Network Cat 7 - What is it?

So that means a maximum of 4 ports, probably only 2. A small patch panel is sufficient for that. A socket might still be advisable in the living room.

Hello,
if you are already installing/having installed LAN cabling (there are people who swear by WLAN - I am more a fan of cables as long as it is about connecting immovable devices), you should plan generously right away or at least lay corresponding empty conduits.
One socket in the children's room in some corner would not be enough for me - if you rearrange the room, you suddenly have to run a cable across the room. So my suggestion would be at least a double socket in 2 corners each. In the study maybe even more, e.g. if you have a network printer that should also be used from their computers. Or to connect a backup system. And in the living room also at the places where potentially the television and hi-fi system are located at least double sockets. My TV already has a network connection, the Playstation too, in the future there will be more TV over the internet and the hi-fi system or the iPod also need a connection. And possibly you need one or two places in the house where you can connect a WLAN router to have good reception throughout the house and maybe also in the garden...

The patch panel and the network switch don't necessarily have to be huge - you don't really use all sockets simultaneously, so you only need as many connections as you actually use. And the devices are getting cheaper all the time, so you can retrofit later. With the cabling, it becomes awkward if you have to get at it again.

Oh yes, you can also use a Cat7 cable already laid for connecting a telephone - the corresponding cable just has to be patched not to the network switch or router at the patch panel but to the telephone system. So that should also be considered.

About the technology: The number behind Cat says something about the maximum possible transmission rate of the cables and sockets. Cat7 is currently, I think, the fastest (10 Gigabit), but there are hardly any Cat7 sockets. Cat6 is still good for 1 Gigabit - if more is needed, the sockets can be replaced later. Currently, 10 Gigabit switches are still very expensive and with 1 Gigabit you currently have enough bandwidth. Price-wise, Cat7 cable is not much more expensive than Cat6 - so in my opinion, it makes sense to lay Cat7 right away.

Best regards,
Jens

The patch panel and the network switch do not necessarily have to be huge - you don't really use all the outlets at the same time, so you only need as many ports as you actually use.

The patch panel must be larger according to the outlets, regardless of whether the outlets are used or not. However, it hardly makes any difference in terms of price.

The patch panel must be larger according to the outlets, regardless of whether the outlets are used or not. But it hardly makes any difference in price.

Right, that's a mistake on my part. All the cables from the house go to the patch panel anyway. Thanks for the correction, Skunk.

Question 1:
OK, so I understand now that with these outlets I can network my house in such a way that, for example, I have my external hard drives and my network-enabled printer in the office downstairs and can print from the children's rooms upstairs and also access the hard drives?

Question 2:
Can you, for example, do something like WLAN with this patch panel so that in an emergency I can also print from my laptop in the living room? Or can I only run something like that with cables?

Question 3:
Should I plan an outlet in the living room to be able to play movies from my external hard drives in the office on my TV? Either via network connection on the TV, or then via network cable --> laptop --> HDMI cable to TV?

Question 4:
Can I connect a router to the patch panel via LAN so that I can go online with a PC in the children's room via network cable without WLAN?

Question 5:
If any of this is wrong, what would you recommend:
- if I want to go online from the children's rooms via LAN
- if I want movies from the external hard drive in the office on the TV

Question 6:
Which patch panel would you recommend if I plan one outlet each for:
- office
- 2 per children's room (2 units)
- living room
I just entered "patch panel" on Amazon and thousands come up. Is it correct that they "only" cost about 40.00 EUR, for example?

Sorry for the many questions, but I'm just starting to get into this. This was never my world before. I like working with PCs, laptops, and networking, but I've never planned something like this here before.

Question 1:
OK, so I understood it now that with these sockets I can network my house in such a way that, for example, in the office downstairs I have my external hard drives and my network-enabled printer and from the children's rooms upstairs I can print downstairs and also access the hard drives?

Yes, that is exactly the goal of the project.

Question 2:
Can I, for example, make something WLAN-like on this patch panel so that in an emergency I can also print from my laptop in the living room? Or can I only run something like that via cable?

WLAN would be possible. Simply distribute one or even several WLAN APs somewhere in the house and connect them to one of the LAN sockets.

Question 3:
Should I plan a socket in the living room, for example, to be able to play movies from my external hard drives in the office on my TV? Either via a network connection on the TV or then via network cable --> laptop --> HDMI cable to TV?

Two people have already advised you on that :D

Question 4:
Can I connect a router via LAN to the patch panel so that I can go online with a PC in the children's room via network cable without WLAN?

If a 4-port switch is enough for you, yes. If you need more ports, a small switch would be appropriate, which you then put between the router and the patch panel.

Question 6:
Which patch panel would you recommend if I plan one socket each for:
- Office
- 2 per children's room (2 units)
- Living room
I just entered patch panel on Amazon and thousands came up. Is it correct that these only cost "around" 40.00 EUR, for example?

I can't give you a product recommendation off the top of my head. As I said, just count the connections.

How about the installation of the patch panel? It's not as easy as one might think. Special tools would be helpful. I would gladly come by and do it quickly but unfortunately you live a bit too far away and you probably wouldn't like my hourly rate anyway :D