Exactly what is the Distinction between CAT5e and CAT6 Ethernet Cables?

When working with Ethernet Cables, we hear the phrase CAT5e Cable and CAT6 Cable, so what is the real difference? Both these cables are known as twisted pair copper cable, both have 8 individual insulated copper wires and are both normally terminated with the RJ-45 connector. What is the big deal?

The main Ethernet data standards used copper coaxial cable to transfer data on 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 had been often attached to the wall much like a Dado Rail and it was generally known as Thick Ethernet. It had been designed to pass Ethernet signals at 10 Mbps over the maximum distance of 500 metres, and this could possibly be extended approximately 2500 metres using 4 repeaters.

10Base2

10Base2 networks utilised 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable that’s much thinner and much more flexible than 10Base5, however the Ethernet signals remained meant 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 with the addition of 4 repeaters. Both 10Base5 and 10Base2 standards are becoming largely obsolete and twisted pair cable has become the most popular wired network medium.

Twisted Pair Ethernet Cable

10BaseT was made during the early 1980s also it mainly used Category 3 cable for transmissions up to 10 Mbs over distances around 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 not longer had sufficient bandwidth reply to deal with these faster technologies and so the Cat5 and Cat5e cable standards were introduced which allowed data speeds at as much as 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps respectively. The original Cat5 standard was for the 100BaseTx transmissions but was quickly superseded by Cat5e as the 1000BaseT standard became commonplace.

So what exactly is the main difference between CAT5e and CAT6 Cable? Well the cables are constructed in a similar manner with 4 copper pairs, making 8 wires altogether. Each pair of wires are colour coded and twisted around one another in reducing Crosstalk. The Cat5e cable is rated approximately 100Mhz and supports up to 1 Gigabit Ethernet, and the Cat6 cable is rated as much as 250Mhz and will 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. The result is that Cat6 Cable better protects against Crosstalk. Another difference is that the sheath thickness can be greater when you compare Cat6 with Cat5e. A number of the Category 6 cables also have a Nylon Spine along with the combination of this spine and also the thicker sheath protect against Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) and Alien Crosstalk (AXT), that may increase as the frequency increases.

Most Ethernet Cables used are UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), as these include the cables recommended to be utilized relating to the peripheral devices such as 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 more flexible and they are more often useful for computer to wall socket and for general home network use, but often businesses usually prefer the solid cables in terms of the wiring inside walls and wiring ducts due to the superior strength and enhanced network performance.

To sum up, Category 5 enhanced cables are sufficient for most applications for accelerates one Gigabit per second, but if you anticipate using 10 Gbps Ethernet later on then Category 6 cable will future proof neglect the. Also Category 6 cable, even on the 1 Gbps speeds can give enhanced protection against errors.

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