Apologies to anyone who had the misfortune of reading my last post. I did not change the title, where I was asking to put my switch before my router, but u/jpep0469 saved me from that blunder. To save from confusion and focus on my intended question i deleted the post and am resubmitting. I've also added more context and more specific questions. Please tell me if my questions makes zero sense. 

Trigger warning: stupid questions still incoming

I have 300Mb coming into my attic via Coax, that goes to a modem and nothing else. I'd like to have Ethernet panels on the second floor, and WiFi on the first floor. My plan is to have ISP > modem > router > switch > devices. I don't really use WiFi devices but i have guests who do, which is why I'm not concerned with WiFi on the second floor. The horrendous MS paint shows my plan, with directional arrows. 

I have an ISP provided router/modem combo that i read is better to turn it into just a modem. Then i got a fancy 1Gig router and a 1Gig 8 port managed switch. I plan on upgrading to 1gig service when it becomes available in my neighborhood. 

My initial concern was feeling silly for running 2 cat5e cables from attic to first floor.  

My current questions:

1. Is there a way to have equipment in the attic without overheating? Is it more trouble than its worth? 

2. If I move my equipment to the first floor, can I still run my cables through the attic? The two rooms I'd like to put Ethernet wall plates in are on opposite corners of the house. 

3. I'd like to keep the equipment out of sight (except the router). My initial thought was the attic since that is where the Coax comes in there, and nobody would see the lack of cable management with the switch. But heat is bad. Would a closet on the second floor work better? When i was planning the switch to be in the attic, I was only going to drill one small hole per drop. If i have the switch in my closet, I'd need to run 8 cables from the closet into my attic. Is there a clean way to do this with blown in insulation?

4. I've read both pro and against ceiling router placement. A lot of the against just mentions mounting and effort, while one mentioned antenna shape being a factor (parabolic was mentioned as better). Anyone have experience with ceiling mounted routers without a parabolic antenna? 

5 (optional/off topic). Many people mentioned VLANs, which I need to learn about. Any other vocab related to VLAN or managed switches for me to learn would be appreciated 



Gear placement & wiring