That tiny builder-grade box for your networking gear won’t cut it. Here’s a simple, clean way to upgrade your setup without tearing up your walls.

So, you just moved into a new house. The excitement is real. You’ve got all these plans for making it your own, and for me, that always starts with the home network. I had my gear ready to go, including my trusty Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro (UDM Pro). I found the spot where all the ethernet drops terminated: a small, unassuming white box in the wall. The structured media enclosure. And that’s when my plans hit a snag. The box was tiny. There was no way my UDM Pro was going to fit. I knew right then I needed to come up with a small media cabinet solution, and fast.

This is a super common issue in new homes. Builders install these structured media cabinets (SMEs) to provide a central point for your home’s wiring—coax for TV, ethernet for internet, and sometimes phone lines. In theory, it’s a great idea. In practice, they’re often built to the bare minimum spec, designed for a simple ISP-provided modem/router combo and not much else. They’re usually too shallow, have zero room for cable management, and offer terrible ventilation for any serious networking hardware.

If you’re trying to install something more robust, like a UDM Pro, a proper switch, or a patch panel, you’re pretty much out of luck. My first thought was, “Do I need to cut a bigger hole in the drywall?” I really didn’t want to go down that road. Thankfully, a little creative thinking saved me from making a huge mess.

My Creative Small Media Cabinet Solution

Instead of fighting the box, I decided to work around it. The plan was simple: leave the existing SME for the basic cable terminations and mount my real hardware right next to it on the wall. It’s a clean, practical approach that gives you all the space and airflow you need.

Here’s exactly what I did:

1. Utilize Existing Openings: My media cabinet had a knockout for a standard electrical outlet. I popped that out. This gave me a clean, pre-cut hole to work with, which was perfect for passing cables from inside the box to the outside world.

2. Install a Media Plate: Instead of an outlet, I installed a brush-style wall plate over the opening. This lets you pass multiple cables through the wall while keeping things looking tidy and professional. It’s a small detail that makes a huge difference.

3. Mount a Wall Rack: This was the key to the whole operation. I bought a simple, vertical 2U wall-mounted rack. These racks are fantastic. They don’t take up much space and are designed to hold full-sized network gear securely against the wall. I mounted this right next to the SME box. You can find these racks from various manufacturers; a great place to start looking is on sites like Cable Matters or other electronics suppliers.

This approach gave me a sturdy, open-air home for my UDM Pro, solving the space and overheating problems in one go.

Putting It All Together: The UDM Pro and a Pi-hole

With the rack installed, the rest was easy. The UDM Pro fit perfectly. I ran the incoming fiber and the ethernet cables from the patch points inside the SME, through the brush plate, and into the appropriate ports on the UDM Pro. Everything was neat, organized, and—most importantly—functional.

But I didn’t stop there. I also had a Raspberry Pi 5, which is an amazing little single-board computer. I set it up to run Pi-hole, a network-wide ad blocker. If you’ve never used it, Pi-hole is incredible. It filters out ads and trackers on every device on your network, from your phone to your smart TV, without needing to install any software on them. The Raspberry Pi 5 is more than powerful enough for this and just sips electricity. It sits right on top of the rack, a tiny but mighty part of the setup.

So, if you’re staring at a laughably small media box in your home, don’t despair. You don’t need to be a professional installer to create a setup that’s both powerful and clean-looking. Sometimes the best solution isn’t about fitting in but building out. Hopefully, this little story gives you some ideas for your own small media cabinet solution.