Menu
What's new

Turning closet into home network hub, need suggestions and tips

Mike

Mike

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
2,981
Reaction score
2,725
Location
New York
I am turning a closet into my home network hub. I plan on putting pretty much everything communications related inside of it, including my BI server. I'm thinking I'll pick up a rack for certain things, like the patch panel, and I'll build something custom below it. I figured the rack on top, below that custom plywood on hindges with clearance behind it for running cables, and below that some shelves. On the plywood will be my webpower switch, VeraLite, WS-POE, etc., the shelves will have my BI server, NAS, etc. The closet is 8 ft tall, 25 inches deep and about 39 inches wide (with a 24" wide door frame)

Here is what I have already that I will be sticking in the closet:

What I would like to add:
  • Cat5e or Cat6 patch panel (wire in house is cat5e but wondering if I should get cat6 panel? They are backward compatible)
  • Some sort of coaxial RG6 hub (in case I want to run TV cable to a room later)
  • PVC pipe mounted in ceiling to run wires from closet into attic
  • Fan to mount in ceiling blowing air from closet into attic, possibly temperature controlled
  • Maybe a hub or something for the phone lines?

Here is what I have been thinking of getting:

Knowing everything that I'm putting in the closet, does anyone have any suggestions? What racks, shelves, patch panels, ventilation, etc. do you guys use? Should I go w/ a cat5e patch panel since I have cat5e cable run in the house or should I grab a cat6 panel for the future? I am thinking of painting the inside of the closet and plywood white (unless there is a better color for dust, temp, etc) and keeping the door to the closet open most of the time. I'll close it and lock it when I leave the house sometimes but I'm hoping the fan in the ceiling will help control the temperature in there.

Thanks for your input and for listening.

Mike
 
I

icerabbit

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
583
Reaction score
74
Location
FL <~> ME
I recently endeavored on something similar, though with less equipment, and ... long story short ... ended up using closet maid shelving. I can build any cabinet any which way I want, but between being in a closet, tight spaces, heat being generated, lots of wires going various places, high likelihood in my case that things will continue to change and expand equipment and wire wise; I just put up a few vertical bars, some brackets, cut some shelves with a 1/2 inch or so gap on the sides; and called it a day.

I'll see about a photo of the work in progress.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
nayr

nayr

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
9,329
Reaction score
5,325
Location
Denver, CO
consider cutting the bottom of the door off or cutting a big hole in it and putting an air-return register on it... heat is always an issue with a packed wiring closet.. If you have AirConditioning then id put an oversized inline duct fan in the attic and returning somewhere else in the house.. You can get a thermostatic speed controller hooked up to it to control the speed based on the temps in the closet and since you oversized the fan it will run idle and quiet most of the time but have plenty of power to move a ton of air through there if there is a heating issue.. If you put an air-register on the outside of your closet door you can duct tape a HVAC filter onto the inside and keep the door closed; it will help keep dust and bugs out of your equipment.

Put a 2 post full size rack in the closet and tie it to the celling so it cant tip over or move, put a couple shelfs at the bottom and you can squeeze 4 tower computers in the bottom half.. you can attach plywood to the two post rack and also give you more areas to mount equipment.

Screw a giant piece of 3/4in plywood on one of the walls so you can mount non Rackmount equipment to securely and provide anchors/tie downs for cabling and label wires with a sharpie on the wall.. you screw down two 2x4's flat on the wall studs and then put the plywood on those acting as standoffs so you can drill/screw/cut through the plywood as needed without damaging the wall behind.

Getting power in is tricky; you can surface mount conduit boxes on that plywood and pull a cable all the way to your fuse box and give your closet its own 20A circuit for best results.. an extension cord going under the door isint a great solution.. if you plan on putting a laser printer in there then you will need a dedicated circuit, or two.

Patch panels and surface mount boxes are awesome; buy the cat6 and run it when possible.. cat5 should be avoided on new installs.

Keep it clean and label EVERYTHING; its a closet you wont spend much time in once your all done.. a few years from now you'll be scratching your head trying to figure out what is what.

If you have a cheap hollow closet door consider getting a solid core wood one and put a dead bolt on it, alot of the benefit of having a wiring closet is the increased physical security.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I

icerabbit

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
583
Reaction score
74
Location
FL <~> ME
^^ Great tips.

I gave mine 2x20A, built-in, with decent size UPS, but I don't run anything near heavy duty. I think I'm 200W avg.

I haven't sorted out ventilation yet. Most hesitant to cut holes in the door. My issue is that the fans in the 16 & 24 port switches are quite audible, ruining the hidden idea already.
 
nayr

nayr

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
9,329
Reaction score
5,325
Location
Denver, CO
if you go to your local gardening center or look arround online at them you can find these perfect setups for wiring closet air circulation.. I suspect some people need it for doing a lil bit of gardening in there closet ;)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grozone-Control-TV2-Multimode-fan-speed-controller-hydroponics-thermostat-fan-/261482251139?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item3ce18e8383
wired up to a fan like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELICENT-AXC-INLINE-FAN-100B-4-152CFM-/141377365720?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item20eabf66d8

That setup would be capable of exchanging the air in your closet 3x a min; plenty to keep from overheating..
 
As an eBay Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
nayr

nayr

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
9,329
Reaction score
5,325
Location
Denver, CO
if you have the room in your closet you can come in and out your attic.. run a rigid duct from the floor all the way through the ceiling then attach insulated flexible duct over to an inlet on one side of the closet.. then on the other side you go from duct in celing, to fan, back out to vent some feet away from the intake.. this will create a bottom to top airflow with a nice vacuum so the closet is not pressurized.

more plywood on the inside and a solid core door with that setup will be pretty sound proof; wiring closets luckily are almost all high frequency noise which is easily reduced by a little dense mass.

Its also best to avoid putting the wiring closet in a room people sleep :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top