How much do RJ45 connections affect data transfer speed?

[Caveman]

Per subject... Came up 2 ft short on a difficult run through my attic on the main line from the router to the switch (feeds 12 drops)... I hate to do it but I'm going to buy a M/F extension to complete the job. How much (if any) will using an extension affect the internet speed (if at all)?

Assumption is no speed degradation at all... Just a possible decrease in reliability with one more connection to fail, etc...

Can anyone help me sleep better tonight?

 

[jimpz]

If every thing is a match (I.E. all components are Cat 5e) there will be no degradation, everything runs at the 'level' of the lowest component.

 

[John Connor]

I have M/F couplers and see no degradation at all. Longest run is about 30'-40'.

 

[azazel1024]

You are unlikely to run in to an issue. It does increase noise on the line, but if you are well within spec on the run (IE less than 100 meters) and don't have any major noise generators in the frequency range that ethernet operates at, it should be no issues at all.

IE don't worry about it. It is ugly and I'd just make a new cable, but it shouldn't cause any problems at all.

 

[JackMDS]

Use Shielded couplers.

http://www.staples.com/office/suppli...FeVj7Aod_SYARw

 

[Carson Dyle]

You came up two feet short of what?

It sounds as though you had planned on terminating your run in an RJ-45 plug and plugging that cable into your attic switch. A better approach would be to terminate that run in a jack mounted on a wall or stud in the attic, then run a patch cable to the switch. If you take that approach you don't need an extender. Did you run solid core cable?

 

[brshoemak]

You came up two feet short of what?

It sounds as though you had planned on terminating your run in an RJ-45 plug and plugging that cable into your attic switch. A better approach would be to terminate that run in a jack mounted on a wall or stud in the attic, then run a patch cable to the switch. If you take that approach you don't need an extender. Did you run solid core cable?

Or because he said he's looking at using a M/F extension cable, maybe he just ran a long patch cable. If so a coupler would be fine, as in, your only viable option.

If however, it's just cable from a spool then please for the love of all that is holy don't crimp the end into an RJ45 connector - punch it down to a keystone jack like [insert deity/non-deity of choice] intended and put it in a single gang box or a surface mount box. Run a patch cable from the jack to your switch and call it a day.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Why is it so bad to crimp the end of such a cable? Serious q

Either will work, but a jack is just the right way to do it, as well as being more flexible and neater. Like the difference between having an electrical jack on the outside of your home to plug in an extension cord vs running an extension cord out of a bedroom window. If you go to the trouble and expense of running Ethernet cabling in your home, make the wiring a permanent part of the house's infrastructure. Imagine when everyone had land line telephones, if you had a 15 ft phone cable with a plug on end extending into every room in the house. It would be a mess. That's why we have phone jacks.

Moreover, if there are an additional 12 drops terminating in the attic near the switch, they should be punched down to a network patch panel of some type, rather than being terminated with crimp-on plugs. One solution would be to use a 12 jack vertical patch panel. Then use patch cables between the panel and the switch.

 

[brshoemak]

Why is it so bad to crimp the end of such a cable? Serious q

Because 95% of problems I have ever dealt with regarding cabling issues come down to people using crimp connectors and hoping/guessing that they have a solid connection. Many times there might be a strand or two that slid back just a little bit before they crimped it. It will be a bit hard to see, but it looks right. It might work, then it might not or might get sketchy if it gets jiggled a little.

With keystone jacks/patch panels you can be sure that every individual wire is secured just by looking at the jack from the side.

Cables with RJ45 connectors on the ends of them should only be patch cables, which are commercially produced by the thousands and are easy to switch out.

I might sound a little overzealous about this (ok a lot overzealous) but it's something I deal with on a constant basis. That irks me along with electricians who think they are low voltage experts - "Please don't staple the UTP cable. Just don't."

 

[Caveman]

Or because he said he's looking at using a M/F extension cable, maybe he just ran a long patch cable. If so a coupler would be fine, as in, your only viable option.

If however, it's just cable from a spool then please for the love of all that is holy don't crimp the end into an RJ45 connector - punch it down to a keystone jack like [insert deity/non-deity of choice] intended and put it in a single gang box or a surface mount box. Run a patch cable from the jack to your switch and call it a day.

It is a 12 foot patch cable from the router to the switch that should have been 15 ft long