FAQ's

FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

What are Ethernet Cables?
Anyone who has plugged their computer into a broadband Internet connection, such as cable or DSL, has used an Ethernet cable. Ethernet cables are the standard cables commonly used to connect a modem to a router or LAN, and likewise, to connect a router to a computer. Usually blue or yellow in color.

What is a RJ-45 connector or jack?
The most common type of connector for Ethernet installations is referred to as an "RJ-45" connector. It is officially known as an 8P8C connector, but this term is rarely used in the field, and the term "RJ-45," which was the telephone industry's term for this connector's wiring pattern, has become the customary colloquial name for the connector itself. Categories 3 through 6 all use the RJ-45 connector, but Cat7 utilizes a specialized version of the RJ-45, called the GigaGate45 (GG45), which grounds the cable and allows for higher data transmission rates. There are two standard pin assignment configurations for RJ-45 connectors: T568A and T568B. The T568A standard is typically used in home applications, while T568B is used in business applications.

The Major Categories of Ethernet Cables:
Category 5
Category 5 (Cat5) Ethernet cable is the successor to the earlier Category 3. Like Cat3, Cat5 is a UTP cable, but it is able to carry data at a higher transfer rate. Cat5 cables introduced the 10/100 Mbps speed to the Ethernet, which means that the cables can support either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps speeds. A 100 Mbps speed is also known as Fast Ethernet, and Cat5 cables were the first Fast Ethernet-capable cables to be introduced. They also can be used for telephone signals and video, in addition to Ethernet data. This category has been superseded by the newer Category 5e cables.

Category 5e
The Category 5e (Cat5e) standard is an enhanced version of Cat5 cable, which is optimized to reduce crosstalk, or the unwanted transmission of signals between data channels. This category works for 10/100 Mbps and 1,000 Mbps (Gigabit) Ethernet, and it has become the most widely used category of Ethernet cable available on the market. While Cat5 is common in existing installations, Cat5e has completely replaced it in new installations. While both Cat5 and Cat5e cables contain four twisted pairs of wires, Cat5 only utilizes two of these pairs for Fast Ethernet, while Cat5e uses all four, enabling Gigabit Ethernet speeds. Bandwidth is also increased with Cat5e cables, which can support a maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz. Cat5e cables are backward-compatible with Cat5 cables, and can be used in any modern network installation.

Category 6
One of the major differences between Category 5e and the newer Category 6 (Cat6) is in transmission performance. While Cat5e cables can handle Gigabit Ethernet speeds, Cat6 cables are certified to handle Gigabit Ethernet with a bandwidth of up to 250 MHz. Cat6 cables have several improvements, including better insulation and thinner wires. These improvements provide a higher signal-to-noise ratio, and are better suited for environments in which there may be higher electromagnetic interference. Some Cat6 cables are available in shielded twisted pair (STP) forms or UTP forms. However, for most applications, a Cat5e cable is adequate for Gigabit Ethernet. The Cat5e is also much less expensive than Cat6 cable. Cat6 cable is also backward-compatible with Cat5 and 5e cables.

Category 6a
Category 6a cable, or augmented Category 6 cable, improves upon the basic Cat6 cable by allowing 10,000 Mbps data transmission rates and effectively doubling the maximum bandwidth to 500 MHz. Category 6a cables are usually available in STP form, and, as a result, must have specialized connectors that ground the cable.

Category 7
Category 7 cable (Cat7), also known as Class F, is a fully shielded cable that supports speeds of up to 10 Gbps (10,000 Mbps) and bandwidths of up to 600 MHz. Cat7 cables consist of a screened, shielded twisted pair (SSTP) of wires, and the layers of insulation and shielding contained within them are even more extensive than that of Cat6 cables. Because of this shielding, they are thicker, bulkier, and are more difficult to bend. Additionally, each of the shielding layers must be grounded, or else performance may be reduced to the point that there is no improvement over Cat6. In fact, performance may be even worse than Cat5. For this reason, it is very important to understand the type of connectors at the ends of a Cat7 cable.

What data speeds can each type of Ethernet Cable be used for?

Cat5 = 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps
Cat5e 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)
Cat6 = 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)
Cat6a = 10,000 Mbps (10 Gbps)
Cat7 = 10,000 Mbps (10 Gbps)

Other Qualities of Ethernet Cables to Consider
There are a few important considerations that apply to all Ethernet cables. Data transmission rate and bandwidth both decrease with the increase of cable length, so the shorter the length, the better. For 10/100/1000BASE-T networks, or those that have maximum speeds of 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps, including all the aforementioned cable types except for Categories 6a and 7, 100 meters is the maximum allowable cable length before the signal degrades. For category 6a cables running at 10 Gbps speeds, 55 meters is the maximum allowable length, and even this length is only allowed in very good alien crosstalk conditions, or areas of low interference, such as when the cable is located far away from other cables that could cause interference.

There are some other terms regarding cable terminations that can complicate the shopping experience. Some cables are referred to as a patch cable or patch cord, while others are called crossover cables. Even though crossover and patch cables may look the same, they function differently. A patch cable is one that terminates with the same type of connector standard at both ends. The connectors terminating a patch cable can use the T568A or T568B standards, but both ends must be the same. A crossover cable, on the other hand, has one end that terminates in a T568A connector and another that terminates in a T568B connector. Patch cables are used to connect devices that are different from one another, such as a switch and a computer. Crossover cables are used to connect similar devices, as when a switch is connected to another switch, for example.
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