Support NeoGAF

[Escape Goat]

What does it mean when you have a twisted pair ethernet Category 5/5e/6? What do the numbers represent? Is it latentcy, bandwidth and all that?

 

[rc213]

Category 5

A multipair (usually 4 pair) high performance cable that consists of twisted pair conductors, used mainly for data transmission. Note: The twisting of the pairs gives the cable a certain amount of immunity from the infiltration of unwanted interference. category-5 UTP cabling systems are by far, the most common (compared to SCTP) in the United States. Basic cat 5 cable was designed for characteristics of up to 100 MHz. Category 5 cable is typically used for Ethernet networks running at 10 or 100 Mbps.

Category 5e

Same as Category 5, except that it is made to somewhat more stringent standards (see comparison chart below). The Category 5 E standard is now officially part of the 568A standard. Category 5 E is recommended for all new installations, and was designed for transmission speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gigabit Ethernet).

Category 6

Same as Category 5 E, except that it is made to a higher standard (see comparison chart below). The Category 6 standard is now officially part of the 568A standard.

More info here: http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.asp

 

[gblues]

Ethernet has been around a long time, with different types of cabling. The different cable categories are capable of different data rates and are supported by different ethernet adapters. The most common is Category 5 (usually abbreviated as "Cat 5"). Because Cat5 became so prolific, the newer categories--Cat5e and Cat6--use the same type of connector and wiring (RJ-47).

That's why all three categories are listed on the packaging. It also probably shows the data rates, but you'll need to make sure your ethernet adapter supports cat5e or cat6 in order to take advantage of it.

Nathan

 

[Escape Goat]

Awesome, thanks alot guys!

 

[impirius]

The numbers are just sequential.

The most common types of UTP cable are:
Cat5 - bandwidth up to 100Mbps, signaling rate of 100 MHz
Cat5e - bandwidth up to 1Gbps, signaling rate of 100 MHz (up to 200); basically Cat5 cable that passes more rigorous testing
Cat6 - bandwidth up to 1Gbps, signaling rate of 200MHz (up to 500); preferred cable for Gigabit Ethernet networks

Haha, that was late

 

[Escape Goat]

its appreciated impirius. Here, have a cookie.

 

[alejob]

(RJ-47).


Nathan

We have a winner!

Its RJ-45

Not only all that, categories also measure quality of components of a cable, number of twists per foot and other stuff. Cat6 is thicker and harder, thats what this dude told me anyway. I've never acually played around with cat6 cable.

 

[impirius]

its appreciated impirius. Here, have a cookie.