cat6 cable?

[HPCE_Larry]

I've been reading about cat 6 cable and am wondering if it is required for a 1000mbit connection.

 

[tipstir]

If you have CAT 5e patch cord already wired in your dwelling already then you're okay! CAT 6 is better for interference filtering and VIDEO Streaming has a higher FREQ 500MHz compared to even Ultra CAT 5e 350MHz. So in other words 5e will handle the 1000mbps

 

[CMH]

Cat5E will have 1gbps connection, but won't support duplexing I think.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

These days, the cost differences between Cat 5e and Cat 6 patch cords are so minimal, that it is worth buying Cat 6, anyway.

 

[HPCE_Larry]

But standard cat 5 won't support it?

 

[NetCablesPlus]

If terminated correctly, most old Cat 5 cables will pass Cat 5e testing. Both Cat 5e and Cat 6 fully support gigabit networking. To my mind, you are just buying yourself 'wiggle room' and 'network forgiveness' if you go with the Cat 6 cables.

 

[HPCE_Larry]

Thanks for the help.

 

[MetalX]

This seems to be a situation where someone with the name "NetCablesPlus" would be considered something of an expert

 

[mikescorpio81]

CAT6 pairs have more "twists" don't they? I thought you need CAT6 cables if you are running into a Gigabit switch, or you won't be running at full speed.

When I plug a CAT5E cable into a gigabit switch, it displays an amber light, rather than a green light, meaning it is not running at full speed (half duplex).

 

[chance1138]

Does anyone know if the attenuation length of Cat6 is the same as Cat5e? I was under the impression that it was farther, but I don't know.

 

[tipstir]

CAT 6 doesn't like a mix sith CAT 5e... Well then time to up pull out the CAT 5e then...

 

[NetCablesPlus]

CAT6 pairs have more "twists" don't they? I thought you need CAT6 cables if you are running into a Gigabit switch, or you won't be running at full speed.

When I plug a CAT5E cable into a gigabit switch, it displays an amber light, rather than a green light, meaning it is not running at full speed (half duplex).

Cat 6 cables have more twists per inch and they also have an insulation spline that further separates the twisted pairs to reduce crosstalk. However, both Cat 5e and Cat 6 will support Gigabit if installed properly. I am not sure why you are seeing the amber light in your switch.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

This seems to be a situation where someone with the name "NetCablesPlus" would be considered something of an expert

I just know enough to be a little more dangerous than the average poster on the topic of cables. ;-)

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Does anyone know if the attenuation length of Cat6 is the same as Cat5e? I was under the impression that it was farther, but I don't know.

Both Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables have a maximum length of 100 meters. The propagation time along the cable, and hence the collision detection time, sets the effective "maximum segment length". Installing CAT6 won't improve this, if the CAT5e is installed correctly.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

CAT 6 doesn't like a mix sith CAT 5e... Well then time to up pull out the CAT 5e then...

I have never really heard of anyone having problems with mixing and matching Cat 5e and Cat 6 patch cables in a network. Have you experienced problems like that?

 

[mikescorpio81]

Cat 6 cables have more twists per inch and they also have an insulation spline that further separates the twisted pairs to reduce crosstalk. However, both Cat 5e and Cat 6 will support Gigabit if installed properly. I am not sure why you are seeing the amber light in your switch.

Thanks for the info. When I plug in a CAT-6 cable rather than a CAT-5E cable into the same port I then get a green light. I'm pretty sure it's due to the CAT-5E cable not supporting Gigabit speeds, but in general it doesn't bother me. If I work with Gigabit switches I always use CAT-6 rather than CAT-5E. I sometimes use CAT-6 in place of CAT-5E where the ethernet switches are 10/100. Makes no difference really.

 

[raybay]

It really depends a lot on the cable and the connectors... We have found that it is necessary to test the cable after purchase, or after connectors are added.
We find that Plenum grade Cat 5e, and Riser grade Cat 5e works everybit as well, but that regular store-bought Cat5e does not.
Watch out for the places that sell the "Enhanced" cable with the big label... because all that Enhanced means is the e in 5 e.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

I have run into potential suppliers who are selling Cat 5 cable in Cat 5e packages or Cat 5e in Cat 6 packages, so it is always good to test a few cables when first making a purchase from a new supplier. I have not, however, seen a real difference among my various suppliers who label the package Cat 5e versus those who label it Cat 5 Enhanced. You say Tomahto, I say Tomayto, in my experience. Of course, YMMV.

 

[raybay]

I am not aware of any cable manufacturer who has made even one foot of CAT 5 in the past 15 months... I think it is all Cat5e, Cat5e Riser, Cat5e Plenum, and the varieties of Cat6.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Actually, there are suppliers who still carry Cat 5 and even Cat 3 cables. One of my manufacturers still makes Cat 5 cables. I think that they are mostly used for telecom applications, though I won't touch them for any of my customers since the cost differential is virtually nil.

 

[raybay]

Suppliers, yes, but from old, old stock. They bought it in 1000 foot and 5000 foot roles and have to keep moving that inventory out.