Home networking - So many wires

Deadfall

Not really, but it seems that way to me. I fully understand that this is something that any computer/video game geek like myself should be able to do, but my usual tactic of plugging things into various ports until something happens isn't working this time. Feel free to make light of my ignorance.

Anyway, bought a house, moved in, huzzah! It's wired for cable internet throughout the house. Each coax has a CAT5 port, and the upstairs office loft has two; a blue one for what I can only assume is the "activator" and one the other is normal. I lived with my buddies in college in a house wired like this, and my buddy who is in network security always set up the networking part for me. Now I'm on my own and I can't get the damned thing to network.

I can get internet in the office to work, obviously. Here's how it is currently:

Cable coax from the coax outlet is connected to -> the modem.
Modem is connected to -> my router.
Router is connected to -> the blue CAT5 port in the wall.
Computer is connected to -> the router.

This is the only way I can get internet, and it only connects the office. Now, I would have assumed that I needed to plug the modem into the router, the router into the "activator" CAT5, and this would "activate" all of the CAT5 ports throughout the house, leaving me to simply plug in my computer or Xbox into the CAT5 port and connecting me to the internet.

But this is not the case. There is no internet "coming out of" any other CAT5 ports. There is a CAT5 panel in the laundry room with medusa's-head worth of cables connected to each other, with two extra that aren't connected to anything. These might be the problem. But before I start unplugging and plugging things in, I wanted to make how to set up the modem/router in the first place.

Again, forgive my ignorance in what is surely a simple solution, but any tips would be appreciated.

illig

a house won't magically split a network connection through different colored cables/jacks... you need to figure out what the jacks are actually connected to, and then install a switch at the proper location where the cable runs from all the jacks terminate.... i'd look in the basement or other utility space, around where phone wires, and cable wires enter the house

Deadfall

illig wrote: »

a house won't magically split a network connection through different colored cables/jacks... you need to figure out what the jacks are actually connected to, and then install a switch at the proper location where the cable runs from all the jacks terminate.... i'd look in the basement or other utility space, around where phone wires, and cable wires enter the house

Well, they're all connected to a switch in my laundry room. That was the thing. They're all hooked up to a switch, I just needed a hint on the initial setup of the modem/router. Is that what you meant?

illig

Deadfall wrote: »

Well, they're all connected to a switch in my laundry room. That was the thing. They're all hooked up to a switch, I just needed a hint on the initial setup of the modem/router. Is that what you meant?

see, by saying things like "internet coming out of a plug", you made it sound like you thought nothing less than black magic was being used to funnel "the internet" behind your walls to your various cat5 jacks... mentioning that you knew of the switch in your laundry room would've made things easier

so yeah, you have the order correct Cable -> Modem -> Router -> Switch -> PCs

is the switch working? does it have a dedicated uplink port (rare - but in this case one wire - probably the blue one would have to be used as uplink) or is it auto-sensing? do the status lights activate when you hook it up to your router? etc.... basic troubleshooting at this point

Captain Vash

I drew you a little network map.
This one is of my home, but it should give you an idea on the order of things being hooked up.

Edit:

So you mention the switch / mess of Ethernet in the laundry room, you need to make sure that the "blue" port cable coming from your router is connected to the switch, and that the ethernet cables that correspond to the outlets around the home you need active are also connected to the switch.

exoplasm

The switch in your laundry room needs to hook into your router.

Deadfall

illig wrote: »

Deadfall wrote: »

Well, they're all connected to a switch in my laundry room. That was the thing. They're all hooked up to a switch, I just needed a hint on the initial setup of the modem/router. Is that what you meant?

see, by saying things like "internet coming out of a plug", you made it sound like you thought nothing less than black magic was being used to funnel "the internet" behind your walls to your various cat5 jacks... mentioning that you knew of the switch in your laundry room would've made things easier

so yeah, you have the order correct Cable -> Modem -> Router -> Switch -> PCs

is the switch working? does it have a dedicated uplink port (rare - but in this case one wire - probably the blue one would have to be used as uplink) or is it auto-sensing? do the status lights activate when you hook it up to your router? etc.... basic troubleshooting at this point

Lovely, I got a laugh out of that. Yeah, I know it sounds like I'm burning effigies here for the spirits to connect my computer. I feel no shame admitting my ignorance.

That diagram actually helped a lot. It looks like I actually have it set up the way it should up in the office with the router. That was what I was looking for. It seems the cords going to the switch are the problem. I'll work on that today. Thanks fellas.