Everyone knows you gotta do home networking at 3am when the family is sleeping. 🤣 Nice video. I love using keystone panels, makes things so much easier.

finally, a video that explains what a patch panel is and is for. Thanks for the tip about using keystone.

Don't threaten me with a good time 🤣

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

I'll threaten you all I want! Now go drink your beer like I told you to!!!

@GearSeekers

3 жыл бұрын

@@CraftComputing It's 9am, however an order is an order. Beer drinking time!

Your content just gets better and better. I added you to my monthly Patreon. Glad that you made the life-change. I believe in what you are doing for you and your family. Keep up good work.

"It's ok, I only needed 8 of them in there." Shows 10 keystones installed. Lol

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

See... still had two to spare. I could have dropped more.

@captainjd02

3 жыл бұрын

@@CraftComputing channeling your inner Linus

Awesome Dude. I asked about the patch panel in the last video and you just over-delivered it! Really nice solution, way more modular than the ''regular'' patch panel. Great idea, that is an awesome setup you got there. Cheers!

I've always been curious about running a home lab and your videos have definitely convinced me to do so.

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Stay tuned, as I'm doing a couple videos on low-cost home lab servers soon!

Love the opening to this video. "Can't beat freshly squeezed".

In it for the back side rack video 🤙🏻

@kmouratidis

4 ай бұрын

Still waiting (?)

Well done and great timing. My wife and I are planning to build a new home and having a well-managed server closet is one of my priorities.

I've just begun the process of building my own networking infrastructure for personal use in the home, so this video proves to be very well timed as I have myself a small "19-Inch 7U Networking Cabinet" that I got for free from the roadside a few months ago and I plan to install all of my hardware into it (Well, except from the Wireless AP, because a metal cage around a Wireless Access Point is a bad idea haha). My plan is to build a PFSense 1U Box that is low power, then hook that up to a "1U, 48-Port Gigabit Network Switch" and have my Wireless AP hook up to the network switch. I just purchased and recieved my new (and cheap) Wireless AP the other day, it is a "TP-Link Archer C7 (V5 Hardware Revision)" which set me back about £70. I have flashed OpenWRT onto it and started setting it up, so stage 1 is well under way. Next I plan to buy the hardware for the 1U system that will operate as a PFSense Router. Not sure how I am going to tackle this part yet as it seems like much of the 1U, Short Depth (250mm) Chassis on the market are either poorly built + overpriced, or, NOT sold in the UK/Suitable for UK 240V...... So if anyone reads this and has any kind of recommendations then please do post a reply as I'm really struggling with this part.

this is a perfect solution for my apartment rack, i did not want to deal with terminating cables on the back, i just want a plug and play type setup so keystone seems like a great option. this option is a tad expensive at $18.99 for the panel and if your populating all 48 ports your up to $40 for the keystone attachments roughly.

Nice. I've heard of these keystone thingies. But never seen them installed / in action like that. Thank you.

Brush panel can be used to pass all cables through, which is nice for homelabs where you keep changing gear around.

Thanks for sharing Sr. Do you have a video describing what all that gear does/serves?. Love how the rack came out.

I liked as soon as you said "fresh squeezed"!

You had me a "can't beat fresh squeezed" Jeff!

For keystone ports not used I have 'blank' black keystone jacks for a pro look. Thanks Jeff!

loved the opening.

Very clean cable management.

I like the cable matters keystone rack as they have a bar to zip tie the cables to

Awesome! Love it. Thank you.

You convinced me to go buy a keystone patchpanel. I just ordered it :) I already have a patchpanel, but that is one of which you said you didn't want. I've had it for 1,5 years now and I never had the motivation to do anything with it.. xD

I love that you're somewhat local to me. It's awesome seeing all my favorite beers on here. Have you tried any beers from De Garde? Crazy stuff they're putting out.

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Love De Garde. Used to head out there quite a bit. Haven't been lately for obvious reasons.

@rett.isawesome

3 жыл бұрын

De garde has one of my favorite Goses.

I love Deschutes IPA! It's so goooood!!

Great tips and great opening skit :)

I love Keystone Jack Patch Panels.... I have actually rack mounted my main desktop, run some USB ports & such to the front and bam, it's like a front loading USB port.

@aragorn4

3 жыл бұрын

I went keystone as I live in an apartment, actually keystone connectors F2F. I realize it adds another point of failure or two, but has the flexibility I need to go with apartment life. Now if I can just figure out what AP to use since the Ubiquiti one I was choosing is now on the EOL list.

@PoeLemic

3 жыл бұрын

Nova ... Can you show a picture of how your desktop was rack-mounted? That's an interesting idea.

@novamaster0

3 жыл бұрын

@@PoeLemic not easily on the pictures. But what I did is bought a male to male usb cable. Plugged one end into the back of my rack mounted desktop, plugged the other end into the keystone jack in my patch panel (which is really just a super small female to female converter). And now I can if I plug anything into that usb port it's just like a normal one I also have a capture dongle. And it runs an hdmi to a hdmi jack. I have other devices connected to other HDMI jacks and a little 4 inch hdmi cable that I can move to switch inputs

Not only did this video leave me wanting to cable manage my rack but it also left me wanting a beer.. Thumbs up... but now you owe me a beer.

in our DC if we have front mounted network/switch gear we stack a maximum of 2 devices ontop of each other, seperated by a brush guard on the U's above and below the group. This allows you to run any cables you need through the brush guards and never have a cable crossing over another device. If you have a switch fail, the last thing you want to worry about is the 10-20 cables draping over it preventing you from pulling it out of the rack :)

I just got a entry job setting these up including cable management.

Having a patch panel with multiple different types of cables plugged into drives my OCD crazy.

A beer tree. I was getting ready to book a trip to paradise. I'm just shocked that no one came running out and complaining that the internet was down. Regardless of telling them. Mine would of freaked out still...or started hyperventilating....or both.

nice video sir, did you has another videos about cabling method among racks?

I like your humor :)

Thank you for the video. Can you link or add to the description the back of the rack video if you ever made it . Cheers.

Thanks for the video

For cable management I generally use Panduit products and switches I generally mount at the rear of the rack rather than facing the front as it has the effect of reducing the length of the cables i need to manage. Sure, i can't see blinkenlights at the front but I can live with that.

Nice simple video man. I agree this is a very useful simple way to manage the rack but, and please don't take this the wrong way I would personally feel like I was cheating if I did not terminate each cable (except for the fiber) to the patch panel. I am weird like that but, most people do not enjoy that tedious part of making cables. Anyway looks good man!

Oh buddy, you are my whole rack ❤️❤️❤️

What is your ventilation for the rack? Does heat affect how you decide where you are putting stuff?

I have bought patch panel. Bu after your video i have changed my mind and i am going to buy blank patch panel and couple keystone modules.

Rack mount the switches in the rear. No patch panel required. Added bonus of not having to run longer cables through the middle/sides of the rack from rear to front. But, to each their own. Looks cool regardless.

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

The rear of the rack sits just far enough from the wall to open the doors. I can barely squeeze my fat ass in there. I'm not sitting on the hot side of the rack with t-rex arms to work on the switches. I've lived that life already.

Thanks. I need a patch panel.

In the beginning there are cables going to the ubiquity devices but at the end there are none...

@sysdrum

3 жыл бұрын

I was confused about this as well. Is there an answer to this? ​ @Craft Computing

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

I just got the UniFi devices. Haven't even powered them up yet. Review coming in a couple weeks.

@mikkelgeorgsen

3 жыл бұрын

He did say he just added some cable to make it more messy in the beginning - probably the blue and yellow "messy" cables :D

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Bingo. They were plugged into the correct places if the USW and UDM were ready to go, but obviously the cables could have been shorter.

@sysdrum

3 жыл бұрын

@@CraftComputing We question because we care. Also your beer choices are always spot on.

Hops are my life!

Nice vídeo!

Now I need to rack all my servers 6 4u chassis and 2 2u currently in my makeshift rack. Well 4 are on the floor in a stack. If I could fit a 42 U in my attic i would but I will just have to wait until I move. Great Video. On the cable management.

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Have you looked at any of the flat pack racks on Amazon? I upgraded from this from a 27U that was only ~$130.

@luciferofazaroth

3 жыл бұрын

I will check it out!

Maybe you're explained it in previous videos, what are you using your fiber for (Storage, 10Gbps internet, etc.), and did you or will you be posting your network architect (what connects to what), I ask because I'm hoping to wire my small office similar to yours. Thx for posting.

What is the best way to cable manage a DAC cable? Is a brush panel the only way?

Nice very nice. my OCD is satiated.

I don't see the amazon link to the butterfly bottle opener. We use those panels at my office and they work great, if I could only get them to switch to the short patch cables to go with them. When's the rack cooling solution video coming out? I'm trying to find ways to cool my 1U blade before I get it set up in my garage.

Awesome intro! XD

I did exactly the same with my home server lab rack

Should of mentioned the polarity for the LC fiber, using a single patch panel like that will require you to flip the polarity on one of the cables in the run

I find jacks much easier to terminate successfully than plugs, and having a patch panel makes this tidy.

The back is symple. Power up one side and cable up the other side. Connection split out of bundles horizontally with enough slack so that you can service things without having to disconnect everything.

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Yep! Just waiting for my power bars to come in.

Please can you go over the simple/starter for free pbx system. How to setup voip system

Do all different brands keystone's fit in those panels? It was never really clear to me. This is why I opted for regular patch panel.

Killer intro Jeff! Lmfao ! I will probably be looking into replacing my 48 port patch front to rear panel after seeing this video as I only need 26 cat6 ports + fiber. As Always, appreciate your vid's

Oh that's beautiful

Nice, but put a 1u cable manager in between you patch Panel and switch for an even cleaner look.. it will also allow you to hide the fiber patch.. then you can use 1m or .5m cat 6 patch cables and hide the excess cable within the cable manager..

What rack are you using. I've been looking for something similar to what you have. Thanks!

Cool intro👍

What about buying a 1 uu cable passthough organiser? right now you have a mess in the back that you do not see ;) plus you have to note what cable goes to the back of the keystone panel.

So I take it you'll be moving over the Ubuquiti gear in a future video? Since the UDM-PRO and the Switch arent in use yet?

Did you ever find server rails for that rosewill 4u chassis?

Thanks! Just putting my together my first rack and there is very little info on cable management. I would love to see a video about the back.

@bassman87

3 жыл бұрын

its because there are as many solutions for cable management as there are opinions on the internet.

Should've drank a Key stone beer in this one

I wonder how you will have your cables clean looking for your ubiquidi equipment at the top, aren't they too close together ?

Have you done the cooling video yet really interested in it?

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Standing in my garage as we speak filming the install.

I feel like the patch panel is begging you to start at port #4 or so so they all line up with the switch ports

Has one used the "Rackstuds" cage nuts? They seems pretty useful, especially in a homelab environment

@wiel-spin

3 жыл бұрын

Im also curious, in europe they are quite expensive to get.

5:45 - I just realized you're running a Sangoma FreePBX. I had to learn to admin those systems in my last job...after never having used a PBX before in my life. I loathe that system!

I'm not a fan of adding additional connections, you could just use the brush panel you mentioned to hide the cables. We are using Keystone panels for all our cableruns these days but I didn't know they are so versatile with those couplers.

Waiting for back of the rack.

I’m looking to implement this in my own homelab rack, but from my understanding, using a Cat6 Keystone “Coupler” like you used causes speed/connectivity issues, right? I thought the proper and best way to do it was to create a female Cat6 RJ45 by stripping one side of the Ethernet cable and punching them down into a keystone. Or is my thinking outdated/doesn’t matter anymore? I remember being told to never use couplers if you can help it. I’d rather do more work to have everything stable.

Question. My house was a new build and it was wired with CAT5e cables to every room. The cables are not terminated in the box in my closet. Do I need to do this or can I just terminate the cables and plug them straight into the router?

I'm trying to do the back of my rack... yeesh it's a pain in the ass... but at least I can make the front look nice!

I have that same MikroTik CRS328 PoE switch, and I have another MikroTik CSS610 connected to it, being powered by PoE - but the CRS328 would not send power unless I set that specific port to force-on - now I have to worry about accidentally connecting something else to that port. Is this how it should be?

literally bought the same one and just finished installing everything and saw this video..... I put the keystones in backwards.... I was wondering why they poke out so far lol

Viewing from Beijing in the morning while drinking Asahi beer ;)

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Good morning!

So, this is great for devices like a server that have a connection on the back. Do you terminate all of your drops from your house with a standard RJ45 end or do you punch down the drops on a keystone jack that punches down?

@williamp6800

3 жыл бұрын

At 2:25 he says he’s using couplers with female RJ45 jacks on the front and rear of each coupler.

Personally I went for keystones that you punch in properly but thats because all my incoming is solid core ethernet rather than long patch cables

just curious. You have plenty of open ports in your patch panel. Any reason you didn't align your ports with your switch so the connections were more direct

Have you ever had "le fin du Monde". It's one of my favs and I'd like to hear your opinion on it if you haven't had one already.

So what happened yo the switch to switch connections on the front? 😉

what dose the blue switch on top ?

I always leave at least 1/2 U free space in between switches. They heat up and placed against each other even more. Whatever air-cooling or air- distribution system you're going to put in is going to work better with air flow between the switches. Just my 0.02€

I like keystone panels as well particularly the panduit brand. I have never used pass-through jacks - I would really like to test that pass-thru jack out with a fluke certification tester. I have also lost count the number of plugs I have had to remove from solid core cable and replace with a socket (CJ688TGBL) with plenum rated box (CBX1IW-A) with fly-lead to wireless access points/bridges and IP security cameras to achieve a long-term reliable fix to equipment "spontaneously" dropping off the network. Something about the movement of the solid core against the very small insulation displacement blade on each conductor/pin held in the strongest of materials working their way loose over time. (Caveat) No techy wants a phone call from a client at 10PM "My media player in the bedroom all of a sudden stopped playing my movies and can't find anything on the network". One of the reasons why we also use HDMI cables that have plugs that lock into the socket like the display-port cables do. That being said it looks like you're using stranded-cable flyleads so not so much an issue there with the exception of how well those pass-through jacks perform at high frequency ranges in line with the category of cable/patch-leads you are using. I would use a Network Traffic Generator and Stress Testing Software to push the link to it's limits and supposing your switch is managed, check the statistics such as throughput, lost/dropped and retransmitted frames. Getting back to wire/patch management: Some 1RU blank panels with affixed black slotted duct might be the better way to go for DIY'ers on a tight budget or source them already made (WMPFSE). Note they have space in the panel to pass cables through from the back of the rack as well. I would keep patch panels for their original intended use, terminating premises cable for patching to networking equipment such as switches/routers/firewalls/Security NVRs etc...

How do you fix a spaghetti bowl of cables within a timeline without disconnecting the cables?

I miss the FiberNinja, his old videos are great for super small home/office setups.

What I am more curious about is what that Sangoma networks box is doing, this is no ordinary hardware even for enterprises :D

i need to know where to get that balisong bottle opener

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Ask and you shall receive! amzn.to/2QB2JAJ

Now i am waiting for the re-cabling video of the back of the rack ;-)

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

We don't talk about the back of the rack. Just close the door and pretend it doesn't exist 🤣

Professionally I take great care when it comes to server rack optimisation and cable management. My own rack however... I cannot even begin to count the number of things wrong with it. (Everything works though.)

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Two years ago, my home server sat in the bottom of my upstairs closet.

@nightcorefusion3884

3 жыл бұрын

@@CraftComputing My rack was under the stairs for a while. Just sitting there half built and barely functional. Then I gave it its own room, took care setting it up and well... 3 years later its in a right state.

are there blank keystones that you can use for the unused ones? Would make it look even cleaner imo. On a side note, so jealous of your setup :D

@jdfmovil

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe just a black plastic cover?

@quinnhenry6719

3 жыл бұрын

If you have a 3D Printer, you could just print those. Alternatively, order some prints online.

Would love to see a video that answers 1) What do you do with your home server? 2) What all can one do with a home server? 3) Do I need a home server??

The joke setup was worth all the effort. Love the rack it looks amazing. What is the Sangoma box? I don't recall you mentioning it in the last tour.

@darklocksly3615

3 жыл бұрын

Sangoma is the hardware box for FreePBX, Sangoma is also the IP holder of FreePBX. And the function is a private branch exchange Phone system. Easy way to explain is to just google FreePBX and all will be clear in minutes.

@joshuaboniface

3 жыл бұрын

@@darklocksly3615 Yep I've done a fair bit of work with Asterisk and Sangoma PRI hardware, was more curious the exact function in Jeff's network ;-)

@CraftComputing

3 жыл бұрын

Well, it's not running FreePBX anymore :-)

@matthewgregory395

3 жыл бұрын

@@CraftComputing Is there a video on it?

i really like the intro 🤣🤣🤣🤣

is there a followup for the back of the rack yet?

@S0K0N0MI

Жыл бұрын

Still waiting...