We’d be using an Internode ADSL2+ Internet connection, which would give us outstanding Internet speeds and the best possible VoIP call quality. To guard against the possibility of interference, we also decided we needed to install a central splitter.

Although Internode has a very good reputation for uptime, we decided that we had to have a fallback to the PSTN line available in every room if the Internet did drop out. We would manage calls through a Linksys SPA3102 Analogue Telephone Adapter. We would handle data connections through a Linksys 16-port switch.

Typically, the scenario kept changing. When the spouse decided she needed a colour printer and copier, we went back to Grays Online and managed to buy a reconditioned HP Colour LaserJet 2840 network colour printer, scanner, copier and fax unit with a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty, for about $600 delivered – little more than a third of the new price.

That meant putting in another Ethernet port and PSTN phone connection, because the data compression used in VoIP connections makes them unsuitable for faxes.

We had to have a licensed installer to fit the central splitter, and because the office is in a Victorian building with thick walls and very little space under the floor, we decided all the cabling would be better installed by a professional.

We used eTechs Communications, largely because they’re recommended by Internode. In addition to installing 15 RJ45 outlets, with what seemed like miles of Cat5 ethernet cable, five PSTN phone ports, a 24-port patch panel and a central splitter from C10 Communications, we got quite an education – professionals can make a jungle of cables and connections look surprisingly neat and tidy - and something of a bonus.

We knew that we’d have to install patch cables to all those outlets, and hook them up to the switch and the ATA via the patch panel with yet more cables.

We priced patch cables at several of the big retailers, including Harris Technology and Dick Smith and at Jaycar. The cheapest 1m lead we could find would have cost us $3.95. A 2m version would have set us back $5.25. We decided that a responsible systems administrator couldn’t fritter away a couple of hundred dollars on leads. Although separating out the pairs in a Cat 5 cable, putting them in the correct order and crimping them is a surprisingly complex task – it’s amazing how those little wires can slip into the wrong track and ruin the job – it seemed to us that no self-respecting systems administrator would spend good money on patch cables when he could make them himself.

Instead, eTechs’ Melbourne installer, Julian, offered us his cable off-cuts, and a cable parer. We already had a crimper and a cable tester we’d picked up for a few dollars on eBay. Although Julian also gave us some RJ45 connectors that allowed us to make some patch cables to test the installation, we needed a lot more to complete our patch cable collection. That’s where we got our first unpleasant surprise.

We priced some RJ45 connectors at Radio Shack. They offered them in packs of eight for $12 - almost the price of four complete cables. We went shopping again. The best local price we could find was at Jaycar: $29.95 for a pack of 50. That still seemed too much.

The best price we could find for a roll of Cat 5 cable was $134.20 (plus GST) at the electricians’ supplier, Middendorp. That would have made the cable component of a 1m patch lead about 50c, with another $1.20 for the connectors.

We took Julian’s advice, and turned to the Internet. We picked up two packs of 100 connectors, with those nice plastic boots included, for $15.98 from one of several Hong Kong suppliers. With $14.98 postage, that reduced our connector cost for each cable to about 30c. Even with the handful of dud cables we managed to turn out before we got the hang of twisting and positioning those little wires, we managed to meet our patch cable requirements for a tiny fraction of what we would have spent on made-up cables.

The experience has given us yet another insight into the characteristics of the responsible system administrator. He tends to have an eye for a bargain. And very sore fingers.