When it comes to Ethernet cables, we often hear people ask what’s the difference between Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a cable? The most obvious similarity is that all of them use RJ-45 connector to plug into Ethernet jackets with their respective specifications. But what’s the difference between them? The following part will focus on this point.

Cat5e Ethernet cable is an enhanced version of Cat5 cable. It was made to support 1000 Mbps "gigabit" speeds up to 328 feet, so in theory, it's faster than Cat5. Cat 5e is measured and rated at 100MHz. It it also cut down on crosstalk and the interference you can sometimes get between wires inside the cable. It means that you're more likely to get fast, reliable speed out of Cat5e cabling compared with Cat5 cabling.

Cat 6 cables have been the standard in cabling for a while now for high-speed gigabit Ethernet networks. They support the high speeds required by the 10G Ethernet standard. However, that support is limited to approximately 164 ft, after that the ultimate speed is the same as Cat5e. The frequency in the Cat6 cables jumps up to 250 MHz making it far superior to the 100 MHz in the Cat5e.

In addition to the increased speed, Cat6 cables have a tighter twist in the cables allowing for two-way communication. The higher standard support has also been known to eliminate some or all crosstalk with other cables.

This is the most recent and one of the most advanced of the Ethernet Cables, which provides the same 10Gbps speed but for a total of 330 feet. Cat 6A cables are an improvement to first generation Category 6 cables, the "A” standing for augmented. These cables deliver lightning fast speeds making them suitable for 10G networks and high bandwidth needs. They also have double the amount of frequency of Cat 6A to a total of up to 500 MHz.

It's worth noticing that your network speed is different to your internet speed. Chances are upgrading your cables isn't going to make a difference in how fast you load the web page — your internet speeds are still much slower than speeds on your network. However, if you're transferring files between computers with gigabit-compatible hardware can make things move along faster. Remember, you'll need more than just cables — to get gigabit speeds, you'll also need a gigabit-compatible router and gigabit-capable network cards in your computers. Most modern routers and cards are already capable of these fast speeds, but if you have any older PCs or routers, they might not be. Google your hardware's model number to find out.

If you're happy with the current speeds on your network, then there's no need to go through the trouble of upgrading everything. However, if you have gigabit-capable hardware already, then upgrading the cables is very cheap. If you're looking to get the best possible speeds out of your network, upgrading the old Cat5 cables to Cat5e could help. Like what was mentioned above, some Cat5 cables can reach gigabit speeds, but unless you want to run speed tests and find out — which sounds horribly tedious to me — you might as well just spend a few bucks and get all Cat5e or Cat6. If you're running these cables through your walls instead of just through your office, though, it's going to get more costly (and less worth the trouble).

Lastly, remember that when we talk about the speeds of these cables, those are all theoretical. Even if everything on your network supports gigabit ethernet, you'll probably never see speeds of 1Gb/s. But, your data transfers will be a lot faster than they would on non-gigabit hardware. Also, if you're running cable throughout your house, you may notice a decrease in speeds if you are using cables longer than 100m.

In general, most of the time Cat5e is fine for most networks but keep in mind your network is as strong as your weakest link. If you do need faster performance or see yourself needing it in the future your best bet is to invest in Cat 6 to help future-proof your network.

Posted by: jowang at 04:13 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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