Cat5 Or Cat6: Is there really a difference?

[CharlieIT]

My company is moving into a new building. I hired a contractor to do the Cable runs. I have purchased Cat6 cable.

The question I have is do the RJ45 plugs, keystones, and Patch Panels need to all be Cat6 in order to have a Cat6 network?

My contractor seems to feel that there is no difference between a Cat6 and a Cat5 RJ45 plug or patch panel other than the price.

Does anyone know?

 

[skip555]

get a new contractor .

if you terminate cat 6 cable with cat 5 connectors you wil have a cat5 network

 

[phoneguy55]

agreed. Get a new contractor. Visablity there may be no difference, but there is.. If any part of the system is cat 5, you will have a cat 5 network and nothing more.

 

[CharlieIT]

I think the reason he says that is because there is nothing to a Cat5 RJ45 plug. It is a piece of plastic with a gold plated contact. Also should I assume that it is Cat5 when it isn't specified what it is?

For instance:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProd...t_Id=&Section_Id=520&pcount=&Product_Id=38571

 

[pbxn]

CAT6 is a thicker cable and RJ45 module or not, it is still a CAT6 cable. If you are spending the extra money for the cable why not do it right and have all CAT6 patch panels, jacks etc.

 

[CharlieIT]

I will certainly make sure that everything we use says "Cat6". I don't mind spending the extra money.

There are two reasons why I really wanted to know the answer to this: 1) to know it for certain 2) This contractor came recommended from a friend of mine who is a CIO of a company near here. He had this contractor put CAT6 in a building for him as well. He did a very nice job, but if he used Cat5 plugs, keystones, and patch panels then my friend has a serious problem (if indeed this really makes a difference). The contractor says he is sure it does not make a difference. He said he will bring me a Cat5 plug and a Cat6 plug and show me side by side that there is no difference at all in thickness of the gold contacts or anything.

From what peoiple are saying here though, it sounds like the contractor is wrong, and my buddy has a serious problem.

 

[CharlieIT]

The difference is that while a connector for a CAT5 cable holds the individual wires in a straight line, an RJ-45 connector for a CAT6 cable staggers the wires to accommodate their thicker sizes."

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Transition-Gigabit-Ethernet.html

 

[skip555]

your buddy dosn't have a serious problem he just has a cat 5 network .

good news is someone else can come in and terminate everything with cat6 and he will have a cat6 network .
(assuming the cable is run following good practices which is doubtfull in this case as it sounds like this guy is a cable contractor in name only )

truly you shouldnt shouldnt be using Plugs anywhere , it should be cat 6 cable/jacks/patch panel and Factory made patch cords .

 

[skip555]

heres a thread you might want to check out

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=644737

 

[phoneguy55]

Skip makes are very valid point. We are using the term jack/plugs/connector very loosly here. When I speak of jacks, I mean female jacks. Every cable should be terminated female on both ends, then "factory made" male to male cat 6 patch cables should be used to complete the connection. At no point should any horizontal cable be terminated to a male RJ45 plug.

 

[CharlieIT]

Found the answer (posting here for posterity):

Can I use Cat5 RJ45 modular plugs on Cat6 cabling and still be Cat6 "compliant"?

The answer is "No". Even if you found Cat5 hardware that could be pushed to Cat6 standards, you would still not have a Cat6 compliant network. The components have requirements in and of themselves to assure interoperability with other Cat 6 components.

Can I use Cat5 modular plugs on a Cat6 cable and still have Cat6 speeds?

Possibly. It depends on the quality of the hardware you use. You would not be sure whether the hardware will perform at Cat6 speeds unless you bought it, installed it, and tested it. More than likely though, it will not meet Cat6 speeds.

What is the difference between a Cat5 modular plug and a Cat6?

Category 6 and Category 5e connectors may look alike, Category 6 connectors have much better transmission performance. For example, at 100 MHz, NEXT of a Category 5e connector is 43 decibels (dB), while NEXT of a Category 6 connector is 54 dB. This means that a Category 6 connector couples about 1/12 of the power that a Category 5e connector couples from one pair to another pair. Conversely, one can say that a Category 6 connector is 12 times less "noisy" compared to a Category 5e connector. This vast improvement in performance was achieved with new technology, new processes, better materials and significant R&D resources, leading to higher costs for manufacturers.

Although the outside dimensions of a Cat6 modular plug are the same as a Cat5 modular plug, a Cat6 plug has a little more "room" on the inside to accommodate the slightly larger gauge cable. Some plugs also "stagger" the wires to accommodate for the extra room.

References:

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Transition-Gigabit-Ethernet.html

http://www.tiaonline.org/standards/technology/cat6/faq.cfm

http://www.tiaonline.org/business/r...apers_regis.cfm?CFID=1731601&CFTOKEN=54439417

http://www.tiaonline.org/standards/catalog/search.cfm?standards_criteria=568

 

[slorch]

But did you fire the "contractor"???

 

[CharlieIT]

Funny you should ask. Skip555 mentioned earlier that my buddy doesn't have a serious problem, he has a cat5 network. Well, if Cat5 plugs, keystones, and patch panels were used on his network, he would have had a serious problem because his business has to be Cat6 compliant and he spent 6 figures to make sure that it was. So I called my buddy and told him what the contractor was saying and he laughed because he said he had heard that rant from him before. He told me that although this guy tries to convince people that there is no difference, he still buys the right stuff because he understands the meaning of the words "certified" and "compliant".

So his theories are whacky but his work is impeccable.

 

[skip555]

so you guys are supplying the materials and the "contractor" is just installing ?

So his theories are whacky but his work is impeccable.

that I doubt , I suspect he pulls cable to his own standards .

 

[elcojcs]

If you use CAT3 Jacks/ Patch Panels etc. with CAT6 Cable, Would it then be a CAT4.5 Network?

 

[CharlieIT]

He purchases the hardware and does the work.

When I called my buddy to alert him to a potential problem, he was not at all concerned because the contractor's work was independently tested for Cat6 compliancy and passed with very few problems (which were cleared up after the compliancy certification).

Thanks very much to all of you for a great discussion. I feel satisfied my question was answered.

--Charlie