Is CAT7 cable backward compatible with gigabit ethernet ports?

[SickBeast]

I'm thinking about upgrading my cables and I'm wondering if I can just drop CAT7 cables into my existing setup.

TIA

 

[war59312]

Yes it should be. See first line @ https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Category_7_cable

Again, should be!

Though I dont know anyone using cat7, most are using cat6a @ https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Cat_6a#Category_6a

Got mine from Best Buy months ago. Works great with my Dlink DIR 655 wireless n router.

 

[Joseph F]

I couldn't think of any reason as to why it wouldn't be.
Edit: Looked on Newegg. All of their Cat7 cables state that they're backwards-compatible with Cat6a/Cat5e. (At least all of their Rosewill ones are anyway.)

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Jeez, I just swapped out my old Cat 5 cables with Cat 6a. They were fat. Are Cat 7s even fatter?

 

[SickBeast]

Jeez, I just swapped out my old Cat 5 cables with Cat 6a. They were fat. Are Cat 7s even fatter?

I think they're stiffer and the connectors look more solid. I don't know if they're thicker. They're more insulated, so they probably are a little bit thicker at least.

I wound up going with CAT6 because CAT7 was quite a bit more expensive and I doubt I would see any benefit over my gigabit network.

 

[spidey07]

It's shielded. I would avoid it all together, could cause more problems.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Cat7 already? I just bought Cat6 cables at Monoprice a year ago.

I only bought those because I needed some cables shorter than 10' or 14'. Still rocking Cat5e for my normal gigabit desktops into my gigabit switch.

 

[ScottMac]

Remember that in a structured cabling environment (basically anything "Category" rated) ... the entire span takes the rating of the lowest rated component. So if you are using Cat6a cable with Cat5 jacks (good luck with that), the system is rated at "Cat5" level.

If you have a contractor install structured cabling for you, and he uses cheap, unrated jacks, panels, or connectors ... then (until they do a cert scan to prove otherwise) you will have bought an unrated system.

IN A COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION it is also important, for max performance and optimization, to use components from the same manufacturer. The reason is that each component is engineered based on the cable "as produced" specs; it's never perfect, not for any manufacturer, so manufacturers tend to compensate for the cable's deficiencies with the mating components, to produce a system that is balanced to the best degree possible. In some cabling systems, they will also provide a performance and compliance warranty from the manufacturer (usually with conditions that it be installed and scan-certified by a qualified installer and documented). AT&T used to give a ten year warranty ... that's huge given the rate that technology is moving.

FWIW

 

[imagoon]

I'm thinking about upgrading my cables and I'm wondering if I can just drop CAT7 cables into my existing setup.

TIA

It would run 10baseT and 4Mb/s Token ring fine also.

However... Like spidey commented above, it is shielded and needs to be installed properly (and will likely not be installed correctly by an amateur cable guy.) Personally I would save the $$ and hassle and avoid it for the time being. Unless you expect to be installing 40gb/s or 100gb/s in the next 5 years.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Cat6 from monoprice is more than good enough right now for home use. I have an older heavy shielded Cat6 cable from Belkin who make top notch cables. That one is being used as my home's back bone between router & switch.

 

[Emulex]

cat6a is enough considering the expensive cost of cat6 compatible nic's and switches. Honestly its still cheaper to trunk gigabit - unless you know of some magical rosewill 10gbit cat6 switch for $99 lol.

 

[pandemonium]

I'm thinking about upgrading my cables and I'm wondering if I can just drop CAT7 cables into my existing setup.

TIA

Unless you're running a server farm with FTTH I'm not sure I understand the purpose?

 

[SickBeast]

Unless you're running a server farm with FTTH I'm not sure I understand the purpose?

Well, if it were cheaper I would have done it simply to future proof. As it stands I went with CAT6 because I got a bunch of it for $15 as opposed to close to $50 for CAT7 stuff.

 

[JackMDS]

Unless you're running a server farm with FTTH I'm not sure I understand the purpose?

That concept comes from the lack of understanding how electronic works.

Many users think that if their Network works as it should with CAT5e putting in CAT6 or CAT7 will make it faster.

Kind of better cooling lets you OC and squeeze more performance fro the CPU.

If a cable or its plugs/jack are not well it have to be replaced, otherwise one CAT or the other, does not make any difference on peer-to-peer Networks.

 

[Eug]

Heh. I'm seeing underground direct burial CAT7 on eBay now. $1000 per 1000', being sold to end users.

Must be an incredible PITA to deal with. Super thick and relatively inflexible cables, dual-jacketed, and shielding everywhere. BTW, they'll terminate it for you with I believe shielded but RJ45 connectors... for $35 per pair. Ouch.

 

[bobdole369]

They ripped a ton of CAT7 out of this yacht on which I worked. The lead communications guy chose CAT7 because he figured he could run it in the same channels as everything else. (huge multihundred amp generator cables, lighting, HF comms cable, etc). It didn't certify at 100mbit when they were done with the boat, and our critical monitoring and alarm system wasn't able to work on it because of constant dropouts. It probably WOULD have worked perfectly in just about any other environment.

They had to re-wire the whole 180' boat with CAT6a by designing different cable runs.

Its NOT fun to work with either.

 

[christophero197]

I bought 9 packages of Rosewill CAT 7 patch cables of varring lenghts that arrived today and when I failed to connect at GIGABIT(1000) speeds, as I was able to mere seconds before with Belkin, I compared it to my old Belkin Fast Cat 6. Belkin is unshielded, 24 AWG and actual cable lengths match their description (ie. 1FOOT = 1FOOT). Rosewill is shielded, 26 AWG (thinner!) and actual cable lengths DO NOT MATCH! (ie. 1FOOT = 9.5 inches, 7FEET = 6.7FEET). Very, VERY disapointed with both Rosewill and Newegg.com for even selling this product as CAT 7. What a WASTE of my money. Learn from my experience.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm still rocking good-quality Cat5e cables. I see no reason to upgrade in the near future. I can transfer 4.7GB ISO files across my gigabit home lan in around 30-40 seconds, at 100MB/sec. No problems or bottlenecks here.