Category 5 through 6e cables look nearly identical for everyday people and at first glance but there are some subtle differences. There are differences that are visible and others that are not.
Common network cables, also referred to as patch cables, look all so similar to each other. It's very difficult at times to tell them apart and for novice users, it is nearly impossible.
The most important difference between the cables is the speed and distance in which they operate most effectively. Speed and distance have a direct relationship when it comes to network cables and it's these two characteristics that differentiate cabling requirements.
Differences Between Network Cables
They may all similar but there is more to the small little wires inside the plastic cover. The number of twists even make a difference in range and speed based on frequency.
Differences Between Categories of Cables : Design, Characteristics
CAT3
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CAT5
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CAT5e
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CAT6
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CAT6e
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Maximum Data Rate (1 Twisted Pair)
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10 Mbps
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100 Mbps
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1000 Mbps
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10 Gbps
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10 Gbps
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Maximum Frequency
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16 Mhz
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100 Mhz
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350 Mhz
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250 Mhz
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750 Mhz
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Typical Distance
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100 m
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100 m
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100 m
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100 m
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100 m
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Maximum Distance at Maximum Data Transfer Rate
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50 m
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55 m
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UTP cat5 through cat6a |
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4 Separate Pairs. This is a similarity between the various cables. They all use 4 pairs of wires.
UTP and Data Rating.
UTP is an acronym for Unshielded Twisted Pair. UTP data speed are expressed in megabits per second, or Mbps. You may have seen MB/s, this expression is mega BYTES per second. Although seemingly a symantec difference, it is not. BYTES with a capitol "B" is used for writing and reading from a storage device such as a hard drive whereas mega bits wit ha lowercase "b" is used during speed or transmission of data over a medium. Category 5 UTP cable up to 100 meters is rated for wire data speeds of up to 100 Mbps. Category 5e is rated up to 1000 Mbps (1000Mbps is 1 gigabit). Category 6 cabling is backward compatible which means it can be used for 10 and 100 Mbps applications and for rated speeds up to 1000 Mbps. Cat 6 can also perform at 10GB for very short distances. Category 6a, which has a speed rating of up to 10 gigabit (or 10,000 Mbps), is beginning to become more common as the price of network cards falls. As such was the case when the shift was from 10 to 100 then 100 to 1 Gbps.
Practical Uses for 10GB Networking
I have deployed 10GB in servers intended for virtualization. Which in short means one physical server can contain many virtual Windows servers . The virtual servers all share the physical network connections on the real physical server so 10GB is very useful in such a scenario. 10 GB on a desktop is impractical and really not worth the expense. 1 GB network cards are more than enough for a single computer.
Construction, pairs or wire count is the same
Category 5, 5e, 6, 6e, and 6a UTP has four pairs of twisted wires (Category although it is not used for data and was a phone system standard created long ago before Ethernet was the "standard cabling type". The reason why each pair of wires is twisted around each other is to allow one wire to cancel out any interference in the second wire in the pair. Category 5e and CAT5 have the same basic construction including the wire type and gauge , but with higher standards in manufacturing and installation such as and the number of twists per foot of each pair. Category 6 UTP is a slightly thick wire gauge. #22 instead of the #24 gauge wire for each pair found n 5 and 5e. It contains a contains a physical separator, a plastic separator that runs the length of the cable. It looks like a plus symbol when turned and viewed from a cut side and is the separator between the four twisted pairs to reduce electromagnetic interference between the pairs and reduce data noise.
Speed vs Cost Considerations
Consider the real and not "wish list" data speed requirements of your network. A first re-action is to want CAT6a everywhere as it will provide speeds of up to 10 gigabits. However, it use widely throughout a network is not practical yet and will yield no performance in creases as desktops are still at 1 GB and also at a cost 30 percent more than a comparable CAT5e network infrastructure. Generally as I've seen in many offices and data centers, CAT5e cabling is sufficient to support many 1Gb and 100Mb networks. Especially if the network devices such as switches and routers only support data speeds of 1000 Mbps. It's nearly inconceivable as to why some people don't upgrade but I still see 10Mbps too! - it is horrible.
Connectors, Pin assignments |
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Cat 6a STP RJ45 Plug
Basic Differences Between Category 5 and Category 6
Connectors for cat5 and cat5e cables are very much interchangeable and actually absolutely identical, but those for cat6 have subtle yet very distict required differences that are not easily visible but can be seen if looked at closely. All connectors are however are of the type RJ45 that we commonly see connected into our desktops and will fit into RJ45-type interface ports and sockets like those on our computers, firewalls, switches, et.. Pin assignments are also unmistakely identical for all of the three cable types and for cabling and patch cords sold as cat6e. The IEEE standards committee would have found a hard sell if pin assignments had been changed because that would have meant special new switches and that would have caused every switch manufacturer to have to design new switch ports. Because of the thicker #22 conductor wiring size, connectors for cat6 cables have slightly larger holes where each of the individual wires enters the connector. More importantly, the conducting connector material (meaning the small copper connectors we see at the end of a cable buil into the plastic connector) and the details of the conductor in each connector arrangement are designed to enhance transmission to match the characteristics of the cable.
Make Your Own Patch Cables |
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Straight-through pin-out RJ45 Ethernet
Making your Own Cables, It's Easy, The Wire Crimper is Key
It's not as hard as it seems and you can save some money too by making your own cables. The cost of wire is bad enough but the cost of patch cables already with ends on them is so very expensive.
The pin-outs below work. I have used them to make cables. The added tool required is a wire crimper. They are not pricey either but they are an additional cost. Borrowing one for a project is better of course.
Crossover Cables - A Special Case Cable |
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Ethernet Network Crossover Patch Cable pin-out and Straight Through cable pin-out.
There are cables that were called "cross-over" cables. They were much more common only a few years to a decade ago. Many, if not all, modern network switches and Ethernet interfaces on routers used in homes and business for Internet access, wireless access points, etc. have built-in cross-over detection. Which means that each port can detect if it needs to change "mode" to cross-over mode.
The need for Ethernet cross-over network cables existed because switches years ago were designed with interfaces for computers, and printers, or other "end point" devices. Simply, devices that had a single interface themselves were not a switch for multiple connections. When one switch was connected to another (actually hub to hub a little further back in time), a cross-over cable was needed because both connecting devices (each switch or hub) had multiple interfaces and were devices for multiple connections.
Cross-over network cables have a slightly different pin-tout. Pins are "crossed" on the transmit and receive. It is not as complicated or hard as it seems and a cross over cable can be made just as a normal "straight through" cable can be made. Special care needs to be taken to cross the correct wires.
