the ability to connect multiple computers in different parts of the house to a single Internet connection. It takes experience and a few specialized tools, but Internet wiring is not as complicated as it may seem.

Step 1

Determine a central location for your primary network hub. It is most effective for this to be in the same place as your primary Internet connection.
Step 2

Connect your Internet service to a device you can use to connect all the computers in your house. This device will be a router, or, if your primary Internet gateway device functions as a router, a switch. Make sure it has enough free ports to connect every computer in your home.
Step 3

Run a CAT5E cable from the central switch to each place in your house where you will need to connect a computer. You can run the cables along the baseboards if you do not have far to go or if you are not overly concerned with aesthetics. Otherwise, you will need to drill a hole in the wall and run the cable along the inside of the wall to each location.
Step 4

Terminate the ends of each of the CAT5E cables with RJ-45 cable ends using a crimper tool. Make sure the wiring configuration on each end of the cable is identical. The most common wiring sequence when terminating the cable is: white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, and finally brown.
Step 5

Connect each cable to both the central switch and the computer you wish to connect to the Internet.

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CAT5E cable Router or switch RJ-45 cable ends RJ-45 crimper tool RJ-45 jacks and wall plates (optional)
CAT5E cable
Router or switch
RJ-45 cable ends
RJ-45 crimper tool
RJ-45 jacks and wall plates (optional)
Alternatively, you could mount an RJ-45 jack into the wall at each computer location and connect the jack to the computer using a short patch cable.
Alternatively, you could mount an RJ-45 jack into the wall at each computer location and connect the jack to the computer using a short patch cable.