I've been studying the current options available when cabling my house to permit a desktop computer to be operated from another room.
In order to keep down the bulk of the workstation I don't want to network, but instead I want direct connections to the computer with whatever devices I need to use at the time. This will also permit me to use the computer directly in the same way as if it were in close proximity.
The solution to the keyboard, video and mouse is easy - use a KVM extender over Cat5 cabling.
I've run up against a problem however, with peripherals such as CD, DVD, printer and webcam. I could choose USB 2.0 or better still, Firewire IEEE-1394b. However I have read that the distance limit is 15 feet with copper which will not be long enough for my house. I could use optical but I don't want the additional overheads.
What I do not understand is this. If it is possible to achieve Gigabit ethernet transmission rates using copper and Cat5 cabling over distances longer than 15 feet, why is IEEE-1394b and USB 2.0 limited to 15 feet? Is this something to do with the power supplied by the cable? If so, if the remote devices are self powered would the signal pass over a longer distance?
Thanks
Jeremy Gordon
In order to keep down the bulk of the workstation I don't want to network, but instead I want direct connections to the computer with whatever devices I need to use at the time. This will also permit me to use the computer directly in the same way as if it were in close proximity.
The solution to the keyboard, video and mouse is easy - use a KVM extender over Cat5 cabling.
I've run up against a problem however, with peripherals such as CD, DVD, printer and webcam. I could choose USB 2.0 or better still, Firewire IEEE-1394b. However I have read that the distance limit is 15 feet with copper which will not be long enough for my house. I could use optical but I don't want the additional overheads.
What I do not understand is this. If it is possible to achieve Gigabit ethernet transmission rates using copper and Cat5 cabling over distances longer than 15 feet, why is IEEE-1394b and USB 2.0 limited to 15 feet? Is this something to do with the power supplied by the cable? If so, if the remote devices are self powered would the signal pass over a longer distance?
Thanks
Jeremy Gordon
