Minimum Ethernet Cable Length?

[EglsFly]

Is there a minimum ethernet cable length?

I want to make some CAT5 cable that is only a couple inches long to connect some stacked equipment to eliminate cable clutter.
Is it ok to have ethernet cable that short?

Thanks.

 

[cmetz]

Yes, I believe it's 1m (ca. 3ft).

 

[Lord Evermore]

There was a thread about this a few weeks ago.

Minimum according to the standard is 1 meter. But in that thread, somebody made a cable with only 1 centimeter between the two jacks, and it worked.

There may be some electrical problems with a short cable, which is why the standard is 1 meter. One foot is usually a pretty safe length, unless you're dealing with connections that absolutely have to be as clean as possible to prevent any lost bits (in which case you ought to be buying premade good brand cables, of course, or have a very expensive cable tester).

 

[Smilin]

This identical question was answered within the last month so you might want to take a search at it.


The answer is: 1 meter to stay within spec. If your setup is non-mission critical you can put together a shorty and it should work just fine though.

 

[EglsFly]

Thanks for your answers.

Yea, I thought I saw the same question before, tried searching for it and did not find it.
Searched using the text in my title... under Networking forum.

Thanks again.