Twin gigabit cabling & what spec cabling to use externally?

Soldato
Joined
31 May 2005
Posts
15,640
Location
Nottingham
I wish to run two ethernet points to another room in the house, however, as the cables will be routed externally, can I get 2 cables encased in one sleeve, if that makes sense?

Also, what spec cable is best used outside and how much more expensive is it than standard cable.. i.e, would it be best to use normal cable with trunking to protect it from the elements?

Cheaper would be better but at the same time, I want it to look good and last a long time.
 
How will you be running the cables?
Just clipped around the outside of the house? Or buried underground?

If your just clipping them around the outside of the house then you can just use normal Cat6 afaik.
The only reason for protecting the cables wouldn't necessarily be from the elements, but from physical damage tbh.

If your burying them underground between areas then I would suggest putting them in a duct.
 
I used some external graded cat5e stuff - it's basically just wrapped in a more protective covering that the ordinary stuff and tacked it to my wall along the bottom of the house.
 
How will you be running the cables?

Externally along the side of the house.

thin plastic trunking on the outside of the house

Agreed.

Would shielded be better than unshielded if being outside?

Regarding the "dual" cable, does such a thing exist?

I am looking at using 2 of these:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/34584...ar/Philex-RJ45-CAT5E-Module-Outlet-Kit-Double

Seem OK?

How do they terminate at the socket, do the wires go straight into the back or do you just plug an RJ45 connector in?

Also, Cat5e or Cat6?

Would Cat6 offer any future proofing?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Im not sure if there is a dual cable tbh. And if there is it would be expensive im sure.
You would be best off just running 2 separate cables.

Cat6 is backwards compatible with all Cat5E systems, but you will be paying more for the cable so if you dont intend to upgrade your whole network to gigabit then Cat5E will be enough. If you are intending to upgrade to a gigabit switch / router and you have a few items that can support gigabit then I would install Cat6, otherwise save your money.

The cable will punch down into IDC terminals on the back of the plate. You should buy a IDC punchdown tool to ensure you get the best connection possible, but you can cheat and use an old credit card to punchdown with if you are only doing a few punches.
 
Oh, and as for shielded and unshielded, I think its for interference purposes mainly, so if your not running alongside any mains cables on the route, then unshielded will be all you will need. It will be cheaper and easier to work with too.
 
Cat5e is fine for gigabit, I'm not sure why it keeps coming up on these forums that you need Cat6 for gigabit. If you wanted to do 10 gigabit then you'd need Cat6a, but Cat5e will do gigabit over a reasonable distance with no issues.
 
Cat5e is fine for gigabit, I'm not sure why it keeps coming up on these forums that you need Cat6 for gigabit. If you wanted to do 10 gigabit then you'd need Cat6a, but Cat5e will do gigabit over a reasonable distance with no issues.

Yeah but when there's the possiblity of interference you can normally justify a higher grade cable, and cat6 is less prone to emi than cat5, it all depends on the circumstances.
 
Last edited:
It just pushes the wires into the slots and metal grooves bite through the plastic coating and into the wire. The black thing clips the tail off to give a perfect length.
I bought a cheapy from eBay and it has easily lasted for my home and an office.
 
I used some external graded cat5e stuff - it's basically just wrapped in a more protective covering that the ordinary stuff and tacked it to my wall along the bottom of the house.

That's what I used at my old house

The outer shield was thicker (and possibly UV resistant?)

It also had another internal plastic layer for protection
 
Out of the four pairs in the cable only 2 are used. There are adapters which allow the use of all twisted pairs to be able to run two ethernet cables down a single run.

You could have course just terminate the ends in each socket with a single cable. I wouldn't advise this in a production environment but in the home environment over short runs it'll be fine if running two cables is impossible (I'd acutally look run more than I needed for future proofing).
 
Out of the four pairs in the cable only 2 are used. There are adapters which allow the use of all twisted pairs to be able to run two ethernet cables down a single run.

You could have course just terminate the ends in each socket with a single cable. I wouldn't advise this in a production environment but in the home environment over short runs it'll be fine if running two cables is impossible (I'd acutally look run more than I needed for future proofing).

Gigabit is 3 pairs ;)
 
I run a Cat5e cable from my house to 2 houses down about 10 years ago, and it's still there, working to this day. Only issues have been with dogs chewing through the cable in the house, but externally it's fine. Few things to remember, no sharp bends as that can break the internal copper, use the highest grade that you can and it should last many years.
 
[Darkend]Viper;17757595 said:
Few things to remember, no sharp bends as that can break the internal copper, use the highest grade that you can and it should last many years.

Thanks.

Sound advice I think :)

I have bigger plans for the future so this definitely makes sense.
 
Back
Top Bottom