Cat5e to Cat3 1

[crooter]

Here is a situation I have run into but am completely baffled about. The explanation I received concerning this....actually made sense.

I install a router that a T1 is fed into. I am instructed to install the equipment as close as possible to the Voice Equipment/facilities. From the router the customer receives voice and data. Vendor(s) are contracted by the customer to come in to connect the customers existing phone system and data network to the router. I test the voice lines and check the data speed (data speed is usually between 1.41 and 1.44 MBPS)

The scenario I have run into several times is the voice facilities may be located in a seperate closet or room away from the customers data network. Therefore the vendor has to run a data cable to feed data from my router to their interface. This is the part I am concerned or baffled about-----------It seems some vendors will plug in a piece of cat5e into my routers data port and the other end of the cat5e will be terminated onto a 66 block that feeds to or near the location that data needs to be. At that end--they come off the 66 block with cat5e and into a switch or router that will then feed the customers data to them.

They are going from cat5e to cat3 to cat5e......It was explained that since I am providing data at 1.4x MBPS that it can feed through and arrive at the customers equipment, still at 1.4x MBPS and then be available to the customers network at 100 MBPS or Gigabit depending on their equipment.

Like I said--it sounds plausible, but I am not sure if its right. Sure would like some comments about this.

Thanks

 

[jimbopalmer]

The T1 is 1.44 Mbps so almost any datacomm wire is 'good enough'.

Cat 3 wire is fine for 10 Mbps, so the T1 is fine.
If (as is often the case) the output of your router is 10 Meg ethernet, Cat 3 is 'good enough'.

Cat 5 wire is fine for 1 Gbps, so the Cat 5e is more than good enough for your internal network, and harmless overkill for T1 and 10 Meg Ethernet.

Honestly the slowest speed device may be the 66 Block, a 110 block would be faster.

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[SYQUEST]

From your description the DS1 connects to the access router and ends there.

Now the practice of terminating CAT5e cord or cable on 66 blocks does not necessarily change the transmission characteristics, if the 66 block is one of the more recent designs and rated for CAT5e usage.

How the leads are dressed and terminated will determine how good the transmission will be. So CAT3 has nothing to do with it. It is still a CAT5e path. With the appropriate test equipment you would be able to read what the bandwidth of the path is and if it has any real impairments, like terminations that lack the proper charcteristics to provide the maximun bandwidth or crosstalk specs, near or far, etc.

The DS1 speed has nothing to do with the Ethernet speeds, two separate transmission media!

....JIM....

 

[buitenhek]

Transmission speed (mhz) and cable distance (meters) go hand in hand.

Analogy: 100 meter road (328 feet)
CAT3 - small gravel road - 10 mph max (16 mhz, 10 mbps)
CAT5 - 1 lane paved road - 60 mph max (100 mhz, 100 mbps)
CAT5e - 2 lane paved road - 120 mph max (350 mhz, 1000 mbps)
CAT6 - Germany Autobahn - 300 mph max (550 mhz, 10,000 mbps)

When you put any roads together (still limited to 328 feet max distance), the slowest speed road will be the end result of your data throughput. Therefore the 1.44 mbps T1 will work fine on any cable...but you are restricted to the T1 max rate across the LAN.

Regards
Peter Buitenhek
ProfitDeveloper.com

 

[wires]

the part I am concerned or baffled about-----------It seems some vendors will plug in a piece of cat5e into my routers data port and the other end of the cat5e will be terminated onto a 66 block that feeds to or near the location that data needs to be. At that end--they come off the 66 block with cat5e and into a switch or router that will then feed the customers data to them.

Not a problem unless the "piece of cat5e" is stranded. 66 blocks are designed for solid wire and may not make reliable contact with stranded.

They are going from cat5e to cat3 to cat5e......It was explained that since I am providing data at 1.4x MBPS that it can feed through and arrive at the customers equipment, still at 1.4x MBPS and then be available to the customers network at 100 MBPS or Gigabit depending on their equipment.

A system is only as good as it's weakest link. In this case the the cat3 is more than sufficient to deliver 1.5Mbps.

 

[crooter]

I am glad that is all cleared up----In some cases it would be almost impossible to run a new CAT5E cable in the short amount of time I was alotted, had the news been bad. Thanks for the good news.

Crooter