Most of us have come across a network cable in our travels.
It’s the cable that plugs into the computer at work, or perhaps at home that’s
shaped like a telephone cable, only bigger with a wider connector. Truth be
told, they’re not a whole lot different from the cables that connect our phones
to the wall, with the exception of having twice the number of wires inside, and
a fatter connector.
Over the years this cable has been improved upon although
you wouldn’t necessarily know it to look at one vs. another. Here, we breakdown category 5, 5e, 6 and 7 cables.
Cat5
The network cable you first met was likely a category 5 (Cat5). This cable was
the first to be able to move data at 100MHz, and has very nearly become the
standard network connection cable all over the world. Loved for its
effectiveness and low cost, it’s the most readily available network cable
anywhere.
This is the “go to” cable for 10/100 networks, as it easily
provides data at 100Mbps.
Cat5e
You may have also heard of category 5 enhanced cable, or Cat5e. The “e” (as alluded
to above) stands for “Enhanced.” Slightly different than their predecessor, the
Cat5e cables were created to help make gigabit networks (10/100/1000)* a
reality. Essentially, these are just a better version of Cat5, offering a
higher degree of reliability and throughput.
Cat6
Much more advanced than Cat5/5e is the Category 6 cable. This is made of up of
the same elements as 5/5e, (i.e. twisted copper cables), however, these cables
are separated by what’s known as a “longitudinal separator” This greatly
reduces “Crosstalk.”
Think of four people sitting around a small round table.
Each of these people has a cell phone to their ear, and they are holding
conversations; each their own different discussion. One of these folks is on
the phone with you, and you can clearly hear bits and pieces of all four
conversations, making it difficult to hear the person you’re talking to.
Enter the longitudinal separator. This is little more than a
partition between the four talkers, greatly diminishing the crosstalk and
making it easier for you to pay attention to your conversation.
Forward thinking would suggest going with Cat6 is wise as
technology marches on and the quest for a clearer, stronger signal is never
ending. These cables are backward compatible, and have doubled the bandwidth of
Cat5/5e, weighing in at 10 gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000/10,000).
Cat7
The latest standard of Ethernet interconnections, Cat7 cables were not
widely embraced. Although performance was enhanced, it was not an
earth-shattering enhancement, and this cable does not use the same connectors
as its predecessors, rendering its use more expensive. There are plans to make
it backward compatible, but it will require a different connector, which may
not be able to perform as well.
More Information
While Cat7 is a very recent standard, Cat8 standards are currently emerging,
proving as stated above, that indeed technology marches on!
*a bit about the
designation of “10/100” in an apples to apples comparison: When you purchase
home Internet, and your provider tells you “You’ll get 30Mb download speed!”
This is what we’re talking about. The Cat5 can support up to 100Mb. It’s seldom
that your ISP will fully utilize a network speed of 100Mbps, but in a corporate
environment, where files are moved from one place to another routinely, this
sort of bandwidth is quickly consumed!
CZ Labs sells at the category 5, 5e & 6 cables you're looking for--and in bulk! We invite you to visit our online store and start saving and also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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