When you use Ethernet Cables, we hear the term CAT5e Cable and CAT6 Cable, so what is the main difference? These two cables are referred to as twisted pair copper cable, each of them have 8 individual insulated copper wires and both are normally terminated having an RJ-45 connector. So what’s the top deal?
The initial 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 turned out often attached to the wall similar to a Dado Rail and was often known as Thick Ethernet. It absolutely was built to pass Ethernet signals at 10 Mbps more than a maximum distance of 500 metres, this also may be extended as much as 2500 metres using 4 repeaters.
10Base2
10Base2 networks utilised 50 ohm impedance coaxial cable that was much thinner plus more flexible than 10Base5, however the Ethernet signals were meant to be transmitted over this medium at 10 Mbps, albeit more than a much shorter distance of around 185 metres, which may be extended approximately 925 metres by building 4 repeaters. The 10Base5 and 10Base2 standards have become largely obsolete and twisted pair cable is the common wired network medium.
Twisted Pair Ethernet Cable
10BaseT was created during the early 1980s also it mainly used Category 3 cable for transmissions around 10 Mbs over distances up to 100 metres. Ethernet standards evolved to add faster data rate transmission and also the 10BaseTx 100 Mbps and 1000Baset 1000 Mbps standards were introduced. Cat3 cable was no longer had sufficient bandwidth reply to take care of these faster technologies therefore, the Cat5 and Cat5e cable standards were introduced which allowed data speeds at around 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps respectively. The original Cat5 standard was for the 100BaseTx transmissions but was quickly superseded by Cat5e since the 1000BaseT standard became commonplace.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 as a 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, whilst the Cat6 cable is rated up to 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 is that the sheath thickness is also greater when comparing Cat6 with Cat5e. Many of the Category 6 cables also have a Nylon Spine as well as the mixture of this spine as well as the thicker sheath control Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) and Alien Crosstalk (AXT), which can increase because the frequency increases.
Most Ethernet Cables being used are UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), since these will be the cables recommended to be utilized between peripheral devices including computers and the wall socket. STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) Cables are recommended to be utilized for outdoor installations and also for cable runs inside internal walls.
Stranded cables tend to be flexible and therefore are often useful for computer to wall socket as well as general home network use, but often businesses usually like the solid cables in relation to the wiring inside walls and wiring ducts due to its superior strength and enhanced network performance.
In summary, Category 5 enhanced cables are sufficient for some applications for speeds up to a single Gigabit per second, however if you simply anticipate the application of 10 Gbps Ethernet in the future then Category 6 cable will future proof ignore the. Also Category 6 cable, even in the 1 Gbps speeds will give enhanced protection against errors.
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