Clarification of Answer by
funkywizard-ga
on
03 Nov 2002 19:37 PST
Professional installation of cabling may cost quite a bit, however,
the actual equipment itself in this case should cost no more than $300
if done efficiently. Since you want the cables to come through wall
jacks and above ceilings and such, I would say $1000 is probably a
fair quote for this type of installation.
Depending on the location of your dsl modem and your pcs, you may want
the ethernet switch or the router to not be in the closet with the
modem. Basically you can locate these anywhere, so long as the
computers are no more than 300 feet from the ethernet switch and the
router as well. If it must be in the telephone closet, more cabling
(and thus more cost) would be required. If total cabling needs to be
around 300 feet, this should not be a significant expense.
An ethernet hub as quoted by the $2000 company would not be
recommended for various reasons, namely performance and reliability. A
switch provides a dedicated connection to each computer, such that one
hoggy user cannot slow network performance for the rest of the users.
Also, a network switch greatly simplifies the layout of cabling,
allowing each pc to be up to 300 feet from the switch. Determining
what cable layouts work with a hub is much more complicated. Also,
these days switches don't cost more than hubs. An 8 port workgroup
switch can be had for $50, and a good 16 port switch can be had for
less than $150. In short, *do not* settle for a hub.
It should be noted that you will likely need fire safe "plenum rated"
ethernet cabling since you plan to install the cables in walls or
ceilings, as using non-plenum rated cable may violate fire codes (this
will vary depending on where you live). This will cost more than
normal cat 5 cable, but still not a whole lot of money. For instance,
one seller on ebay [
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=wwwbuycablesnowcom&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=25
] offers a 1000 ft spool of plenum rated cat 5 cable for $170. 1000
feet should be enough to connect every desktop, and even less will
probably be acceptable. The only additional cost would be in crimping
the cables (basically adding usable end connectors to bulk cabling). A
crimper and the ends of the cables can be had reletively cheaply, but
if you don't want to do this yourself, many ebay sellers offer up to
300 foot cables readymade. If you do not need fireproof cabling and
you are willing to make your own cables (or know someone who is
willing to do this), you can easily get a kit such as this one [
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2067471017 ] that
includes a cable crimper, 100 cable end plugs, and 1000 feet of
cabling.
As for the specific hardware to use, I do not see anything that would
cost $2000 or even $1000. An 8 port switch shouldn't cost more than
$50, a router that meets your needs shouldn't cost more than $100.
From what you have described, there is almost no way cabling would
cost more than $200 and much more likely to cost $100 or so. If I
personally lived in your area (which I doubt), I would do a full
installation of everything you need including hardware for less than
$500.
For cabling, lets say the dsl modem needs to be placed in the
telephone panel, and you can find a place to put the dsl router and
switch that is no more than 50 feet from each desktop (if the telphone
panel is no more than 50 feet from each desktop, this would be ideal).
One seller on ebay I often buy from sells lots of 5 - 50 ft shielded
cat 5 ethernet cables for $35 including shipping [
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2066971828 ]. If
every desktop is within 50 feet of the ethernet switch, this makes
total cost of cabling $70. If you need longer cables, one seller on
ebay offers 300 ft cat 5 cables ready made for $36 shipped, with
shorter cables being cheaper. [ http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=9022282
]
Also one thing I should mention is that you may be able to get an 8
port router, meaning a router that has the ethernet switch built into
it. This provides less flexibility in placement of the router, switch,
modem, and computers, but can save you $50 in hardware compared to
getting a 2 port router (one port for the modem, one port for your
network) and an 8 or 16 port network switch. I would recommend getting
a seperate switch. Dell offers several ethernet routers [
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.asp?customer_id=19&category_id=4259
] that should do the job, as well as a number of 8 port [
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.asp?customer_id=19&category_id=4228
] and 16 port [ http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.asp?customer_id=19&category_id=4230
] switches.
In conclusion, I would say that if you want this to be a "do it
yourself" job, you can easily buy all the hardware you need for about
$300. If it weren't for the case that wires cannot be easily installed
in your building without putting them in walls or ceilings or ducts
etc, a network knowledgeable individual should be able to set this up
for you in an hour or so. Even without said helpful individual,
reading through the instructions that come with the switches and
routers to become knowledgeable enough to do the installation yourself
should make this project take no more than an afternoon.
If you cannot do this yourself, or find a knowledgeable friend/high
school/college student to do it for you for a low price, you may end
up having to pay $1000 for professional installation. This is
especially true since you stated wires must be hidden or put in places
that are hard to get to. Even with professional installation, $2000
sounds like a very high quote.
I hope this provides you with the information you need.
