Running ethernet cable to a bedroom in crawl space to Mac

Should I run it direct down to the router or, can I put a switch in the crawl space and run both from the one existing line (essentially a split) for both?

Either plan will work.

Putting a powered switch in crawl space is problem as, no power in that crawl space at all. Not even a light.

Are there “no power needed” switches?

The switch will need to be powered. If you cannot provide power for the switch, then you will not be able to install the switch and instead will need to run another separate Ethernet cable from the router to the second location where an Ethernet connection is needed.

Ataraxy01 wrote:

I am about to run the other line. Should I run it direct down to the router or, can I put a switch in the crawl space and run both from the one existing line (essentially a split) for both?

The AirPort Extreme has a built-in Ethernet switch with three LAN ports & one WAN port. You can use one of the available LAN ports to connect the second Ethernet line to for this purpose, if I understand what you are trying to do.

The existing one was not long enough so I plugged one into the extra I needed using a female/female adaptor. Splitting/switching should be easy as it is ready for it if the f/f adaptor is removed.

This shouldn't pose an issue. Each Ethernet line is limited to around 100m / 300+ ft. Unless you are exceeding this, that would be the only reason to insert a powered Ethernet switch in-line ... instead of the adapter you are currently using.

Ataraxy01 wrote:

The AE LANs are all being used. One to the switch I mentioned which in turn is full except for one more slot.

You can optionally add another Ethernet switch near the AE. Connect one of the LAN ports to this switch to increase the number of Ethernet ports.

I think I will try to figure out a way to move that one in office bedroom to the crawl space and run power to it.

We understood that you could not, or did not want to run power to the crawl space, but if you can....that would be a nice solution.

For what it's worth, you can also connect a switch to another switch if you need more ports, or you don't want to change the location of an existing switch.

If you buy a POE powered switch you can easily get a POE injector for a few dollars.

As Bob noted.. splitters on ethernet will reduce speed from 1000mbps to 100mbps..

So don't do that..

Also roof spaces are the worst possible location for electronic equipment in terms of heat and dust etc..

Try and keep stuff in living space and only wires through the crawl space.

As Tesserax noted you can plug switch to switch or even better.. buy a bigger switch. 16 port > 8 port > 5 port.

Switches are dirt cheap these days even for larger 16 port models.

I would never use a splitter for this purpose, because half of the signal strength will be lost at the splitter. Worth a try if you have no other options. It might work, and it might not.