05/07/2007
I have just expanded and updated my current home network. Every room now has a Ethernet connection, including some closets. I'm not sure pictures are that interesting, but if I get board I might take a shot or two and post them up.
The network is a 10/100 Mbit/sec capable LAN ran with cat5e cable with a 10Mbits/sec WAN access via a cable modem. 2 pairs of the Cat5e are used for the network, while 1 pair is used for phone and the 4th pair is unused currently, but was planned for a home communications system. With cell phones being so popular and the ability for me to save money dropping my phone and DSL in exchange for the cable modem service I mentioned open the possibility up for a 1Gbit/sec network throughout my house. However the thought of having to rewire each outline now and then again when I sell my house is not appealing, not to mention I probably don't need that kind of bandwidth.
The router/switch combo being used is a Linksys WRT54GL. The manufacturer firmware was scrapped, within 10 minutes of the box being opened, for openWRT + webif^2. This open source Linux based firmware gives an amazing amount of power to anyone from dabbler to expert, especially for the $50 price tag of the WRT4GL (thanks newegg).
I will try and provide a little more useful information on my setup if/when I find the time. Currently I am running whiterussian0.9 and the webif^2 package that partners with it. Once webif^2 supports the kamikaze build of openWRT I will be moving in that direction; they currently state April 2007 as being moved over, but currently seem to be behind schedule (I'd be the last person to fault someone for being a little behind schedule, shit happens).