Networking gurus in here - CAT6 advice needed

Phate

Phate

Phate

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
Posts
35,691
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Hello all,

the company is moving buildings in June and I've been asked to get some quotes for some CAT6 cables (about 500 of varied lengths)

Now I rang one supplier and they said they need to know the manufacter of the network system we are having installed in the new building and the brand of the patch panels etc, so he can provide the correct cables otherwise if he supplys the wrong cables (still CAT6 but the wrong type) it will run at CAT5e speeds and not CAT6

Is this guy talking crap or does he speak the truth?

Many Thanks
 
Sounds like rubbish to me. Cat6 is Cat6. As long as the cable meets the Cat6 standards it will work with any network hardware with an RJ45 socket.

You might want to get this thread switched to the Network and Internet Connectivity forum, this is more a hardware issue than software.
 
MarcLister said:
Sounds like rubbish to me. Cat6 is Cat6. As long as the cable meets the Cat6 standards it will work with any network hardware with an RJ45 socket.

You might want to get this thread switched to the Network and Internet Connectivity forum, this is more a hardware issue than software.
Click to expand...


Thanks mate :) - That's what I thought, will see what others say.

Oops - can a mod move it to NW and Internet - Ta.
 
Phate said:
Thanks mate :) - That's what I thought, will see what others say.

Oops - can a mod move it to NW and Internet - Ta.
Click to expand...
No probs. This sounds like one of those times when you're sure you know the answer but you just want to be sure. I checked with my flatmate and he agreed with my logic. It doesn't matter.

What I reckon is that this guy is trying to rip you off. If you tell him that company X or brand Y are supplying the equipment then instantly he'll be, "Ah yes, the cables that are compatible with their stuff is quite expensive you see". ;) Trying to get you to pay a premium.

He's reckoning he can pull the wool over your eyes and get some extra cash out of your company. Either just tell him you want Cat6 cables or find someone else.
 
MarcLister said:
No probs. This sounds like one of those times when you're sure you know the answer but you just want to be sure. I checked with my flatmate and he agreed with my logic. It doesn't matter.

What I reckon is that this guy is trying to rip you off. If you tell him that company X or brand Y are supplying the equipment then instantly he'll be, "Ah yes, the cables that are compatible with their stuff is quite expensive you see". ;) Trying to get you to pay a premium.

He's reckoning he can pull the wool over your eyes and get some extra cash out of your company. Either just tell him you want Cat6 cables or find someone else.
Click to expand...


That's exactly it, I mean, a cable is a cable at the end of the day, providing it's using the correct internals it should be fine.

We've told the guy what he wanted and is currently making us a quote, we got a quote from somewhere else and I don't know but £5.99 seems very expensive for a 2M cable :eek:

It's annoying because we have used this guy before, and he works for a very well known company (can't mention as they sell products etc) But if he does try to rip us off then bugger to him tbh.
 
As above.

There is absolutely no need for this guy to know what hardware you are using. cat6 (and cat5) cables are hardware independant.

Find another supplier cos you obviousely can't trust that one.

Buy youself a roll of cable and get a crimper and a bag of rj45 connectors. they are easy to make and you'll end up with the lengths you want for pence each.
 
Ole Ftang said:
Buy youself a roll of cable and get a crimper and a bag of rj45 connectors. they are easy to make and you'll end up with the lengths you want for pence each.
Click to expand...

I know how to make cables and so does the tech team, but funnily enough we have other work to do when someone else can worry about getting the cables made.
 
Phate said:
That's exactly it, I mean, a cable is a cable at the end of the day, providing it's using the correct internals it should be fine.
Click to expand...
That is exactly my thinking. This is the whole point of networking standards; you can mix brands and cables and it'll work.

Phate said:
We've told the guy what he wanted and is currently making us a quote, we got a quote from somewhere else and I don't know but £5.99 seems very expensive for a 2M cable :eek:
Click to expand...
WHOA! Alarm bells now. I'm looking on another site now and they sell 2m Cat6 for £3.30 and for £5.99 you'd get a 5m Cat6 for about £4.68 so £6 for 2m is a joke really. And these are just single Cat6 cables, you'll be buying in bulk I presume so the prices should be a bit lower as a result.

Ole Ftang said:
Buy youself a roll of cable and get a crimper and a bag of rj45 connectors. they are easy to make and you'll end up with the lengths you want for pence each.
Click to expand...
Yes they are fairly easy to make but it'd be so time consuming doing that when Phate and co could be doing something more constructive and getting someone else to do this for them.

I made a Cat5e cable at Uni and it took a while and you'd get bored quite easily I think so making your own Cat5e/6 cables is probably only for the odd time you need them not for re-wiring an entire network.
 
Last edited:
MarcLister said:
That is exactly my thinking. This is the whole point of networking standards; you can mix brands and cables and it'll work.
Click to expand...

Indeed, it's why the standards were setup.

WHOA! Alarm bells now. I'm looking on another site now and they sell 2m Cat6 for £3.30 and for £5.99 you'd get a 5m Cat6 for about £4.68 so £6 for 2m is a joke really. And these are just single Cat6 cables, you'll be buying in bulk I presume so the prices should be a bit lower as a result.
Click to expand...

Aye, we asked for a quote of 300 x 2M ones and supplier came back with £5.99 each!

Total quote was £4094.00

For 500 cables! - it's a bloody joke!

Mind you, that company doesn't specifically sell network cables.
 
Phate said:
Indeed, it's why the standards were setup.



Aye, we asked for a quote of 300 x 2M ones and supplier came back with £5.99 each!

Total quote was £4094.00

For 500 cables! - it's a bloody joke!

Mind you, that company doesn't specifically sell network cables.
Click to expand...

You'll probably find that they are getting them in for you and will be individually bagged therefore you're paying full retail price for them.

I've just checked and a 2m cat6 cable online can be had for 1.50 each plus p+p
 
Last edited:
IAmATeaf said:
I've just checked and a 2m cat6 cable online can be had for 1.50 each plus p+p
Click to expand...
Now that is a seriously good price. The site I'm using quotes £3.30 for 2m. Course the £3.30 is with VAT included. Is that £1.50 VAT inclusive?
 
pretty sure you can't make cat6 yourself, part of the cat6 specs is the moulded end to ensure maximum signal
 
MarcLister said:
Now that is a seriously good price. The site I'm using quotes £3.30 for 2m. Course the £3.30 is with VAT included. Is that £1.50 VAT inclusive?
Click to expand...

Yep 1.31 for the cable, 0.23 VAT, not sure about p+p as you need to open an account but it gives you a basic idea, 300 of these comes to 461.78 plus postage, a fair old saving over the 4094.00 the OP quoted.

You can also get them in pretty colours for the same price.
 
Sounds like he's got his wires crossed. If you use Cat6 cable, but connect it with 5e rated patch panels/jacks/connectors etc, then it won't be Cat6 compliant, but it will still run better than 5e.

And yes, you can create your own Cat6, and can test its compliance with a compliance tester ;).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom