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• Article Continues: Network Cable Selection
USB User Guide
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Before we go into the merits of the various cable types, it is critical to first establish what your bandwidth demands are. These bandwidth demands will help determine whether Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) or Fast Ethernet (100BASE-T) is the appropriate system for you.
Fast Ethernet, AKA 100BASE-T or 100 Megabit Ethernet, has long been the industry standard form of network communications over twisted pair cabling.
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All new PC’s will have 100 Megabit Ethernet ports built into them. Networking equipment operating at this 100Mbit speed is also extremely affordable due to it being a mature technology. Fast Ethernet connections only require Category 5 networking cable, another cost advantage. Your average residence or small office today will rarely demand more bandwidth than what’s available from a 100 Megabit network. Within the next 5 years, however, Fast Ethernet networks will be taxed to capacity by high bandwidth content.
To prepare for future bandwidth needs, we recommend installing Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) equipment exclusively. Gigabit Ethernet transfers data at a whopping 1 billion bits per second and is up to ten times faster than Fast Ethernet. Category 5E (enhanced) networking cable is required to support Gigabit speeds. Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that improves cross-talk performance, a critical issue with Gigabit data transmission. Gigabit Ethernet functions even better using Category 6 cable due to its inherent design characteristics.
Fortunately, you can always upgrade your networking equipment later and build your network around the cable. Cat6 cable, for instance, is designed to support a future version of 10 Gigabit Ethernet when it becomes available. So designing your network using Cat6 cable is a safe bet, especially considering Cat6 cable supports 100 Megabit Ethernet better than Cat5e. Contractors nation-wide are so confident in Cat6, they are installing their Cat6 cables with a 25 year guarantee against obsolescence.
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Networking Cable Comparison
Category 5e Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Currently, Category 5e UTP cabling is the de-facto standard for networking infrastructure worldwide. Category 5e has replaced standard Category 5 cabling in the marketplace over the past several years, so the terms Cat5 and Cat5e have become somewhat interchangeable. Although Category 5e UTP cabling will support Gigabit Ethernet, especially over short runs, this cable type really shines with 100 Megabit network traffic. Typical devices using this cable type include PC’s, current generation gaming platforms, internet appliances, 10/100 and Gigabit network cards, hubs, routers, and switches.
This type of cable is unshielded, but this is not usually a problem. If your network environment meets the following criteria, Cat5e Unshielded Twisted Pair will work just fine:
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Image of common Cat5e
compatible wireless routers |
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• Any residence that meets NEC electrical requirements for earth grounding
• Most commercial office buildings with conduit and a central office ground
• Light duty industrial factories with limited interference potential
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Amphenol Cat5e cables are available in multiple colors so that you can better identify your connections. Some companies for instance require each IT person to install their own unique color cable for each installation to improve troubleshooting and response time. You can also use a different color cable based on functionality, i.e. red cables for connections to PC’s and blue cables for connections between access points. To browse our full selection of Cat5e Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), please click here. |
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Category 5e Foil-screened Twisted Pair (FTP) |
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Certain environments are chock full of harmful EMI/RFI interference. This interference can rapidly degrade the integrity of high speed data over standard Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling. Despite the interference rejecting benefits of twisted pair cabling and the latest digital signal processing technology, a shielded cable is sometimes required.
Foil-screened Twisted Pair (FTP)
cabling has the simplest of shield designs, consisting of a mylar/aluminum foil sleeve that covers the four twisted wire pairs. This shield primarily fights interference coming into the cable from the outside. FTP cables tend to cost significantly more than UTP cables, because the addition of the foil shield is a labor intensive process. The foil shield provides the added benefit of further protecting the inner wire pairs from physical damage. This is why shielded Cat5e cables are often chosen for permanent structure cabling. |
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| Image of a dissected Cat5e FTP cable |
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We recommend Cat5e FTP cabling in the following environments:
• Any residence lacking a proper earth ground or in proximity to high voltage lines
• Commercial office buildings without an isolated central office ground
• Industrial facilities and factories using high current / high voltage equipment
• Broadcast facilities, military installations, financial institutions, hospitals
• Any sensitive areas where data reliability is of the utmost importance
All FTP cables from Cables on Demand feature shielded, impedance matched, and precision-terminated RJ-45 connectors for the most reliable connection possible. Cat5e FTP cables should preferably be used with networking equipment featuring shielded RJ-45 jacks to maintain their full benefit. There are also instances in which networks, having operated poorly due to excessive cable lengths or other challenges, can be fully restored by simply switching to an FTP cable. To browse our full selection of Cat5e Foil-Screened Twisted Pair (FTP), please click here.
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Category 6 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Category 6 UTP cabling is presently the choice of installers world-wide who want to “future proof” their networks. You may not realize just how dependent we are becoming on network bandwidth. Our cell-phones, home phones, cable boxes, computers, mp3 players, security systems, and other technologies are all consuming up valuable bandwidth at an alarming rate. |
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Nearly all emerging technologies are utilizing the internet to deliver their content. High Definition Television will soon be delivered via the internet. HDTV alone will significantly tax the capacity of our networks in the near future. By 2010, nearly 90% of network traffic could be devoted to HDTV, as seen below:
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Category 6 = Protection from future bandwidth requirements |
Installing Category 6 cabling for your home or office network is an investment in the future. Cat6 cabling is considered universal. It supports 100 Megabit and Gigabit data rates far better than Cat5e and it is reverse compatible with all 10/100 Ethernet equipment. Because of its improved transmission performance and superior immunity from external noise, systems operating over category 6 cabling will have fewer errors versus category 5e for current applications. How many fewer errors? It is significant as shown below:
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Table: Error Rates of Cat5, Cat5e, and Cat6 Cabling |
Cat6 cabling may look identical on the periphery to Cat5 cabling, but there are significant differences between the two. Cat6 cables are built to much tighter tolerances. The precision of the cable twists significantly punch down interference without the need for shielding. The problem of cross talk is dealt with by using an insulator between the wire pairs. These subtle nuances will permit Cat6 cabling to handle 10 Gigabit data rates in the near future.
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In essence, using Cat6 as your network cable of choice will allow you to use equipment 10X faster that what’s on the market today. There is a minor initial cost premium associated with using Category 6 cable, but the long term cost savings associated with avoiding future upgrades is worth it. We recommend using Category 6 cabling whenever possible on all new residential and commercial installations. Estimates place Cat6 as still being a viable cable technology 25 years from now!
To browse our full selection of Cat6 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), please click here.
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Cat6 will support speeds up to 10X faster than Gigabit Ethernet |
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