house re-wiring

This is a terrific question, and a real opportunity for your system. I would wire ethernet to evey room in the house if I had that opportunity. While you may want to use wireless, if you put an AirPort Extreme at the main/modem point you can also use AirPort Express units elsewhere connected to the Extreme via your ethernet wiring so you are able to do a simple wireless network extension. Computers without wireless can also be used directly with your network if you already have ethernet wiring in place.

I wish I was in your position, would not hesitate to simply add ethernet wiring and outlets throughout the house.

I definitely agree with Ralph on this one. I recently built a new house, and spent a great deal of time in determining my needs for all things communication related. It was well worth the time and effort. I now have Ethernet connectivity throughout the house, with some locations having dual Ethernet jacks to provide connectivity for computers, Apple TV, video monitoring system, future networked TVs, etc. I'm sure wiring needs will differ from mine, but the diagram below may point you in the right direction.

For me it wasn't a matter of wireless technology being inadequate, instead it was more for the ultimate flexibility it gave me. And it my case it was quite easy to accomplish. It may be considered as overkill, but it is a one time opportunity to have the wiring in place.

Wireless technology has a distinct disadvantage in that signal strength degrades with distance and obstructions such as walls and wiring between the transmitter and receiver. If you put an ethernet wire to the distant room, plug another wireless device, i.e., an AirPort Express, on the end of the ethernet wire you get an extension to the wireless signal without the degradation of the structures. And the booster is connected at ethernet speed instead of wireless, and is not subject to interference from other radio sources.

I agree with Stedman, it is all about flexibility...and wire is really cheap to install while doing the rewiring. Later if you are unhappy it is hard to go back and add the wiring.

Take advantage of this opportunity to setup a good network system for yourself.

Not only speed but it is dedicated to the network and Cat 5 or 6 cable is less subject to interference.

Definitly add ethernet if you have the opportunity. And run more lines than you think you might use. Ever been in an old house that never had its electric service updated? Extension cords everywhere, power strips hanging on the floor not enough (or poorly spaced) outlets. In many ways this is how too many people approach ethernet ports -- "I want use my computer here" -- without giving themselves growth room.

I'd recommend ethernet at

• every television -- mulitple drops actually so that you can connect TV, Apple TV, blu ray player, video game consoles, etc
• Each thermostat
• Utility room -- one for lawn sprinkler system if you have/might want one. One for each furnace (someday these will be network ready, primarily for diagnostics I suspect, run the wires while you can)
• Kitchen -- people often have a desk space for a computer there, plus multiple drops at the kitchen table (my kids always hang out there with there computers). Someday kitchen appliances may be network ready (primarily for diagnostics I suspect) -- give them a drop of their own.
• Home Office area -- drops for a couple of computers (below the work surface for desktop machines plus another above for laptop), couple of printers
• Every bedroom -- at least one, preferably two in different parts of the room
• Every seating area
• Family room is a must
• Every stereo so you can add an airport express (think about whole house audio as well)
• A drop in the center of the house where you can add a wifi repeater or airport express to give better wifi coverage

You will end up with more ports than you will ever use at once, but that's true for the electric outlets in your house as well. Run Cat6 back to a gigabit switch for most drops. You can run cheaper Cat5e for home automation (thermostats, etc) back to a fast ethernet switch. Bring all the cables back to a common point. Use patch panels rather than trying to add plugs to bare cables. Wire is cheap if you can run it while the walls are open.

You will end up actually using a combination of wifi and ethernet, but its good to have options

Better to have and not need than need and not have. I have a large house and ran 50+ ports to the areas that where accessible during a mid-size renovation. Monoprice.com is a good source for the actual ports, patch cables, patch panels, etc. I bought all my switches off ebay.

You referenced "telephone socket" Are you on DSL? Plan for high speed internet which may enter the house at the common service point where electric and phone lines come in. I'd run all the cables back to this point and do all the switching there. You can run an extra cat6 to connect this installation back to the "telephone socket" until such time as you have high speed internet. But I'd keep all the switches, etc in a utility space, they can get noisy.

Carlos

You would still download over the internet, and then could either use wireless streaming or ethernet networking. Ethernet will always be faster and less subject to radio frequency interference, such as from cordless phones and microwaves.

But,.again, the ethernet connectivity gives the option of putting a wireless booster in other rooms of the house so you get strong wireless signals everywhere.

In a wireless configuration every device on that wifi channel is sharing a common "pipe" that must serve all devices which can limit the speed of devices. In contrast, an ethernet setup gives a unique path to the devices connected by a switch. It doesn't make your internet any faster, but you're not sharing that commong wifi pipe with both internet traffic and internal network traffic. And as has been stated it is less subjet to interference.

I have 3 wifi networks in my house and I always find it interesting how early in the morning before my neighbors are up I see strong signals from all 3 wifi nets in my kitchen. As my neighbors wake up and go online the singal starts to degrade and one or two of my wifi networks will disappear from my iapd

And I know that my hard wired airport express devices have zero connection issues while my one AX that is wifi will occassionaly miss a beat (the renovation just didn't go far enough that I could get ethernet to that point)

CB

Data on ethernet will travel at the speed of the slowest component. A gigabit (1000 Mbits/s) computer connected to a gigabit switch will still only talk to an Apple TV at fast ethernet speeds (100 Mbits/s).

If you do go ahead and wire your home make the data intensive parts (i.e., non home automation) Cat6 with gigabit switches. Cat6 can actually go 10x faster than gigabit (when the hardware becomes affordable for mere mortals). But you only have the walls open once every 20 or 30 years so plan accordingly

CB

Most routers have a number of Ethernet ports that will do what you want

It's your choice, but I think it's shortsighted to not run a lot of Ethernet when the house is open, although that also depends on how long you plan to be in the house.