When working with Ethernet Cables, we hear the word CAT5e Cable and CAT6 Cable, so what exactly is the gap? Those two cables are termed as twisted pair copper cable, both of them have 8 individual insulated copper wires and are normally terminated having an RJ-45 connector. So what is the large deal?

The main Ethernet data standards used copper coaxial cable to transfer data around the early packet switched networks.

10Base5

10Base5 networks used fairly stiff 0.375 inch, 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable, and it was often characterised by its Creamy Yellow external insulated coating. It absolutely was often linked to the wall similar to a Dado Rail and it was called Thick Ethernet. It turned out built to pass Ethernet signals at 10 Mbps over a maximum distance of 500 metres, this also may be extended up to 2500 metres using 4 repeaters.

10Base2

10Base2 networks utilised 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable which was much thinner and much more flexible than 10Base5, though the Ethernet signals were still designed to be transmitted over this medium at 10 Mbps, albeit over the much shorter distance close to 185 metres, which could be extended approximately 925 metres by having 4 repeaters. The 10Base5 and 10Base2 standards have grown to be largely obsolete and twisted pair cable has become the most popular wired network medium.

Twisted Pair Ethernet Cable

10BaseT originated noisy . 1980s plus it mainly used Category 3 cable for transmissions as much as 10 Mbs over distances up to 100 metres. Ethernet standards evolved to add faster data rate transmission and the 10BaseTx 100 Mbps and 1000Baset 1000 Mbps standards were introduced. Cat3 cable was no longer had sufficient bandwidth response to cope with these faster technologies so the Cat5 and Cat5e cable standards were introduced which allowed data speeds at up to 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps respectively. The initial Cat5 standard was acceptable for the 100BaseTx transmissions but was quickly superseded by Cat5e because 1000BaseT standard became commonplace.

So what is the difference between CAT5e and CAT6 Cable? Well the cables are constructed in a similar manner with 4 copper pairs, making 8 wires as a whole. Each couple of wires are colour coded and twisted around each other in lessening Crosstalk. The Cat5e cable is rated up to 100Mhz and supports as much as 1 Gigabit Ethernet, as the Cat6 cable is rated around 250Mhz and may support 10 Gigabit Ethernet signals.

Cat6 Ethernet Cable has over 2 twists per centimetre whereas Cat5e Ethernet Cable only has 1.5 to two twists per centimetre. Consequently Cat6 Cable better protects against Crosstalk. Another difference would be that the sheath thickness can also be greater when you compare Cat6 with Cat5e. A few of the Category 6 cables also have a Nylon Spine and the mixture of this spine and also the thicker sheath protect against Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) and Alien Crosstalk (AXT), that may increase because the frequency increases.

Most Ethernet Cables used are UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), because they would be the cables recommended to use between your peripheral devices including computers and also the wall socket. STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) Cables are suggested to be utilized for outdoor installations and for cable runs inside internal walls.

Stranded cables tend to be flexible and therefore are more frequently useful for computer to wall socket and for general home network use, but often businesses usually like the solid cables in terms of the wiring inside walls and wiring ducts because superior strength that has been enhanced network performance.

In summary, Category 5 enhanced cables are sufficient for the majority of applications for speeds up one Gigabit per second, however if you simply anticipate the usage of 10 Gbps Ethernet down the road then Category 6 cable will future proof ignore the. Also Category 6 cable, even on the 1 Gbps speeds will give enhanced protection against errors.

To learn more about cat5 vs cat6 vs cat7 go this useful web portal.