What Is the Contrast between CAT5e and CAT6 Ethernet Cables?
When working with Ethernet Cables, we hear the phrase CAT5e Cable and CAT6 Cable, so what is the difference? Those two cables are termed as twisted pair copper cable, both have 8 individual insulated copper wires and are both normally terminated by having an RJ-45 connector. So what is the top deal?
The main Ethernet data standards used copper coaxial cable to transfer data about the early packet switched networks.
10Base5
10Base5 networks used fairly stiff 0.375 inch, 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable, and was often characterised by its Creamy Yellow external insulated coating. It was often attached to the wall much like a Dado Rail and it was called Thick Ethernet. It turned out designed to pass Ethernet signals at 10 Mbps on the maximum distance of 500 metres, which could possibly be extended approximately 2500 metres using 4 repeaters.
10Base2
10Base2 networks utilised 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable which was much thinner and much more flexible than 10Base5, however the Ethernet signals were still meant to be transmitted over this medium at 10 Mbps, albeit over a much shorter distance of about 185 metres, which may be extended around 925 metres with the addition of 4 repeaters. The two 10Base5 and 10Base2 standards have grown to be largely obsolete and twisted pair cable is the common wired network medium.
Twisted Pair Ethernet Cable
10BaseT originated in the early 1980s plus it mainly used Category 3 cable for transmissions up to 10 Mbs over distances as much as 100 metres. Ethernet standards evolved to add faster data rate transmission as well as the 10BaseTx 100 Mbps and 1000Baset 1000 Mbps standards were introduced. Cat3 cable was no longer had sufficient bandwidth a reaction to cope with these faster technologies and the Cat5 and Cat5e cable standards were introduced which allowed data speeds at as much as 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps respectively. The first Cat5 standard was for the 100BaseTx transmissions but was quickly superseded by Cat5e as the 1000BaseT standard became commonplace.
So what exactly is the gap between CAT5e and CAT6 Cable? Well the cables are constructed in the same way with 4 copper pairs, making 8 wires in whole. Each couple of wires are colour coded and twisted around one another to help reduce Crosstalk. The Cat5e cable is rated up to 100Mhz and supports up to 1 Gigabit Ethernet, even though the Cat6 cable is rated approximately 250Mhz which enable it to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet signals.
Cat6 Ethernet Cable has over 2 twists per centimetre whereas Cat5e Ethernet Cable just has 1.5 to two twists per centimetre. As a result Cat6 Cable better protects against Crosstalk. Another difference could be that the sheath thickness is additionally greater when comparing Cat6 with Cat5e. Some of the Category 6 cables also have a Nylon Spine along with the mixture of this spine and also the thicker sheath control Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) and Alien Crosstalk (AXT), which could increase because frequency increases.
Most Ethernet Cables being used are UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), because they will be the cables recommended to be utilized relating to the add-ons including computers and also the wall socket. STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) Cables are recommended to use for outdoor installations as well as cable runs inside internal walls.
Stranded cables tend to be flexible and so are often employed for computer to wall socket and for general home network use, but often businesses usually choose the solid cables with regards to the wiring inside walls and wiring ducts because of its superior strength and enhanced network performance.
To conclude, Category 5 enhanced cables are sufficient for most applications for accelerates to a single Gigabit per second, but if you anticipate the application of 10 Gbps Ethernet in the future then Category 6 cable will future proof neglect the. Also Category 6 cable, even with the 1 Gbps speeds gives enhanced protection against errors.
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