Most new homes have wiring for networks available as DTY dope dyed Manufacturers part ofthe modern and normal functionality and not as an extra component for makingthe home worth more. Home networks are a standard part of the electricalsystem. A home should have data ports in every livable room in thehouse. Bathrooms and pantries probably dont need data ports.

A data port iswhere you connect your computer patch cable so you can have Internet or accessto family networks. Wireless networks are popular because they dont require allthe cable to each room, but most communications technicians like myselfstrongly discourage the use of wireless networks due to lack of privacy and neighborsstealing free Internet from you. The cable we use in home networks is called Cat5 cable. Ithas eight wires inside of different colors. We will need to find out which roomwe want our main network hub to be in. I prefer to have a utility room withaccess to a distribution panel or junction box for cable TV, phone systems,home security, and home network systems all together.

Most home network hubs also have a router for Internetaccess. Without the Internet, a network hub still gives all computers in thehome the option to be a part of the family network. We will need to run Cat5 from the hub to each data port ineach room and secure the wires with staples onto the framing of the walls. Thedata ports fit into regular electrical boxes used for outlets and lightswitches. The Cat5 needs to terminate into an electrical box with about teninches of cable to spare. Each data port will be wired according to a correspondingcolor with the wires in the Cat5. These data ports are called Mod jacks andthey will be a punch down block that you insert the wires into and make a goodconnection. This mod jack will plug into an electric box and a wallplate will fit over it so it looks like part of the wall. The other end of the cable is where it connects to thenetwork hub. We will need to terminate this cable with an RJ-45 connector. Thisis the connector that plugs into the network port on computers and data ports.We need to have a special tool that presses all the wires in place inside theconnector. We can gently scribe a ring around the Cat5 cable with autility knife to peel the plastic coating away from the wires about a half-inchfrom the end. The wires will need to be in the exact order before we slide theminto the connector.