minimum cat5 cable length

[TheBull]

I have a question for all the cable/networking masters.

I've seen conflicting articles are where the minimum length of cat5 cable to use is between 1m and 2.5m. I'm assuming this is total distance; say from computer NIC to router. Now I would like to use 1 ft. cables in my small network enclosure (leviton mutilimedia center) to connect my patch panel, to my router, to my 8-port switch. I don't want all those looped cables just hanging everywhere. I'm not making my own cables. I prefer to use punchdown connections where possible (I'm just a programmer, not a network guy).

Here are a few examples of my present installation:
Existing bedroom/office install (4 of them):
Net Drop >-------------------------15 m. --------------------> patch panel >-- 12 in. --> router > -- 1m.--> cable modem

New Wireless AP example:
Netgear WG102 ----------------10 m.------------------> patch panel >---- 12 in.---> Netgear FS108P switch >--12 in. --> router >--- 1m ---> cable modem. The WAP and switch have both have built-in PoE, which I'm using.

Thanks for any info.

 

[InlineFive]

If I remember correctly the minimum is 3ft if you don't want a lot of signal breakdown. If they are shorter then this you'll probably end up with a lot of dropped packets. My suggestion would be to use 3ft cables and zip-tie them up.

 

[Kelemvor]

Bah. Just go wireless. Then you dn't have to worry about cables. heh heh.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Bah. Just go wireless. Then you dn't have to worry about cables. heh heh.

but you do have to deal with the excruciating poor performance.

 

[Fardringle]

I use 1 foot and even 6 inch patch cables in patch panels all the time and don't have any speed issues whatsoever since the real total cable length is much longer as these cables are just patching long cable drops from the actual PC locations to the router or switch at the site. However, when connecting between PCs and routers (including switches), you really do need to use cables 3 feet long or longer to avoid performance problems.


Your first example would work fine since the real cable length is over 15 meters from the drop to the router. Your second example would probably provide connectivity but with poor performance since the total cable length between the router and the switch is only 12 inches and should be at least 3 feet. If you don't want to have the cables hanging everywhere, use PorBleemo's suggestion to simply zip-tie them together, or use a cable organizer like these to keep them bundled up nicely, and you can even get one to match the color of your multimedia center.