Hi All I was buying a new Ethernet cable online today and i noticed there are different types available , can someone tell me what are these different types used for ? I want one to connect my p.c to the B.T Hub cat 5e cat 5 cat 6 cat 7 ?
Ethernet cable types
- Thread starter jamjar
- Start date
See this JJ. http://www.directron.com/cableguide.html
Cat 5e will work up to 1gb speed, & Cat 6 1gb or higher, so you could use either.
Wouldn't bother with Cat 7.
Cat 5e will work up to 1gb speed, & Cat 6 1gb or higher, so you could use either.
Wouldn't bother with Cat 7.
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Associate
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What HH have you got ? If it's the older one (pre v3 ?) then the ethernet ports will be 10/100 so Cat5 or 5e will be fine. If the ports are gigabit, then 5e will work ok, but 6 may be better for longer distances. Don't think you need to worry about 7.
Andy
Andy
It's not an Ethernet cable. It's a cat 5 or cat 6 UTP (unshielded twisted pair cable). Ethernet is the protocol used up to the datalink layer. Fibre cables can use the Ethernet protocol. In olden times the Ethernet protocol was used over coaxial cable.
I digress anyway, KIA has a valid point.
I digress anyway, KIA has a valid point.
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Distance doesn't really matter, both Cat5e, cat6 and cat6a can do gigabit Ethernet for the full 100m. Distance only really matters if you want 10Gb Ethernet, where cat6 can only do around 40m, and cat6a can do the full 100m.
** Perosnal insults will not be tolerated ** Explaining how Ethernet fits into the OSI Model was not required was it??
Also I think he would get a more helpful reply from High Street stores saying "Hi, I'd like a 2m Ethernet Cable" rather than "Hi, I'd like a 2m CAT5E UTP Patch Cable"...
It's my job to know, if I don't know, I don't get paid.
Eveyone in IT knows... Its not excactly in depth knowledge.
Most people dont overcomplicate things on forums though..
No, there is nothing wrong with cat5e for gigabit speeds. Both cat5e and cat6 will do gigabit at the full 100 metre maximum with no problems. Cat5 may be flaky for gigabit speeds but cat5e is fine.
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I'm guessing you bought some ultra-cheap crud from a certain auction site, which may be described as "Cat5e" but doesn't actually meet the specs - they typically use copper-coated aluminium instead of pure copper, have an insufficient twist ratio and connectors which will fall apart if you look at them crossly.
It might be OK if you only want to connect a single PC to a router, where the WAN connection is typically the bottleneck, but otherwise it's not worth skimping out for the sake of a few quid.
It has more value that OPs post. At least it corrects a common misconception that a lot of people fall into. Where as the opening post is a simple question born out of laziness and lack of ability to type 3 or 4 words into Google.
You haven't answered my question.
Either that or the cable is run along the inside of an active microwave or something silly like that. If the cable is correct to Cat5e specifications, undamaged and correctly terminated then it will get a gigabit connection. As for the discussion about not calling it Ethernet cable, while I agree that it doesn't really matter and everyone knew what was meant by it, I don't see any harm in educating people about the correct terms.
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OP all you need to know is cat5e will do for Internet Access/File Transfer.
And yet everyone calls them ethernet cables, so I think it's fair to say it's an accepted term.
Exactly, how many people do the hoovering, or vax their carpets.