Cat5 vs Cat6

[Homerboy]

so if I'm making all my own cables... using all 4 pair, doing the "standard" swap of W/BL and W/GRN around then what are these cables? 5 or 6?

Or is it the PHSYICAL properties of the cabling itself.

The latter is true correct?

I'm just confused today... my brain isn't working.

 

[JackMDS]

The difference between CAT5e and CAT6 is the actual cable that you buy.

You buy CAT6 you have CAT6 you buy CAT5e you have CAT5e

You also have to buy the suitable plugs for each cable.

The connection pattern of the straight pairs is the same for both.

:sun:

Taking into consideration the nature of your question, you probably better off buying commercially made cables.

 

[FreshPrince]

use cat6 if you have voip in your network, otherwise, cat5e is just fine for gig speeds.

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
use cat6 if you have voip in your network, otherwise, cat5e is just fine for gig speeds.

oh don't worry we could get by with 10baseT here in the long run.
This was just more out of curiosity.

Does Cat6 require a different punch-panel (if you use one?)

 

[Homerboy]

dumb question
of course it does

 

[spyordie007]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
use cat6 if you have voip in your network, otherwise, cat5e is just fine for gig speeds.

Why would you need cat6 to support VOIP? The bandwidth required for most VOIP applications is low.

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: spyordie007

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
use cat6 if you have voip in your network, otherwise, cat5e is just fine for gig speeds.

Why would you need cat6 to support VOIP? The bandwidth required for most VOIP applications is low.

on top of existing networks, it is recommended

if your voip is in a separate network, then no

 

[spyordie007]

Why would you impliment VOIP without running it on a dedicated VLAN? Simply adding extra bandwidth is not an alternative to implimenting proper QOS. :roll:

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: spyordie007
Why would you impliment VOIP without running it on a dedicated VLAN? Simply adding extra bandwidth is not an alternative to implimenting proper QOS. :roll:

sure, if you work for a company that's doesn't have a shoe string budget

I run mine in separate networks, but doesn't mean every company can

 

[ScottMac]

FreshPrince:

In a word, Bullsh!t!

VoIP in any way, shape, or form has nothing to do with the rating of the cable .... not in any configuration, VLANS or not.

There is no spec in any of the VoIP suites that specifices any specific type or Category of cable, copper or fiber.

Cat6 is a higher spec, that's all. It performs to a higher standard.

Cat5e is sufficient for any protocol in use today.... and in most cases so is Cat5 (including GigE).

Category rating means that the cable meets a certain qualification specification. The qualification only relates to the Layer One signaling. If the cable meets the L1 spec for a given signaling protocol, then it is good for the Layer two and above, and doesn't have any further relevance to any of the protocols above it (VoIP protocols, for example).

Homerboy: Going back to your first post: The pairs you would swap are the orange and green pair, not the blue pair ... the blue pair is on pins 4&5, the middle pair. The green and orange pair occupy pins 1&2 and 3&6 ... and are swapped between the 568a and 568b spec (or one end of each for a crossover cable).

The terminating pin-outs have nothing to do with the Category rating - unless you terminate them wrong or poorly, then you have a Cat-nothing cable / span. Also note that if you use unrated connectors, panels, or information outlets, then you also have an unrated span of cabling, regardless of what's printed on the box or jacket. The span takes on the rating of the lowest rated component.

The only way to verify Cat compliance is to run a qualification test on the span, with all components included, even the patch cables.

FWIW

Scott

 

[spyordie007]

I had assumed that FP was just suggesting that you want the cat6 cabling so that eventually you would have more bandwidth because for some reason he thought that you need a lot of bandwidth to support VoIP.

But again as I said you dont need that much bandwidth for VoIP, you could easily run it over a 10Mb network.

Whatever the case may be most of us have yet to impliment GigE in very signifigant volume, so our existing cat5e will last us for some time to come.

Erik

 

[ScottMac]

You are correct. With extremely rare occasion, theres no need to rip out your Cat5/5e plant just to do Cat6.

If you were planning on installing new cable, Cat6 UTP would be your best bet to cover future advancements. For most cabling installations, the major cost is labor, not media or components.

As Spidey frequently points out .... to not do Cat6 for a new installor planned update is a silly / stupid / carrer-limiting move (we're talking commercial here, no one gives a rat's patoot about what people put in at home).

FWIW

Scott

 

[FreshPrince]

cable is cable is cable...

people should care whether or not they need plenum more than cat5 or cat6....

all I was suggesting was that if this is a new run, go with cat6, otherwise, if he has cat5e already, he won't need it.

however, if he's building voip into the existing network, cat6 is still recommended. this is based off the fact that most networks are designed for GigE speeds already.

if he has the voip network separated, then no, cat5e will be fine.

basically do you need single or dual runs?

dual is recommended but not everyone can affort it, which is why many companies implement voip solutions within their existing networks. I don't recommend it, but people do it anyways.

my recommendation for voip is still cat6, people can disagree, I won't lose sleep over it.

 

[skyking]

so if I'm making all my own cables... using all 4 pair, doing the "standard" swap of W/BL and W/GRN around then what are these cables? 5 or 6?

When I think of "making my own cables", I think of crimping ends. This in itself is a bad practice, since you can buy premade cables for little of nothing. You have to pay yourself something to crimp them, and have a reserve ready for the troubleshooting "fun".
Once you crimp and end on a CAT6 cable, now you have a cat5e patch cable if you do it right.
You cannot manufacture a CAT6 patch cable to standards with a crimp tool and a bag of standard crimp ends.
If you are talking about solid UTP runs terminated in keystone jacks, that is different.
CAT6 can support the new 10 Giga standard for up to 55 meters if installed and certified to standards. Cat 5e will support gigabit for the full rated length of 90 meters plus 10.
For gigabit applications, all 4 pair are utilized. Crossover cables are unnecessary, since gigabit network adapters will perform auto mdi/mdi-x as needed.