On the subject of running ethernet cable from house to barn for someone who is new to this:
Do not picture a big trench like your local building codes require to run buried electric lines or water lines. All that is needed is a “V” in the ground about 3 inches at the deep point. Lay the cable in the “V” and step on the edges to push the soil back together. No conduit is needed, just lay the loose cable in cable in there.
You do need spend extra to buy “burial rated” ethernet cable. And buy a long enough cable to not have any splicing needed along the run. Why mess with doing waterproof splices if you can avoid it? Plus, it is best to buy whatever the highest rated bury cable is at that time. For example, I ran category 5 cable. Today I would run category 7. This means that you may be running more cable than you can use (speedwise for your present camera setup), but you are preparing and are ready for future improvements in a new setup speed and capacity.
Ethernet cables can predictably function only up to a certain length of run. So make sure to check if your barn and home are within this recommended working distance.
And you do not necessarily need to bury the entire cable run. In my case, I ran mine in a shallow trench from the house to my 3 board pasture fence about 50 feet away Then I stapled the cable along the bottom of the lowest fence board to make it another 150 feet to get it to the barn. Cable is black, fence is black, and it doesn’t show. And it has been painted over twice to date. Horses would have a tough time damaging it, and so far (8 years) the squirrels have not bothered it either.
