[Discuss] Future-proofing a house for networking -- what to run?

[bill at horne.net (Bill Horne)]

On 9/12/2017 11:42 AM, Richard Pieri wrote:
> On 9/12/2017 10:52 AM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>> I am sorry, but I completely disagree.  Even with modern Wifi, I can get
>> much better throughput using physical wires if for no other reason than
>> each link can be switched and therefore isn't "shared".  With Wifi,
>> every device is sharing the medium.  I.e., I can get 20-30Gbps aggregate
>> across my 1Gbps physical network, versus maybe 1.2Gbps across my 1200AC
>> Wifi.  And let's not even start with interference from my neighbors!
> Wires aren't forever. They fail. They're supplanted by new standards.
> They're not even available on the most common devices today. Running
> wires is not future-proofing. It's future-obsolescence.

Although _/some/_ edge devices, such as streaming video adapters or 
printers, are made for only WiFi connectivity, there are always other 
models which include Ethernet and/or USB connections, either with or 
without WiFi. "Future Proofing" includes avoiding future purchases, so I 
always recommend that edge devices have more than one method of LAN 
connection available.

WiFi-only devices will require that the owner keep updating his 
equipment every time his ISP adopts a new WiFi standard. I feel that the 
better plan is to start at the highest speed currently available 
(fiber), and also include older technologies such as coax or Cat 5/6 to 
serve legacy devices.

FWIW. YMMV.

Bill Horne