If an electrician can't do something as easy as data he should leave the trade.

@OP, some notes:

-Cat6a is a bit overkill but it will leave you room to grow. Cat5e is at the end of it's time limiting you to basically 1gbit networks while cat6a can give you 10gbit networks over 100 meters of cable (330 feet).
-Cat6a is more expensive than cat5e by a margin. The female RJ45 connectors are specialized for cat6a and so are the male crimps.
-The electrician can use any container as the JB. As long as all the knockouts have inserts put in to prevent chafing/cutting of the wire as it enters the box. I did an entire apartment building using a metal box with hinged lid that was about 14" wide by 36" long by 3" deep or something (link to a proper networking JB below near the end).
-Inside your box you will want a distribution punch down patch panel. This allows you to have all your runs in your house terminated via punch down (which is more secure than male crimps). This then allows you to use CAT6A patch cables to plug into your networking hardware (switch/nighthawk router). The same can be done with your telephone. You can punch your main line into a distribution panel and then have all other lines in the house punch down to the same panel to split it.

The phone distribution board I used in the past looks similar to this:



The Cat5e distribution board looks similar to this:



Some keywords to search for is "structured wiring modules", "networking panels" and some brandnames being mainly leviton.

-If you plan to have your nighthawk router inside the metal enclosure I suggest doing some extra runs for WAPS in your ceiling since your wifi from your nighthawk wont reach very far from a metal enclosure. You can either do a POE (power over ethernet switch or injector module) or have localized power where the WAP is. I like having them in the attic where they are accessible, but if you want something easier you can just plug them into the wall in any room which has power close by. Having it in the attic allows for better propagation throughout the house.

Basically I used to do this for a living.

Edit:: Just read Ghots posts... Why the fuck are you suggesting commercial grade rack mount panels for a residential install. I know you have no experience in todays industry, but still... The OP is asking for an up to date enclosed data closet panel, not dedicating this entire closet to rack mount hardware.

Edit2:: If you go to homedepot.com and search "networking panel" it lists all the things I have talked about such as:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/CE-TECH-1-Input-x-8-Output-Telephone-Module-5570/204294374
http://www.homedepot.com/p/CE-TECH-8-Port-Category-5e-Data-Expansion-Board-5530/204294376
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-Smc-280-Structured-Media-Center-with-Cover-375-47605-28W/100147999

I am sure your electrician will have a wholesaler to get better prices. Also be aware that these links are for cat5e hardware, you will have to find patch modules specifically meant for cat6a if you go that route.

This post was edited by AbDuCt on Aug 21 2016 12:17pm

the duck has spoken

@ Abduct...

Cause he needs 15 ports. Closest size I could find, (switches)...come in 16 port, patch panels...24 port...and they are rack mount.

/e They aren't that expensive either.



/ee They also make small racks. No need for a 7 ft. rack.

I told OP I haven't been in the field in years. But from what I've seen...nothing much has changed except the speed. I was running CAT 5 back in the day. :/

Just small jobs...like hospitals and businesses of all sizes.

This post was edited by Ghot on Aug 21 2016 07:55pm

Whats exciting to me isn't exciting to other people however, electrician came in looked around and the guy hired had everything I needed in stock and didn't even blink about what I was wanting done. Will get everyone pictures when it's completed, a lot has to happen first. Thanks for the advice folks

Data isn't hard to do, most electricians do it.