#1: do NOT put your switch in a bad heated place. You will need access to it very often here & there for edits/changes.
#2: buy whatever cable you can afford. CCA is not advised, but it is cheaper. Downside is that it is more highly fragile than copper (it breaks, it stretches) but I have used it for my cheaper customers who knew the pro's / con's.
#3:
Cat5e or Cat6 non-plenum non-shield cable is the way to go. Non-Plenum because heck of a lot cheaper. If your house catches on fire, I highly doubt the toxic fumes from the cable will be high on the priority list as compared to furniture and tupperware plastics on fire. Non-shielded because you are not going underground where lightning is an issue or near 3-phase 480v power lines.
#4: I only use 98% of the time, Keystone jacks, Keystone faceplates, Keystone 24 port patch panels. "Keystone" is a widely used format for interchangability between manufacturers. Example: Panduit jacks are proprietary and only fit into Panduit faceplates. Same for Commscope and others. With that being said, the cheaper Keystone material you may find out there could be 0.010 wider than the Keystone format due to faulty uncaring manufacturing.
#5: Keystone jacks: is preferred to use a punch down tool as makes installation simpler, but does cost $50+. Could also use the push tool and side cutters instead of punch down tool. Have done both with same results.
#6:
@mat200 24 port patch panel is a great brand. The backplane where cables are punched into their slots are angled to help with easier to slide in. Other patch panels (MonoPrice) are square top and splitting pairs is a huge pain. Of course, I prefer unpopulated patch panels that way I get to choose what color jack goes to what port on my patch panel. Yellow jacks for AP's, Blue jacks for Cameras, Red jacks for computers... you get the picture.
#7: You will NOT get 16 Cat5e or 16 Cat6 cables through a 1" hole. I would slap in a 2" EMT conduit. However, I am a professional cable installer so that is not always applicable for a DIY at home person to do.
