Which CAT do I need my old CAT-5 or 5e or 6 5

[waynedziu]

I have to beef up our computers and network in my small business. We are having some issues. Part of our plan calls for:

- Replacing our current 10/100 network cards with 10/100/1000 network cards in a half dozen or so computers.

- Replacing our current Dell Power Connect 2024 Switch~with the Fastsigns recommended Netgear JGS524-24-port Gigabit Ethernet Switch.

We have CAT 5 cabling throughout the store that was installed in late 2003 when we did an expansion. Herein lies the $64,000 question. One set of respected techs is telling us that if we perform the upgrades described above we are basically throwing money away because CAT 5 cabling is a bottle neck and that we will see no improvement. We are being told that we need CAT 5 + or CAT 6 cables. Another tech told me today that this is 100% wrong and that we would see our performance increase exponentially even with the CAT 5 cables. True CAT 5+ or CAT 6 would be frosting on the cake - but not to be concerned at all about the CAT -5's.

 

[jimbopalmer]

Correctly installed Cat 5 can do gigabit. Cat 5e makes it easier. Cat 6 was designed to do 10 gig but it looks like we will need Cat 6a for that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

My advice would be to install a managed gigabit switch and be prepared to re-terminate and re-run cable that has errors.

YMMV

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

 

[Grenage]

What sort of problems are you having that would prompt you to move to Gb connections? I've yet to see a workstation that really needed it.

Carlsberg don't run I.T. departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[LkEErie]

Jimbo,

While I don't disagree with you about properly installed Cat-5 cable, I have some min-com 5e that I'd love to send you form a jobsite that won't do gigabit ethernet. It was rated at 200 Mhz and terminated with 5G108 jacks, and it still will not work.

Any reference to wikipedia as a source of information has to be suspicious. The cable manufacturers don't tell us that 100mHZ Cat5 will carry 1G signals and I gotta believe them.

LkEErie

 

[Grenage]

We've never had any problems running GB over CAT5e, well, not when the cable was in good nick and the termination was ok.

Carlsberg don't run I.T. departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[mikeydidit]

This is the switch you are getting rid of. It is rated at a switching capacity of 4.8 GPS

http://www.dell.com/downloads/ap/topics/main/comparison_unmanaged.pdf

This is the switch you are going to.

Netgear JGS524NA ProSafe 24-Port Gigabit Rackmount Switch

High Capacity
1000 Mbps speeds and a switching capacity of up to 48 Gps meet the performance needs for even the most bandwidth-hungry applications. The JGS500 series are perfect for graphics, multimedia, and other applications that have to move large files
across the network quickly.

With this in mind, your network speeds can not help but improve. And like the other have stated. If your Cat5 is connected properly, you should not have any problems with your cabling.


Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
Thomas A. Edison

For the best response to a question, read faq690-6594

 

[jimbopalmer]

Since the IEEE charges for the actual 802.3 ab sstandard, here is the original criteria. Item 3 was one of 5 'givens', and it did survive into the standard.

http://www.ieee802.org/3/ab/public/criteria.pdf

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

 

[dagwoodsystems]

LkEErie,

If it's labeled 5e and it won't do Gigabit, then you've got a bad batch of cable, bad Leviton jacks or poor termination skills.

The VERY DEFINITION of CAT5 allows for Gigabit ethernet. Please show me where a manufacturer of "CAT5 compliant" cable denies the ability to support Gigabit ethernet.



Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[dagwoodsystems]

And by the way, Wikipedia is a fine source of information.

At least Wikipedia has the benefit of peer review. Alternative ideas can be posted without the fear of rude replies or immediate red-flagging. Point made, eh LkEErie?

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[burtsbees]

Gigabit ethernet full duplex communication simply uses all 8 wires in Cat5 and Cat5e---that's it. In 100MBps ethernet, only the white-orange, orange, white-green and green wires are used. I know for a fact Cat5 and Cat5e both have 8 wires.

Burt

 

[Jtodd]

It should be noted that what Cat5 cable and parts are available, Cat5 is no longer a recognized standard for newly install components. Cat5e is the minimum to be standards compliant. So it wouldn't be a good idea from any stand point to be replacing Cat5 with new Cat5.

I like the first suggestion of replacing the switch and watching to see if there are particular links that need to be reterminated or such. If it does come to replacement, then the decision for 5e or 6.

Justin T. Clausen
Physical Layer Implementation
California State University, Monterey Bay

 

[lopes1211]

See what works well after the switch install. Worst case, sounds like you need 6 cat5e or cat6 cables run to the 6 workstations getting the 1GB cards depending on the distance and quality of your original cat5 and terminations. Not really a $64K question, more like a $1200 question depending on your lo'cal and install rates. Yes, cat5 "should" do it. cat5e just leaves more room/overhead for installation incompetance.

-CL

 

[dagwoodsystems]

CAT5 was never a standard.

CAT5e remains the "latest and greatest" cabling standard AT THE MOMENT.

CAT6 and CAT6A is still NOT a standard.

The CAT6 stuff is what we call a "recommendation". Remember in the modem days of X2 versus Flex56? The "CAT6 standards" are in the same boat.

I'm SO tired of fighting this topic. DO NOT fall prey to the marketing crap from cable vendors. Arghhh!

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[LkEErie]

dagwoodsystems said:

And by the way, Wikipedia is a fine source of information.

At least Wikipedia has the benefit of peer review. Alternative ideas can be posted without the fear of rude replies or immediate red-flagging. Point made, eh LkEErie?
Tim Alberstein

Absolutely. If you consider yourself MY peer.
(note to DM, honest I'll quit sniping after this one until next time)

Upon further review, my Min-com 5e job didn't work, but the 350 Mhz did. Hardly a fair comparison since I didn't install any of the Ghz equipment . There was no other variance to those two jobs in terms of cabling. In fact, the Ghz job that worked had longer runs than the one that didn't.

Lucky for me, I didn't have to _test_ my last 96 port 10 base T job with 6 cables into a 3/4 inch sleeve.

LkEErie

 

[Jtodd]

dagwood-

From the 10th ED. of the BICSI RCDD:

Chapter 1 list of US Standards and codes:

"ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-4, Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard,
Part 1: General Requirements, Addendum 4—Additional Media—Recognition of Category 6 and 850 nm Laser-Optimized 50/125 ?m Multimode Optical Fiber Cabling, 2003.
Addendum 4 recognizes balanced twisted-pair category 6 cabling and 850 nm laser optimized 50/125 ?m multimode optical fiber cable by revising subclause 4.4, 4.5, 5.3, and 11.2.2 of ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1."

(emphasis mine)




Justin T. Clausen
Physical Layer Implementation
California State University, Monterey Bay

 

[burtsbees]

Well, if you take your Cat5e and wire it to all 100MBps interfaces, they won't run any faster UNLESS you tilt the wire and make the electrons run downhill. You have to strip the insulation away a little to see the electrons so that you can count them, but they run about 250MBps.
Ok---maybe not...

Burt

 

[dagwoodsystems]

Thank you, Justin. CAT6 IS now a part of 568B...CAT6A is still being considered.

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com