cat 6

[sparky59]

i have a customer that wants cat 6 for his computer networking in a commercial building. does cat 6 terminate in an rj45 jack and use the 568-b configuration just like cat 5e?

 

[stickboy1375]

http://www.smarthome.com/flash/865150.swf

 

[sparky59]

so....cat 6 uses the 568-A configuration?

 

[stickboy1375]

I honestly don't think it matters as long as you keep everything the same... but I also don't see any advantages in using Cat6 either...CAT6 comes at a significantly higher price tag than CAT5 or CAT5e, and today's applications simply can't take advantage of CAT6's better performance. However, if wiring a home or building for the long term, one may still consider using CAT6.

 

[sparky59]

my customer heard cat 6 was the latest thing....so that's what he wanted.

 

[stickboy1375]

And thats what he shall get... :grin:

 

[Sierrasparky]

certain patch panels such as the ones used in Leviton Structured media components require use of only A ... I don't see why, but I saw the precaution in the box

 

[mdshunk]

And thats what he shall get... :grin:

You betcha, brother. If the customer already upsold themself, farbeit for me to talk them out of it. "Yessir!"

 

[al hildenbrand]

certain patch panels such as the ones used in Leviton Structured media components require use of only A ... I don't see why

The "A" configuration of CATx wire termination conductor insulation color matches Plain Old Telephone conductor color.

Since the Leviton Structured Media centers are intended to be interchangable voice / data, with 568A there is no need to change color schemes.

 

[benmin]

i have a customer that wants cat 6 for his computer networking in a commercial building. does cat 6 terminate in an rj45 jack and use the 568-b configuration just like cat 5e?

the only differance between cat 5e and cat6 is that cat6 has a insulator seperating the 4 twisted pairs. Terminating the ends are the same.

 

[benmin]

The 568a configuration is:1 blue pair, 2 orange pair, 3 green pair, 4 brown pair. This works best with home wiring of structured media. It is consistent with phone wiring.

The 568b configuration is:1 blue pair, 2 green pair, 3 orange pair, 4 brown pair. This is the standard for networking. but if it was used in a home structured media set up it would swap the orange and green of a phone so that line 2 would be line 3.

As long as you terminate each end the same (568a or 568b) for a network, you'll be fine

 

[LarryFine]

the only differance between cat 5e and cat6 is that cat6 has a insulator seperating the 4 twisted pairs.

Not quite. The spacer maintains the relative positioning of the pairs as the cable is routed around bends and such, but the main difference is the number of twists per foot. This is by me from another thread:

Technically speaking, the tight, consistent twists assure that both conductors of a pair pick up induced noise as similarly as possible, so the common-mode noise-rejection input circuitry (typically differential op-amps) can reject it.

All conductors can carry high-speed data streams. The greater the number of twists per foot, the higher the frequency (i.e., the shorter the wavelength) of noise that can be rejected, and thus the greater the reliable transfer rate.

Ever noticed that UTP cable pairs are twisted at slightly different rates? That's to minimize cross-talk among pairs in a given cable, as well as others in close proximity. UTP data cabling is practically immune to 60-Hz interference.

 

[tallgirl]

I honestly don't think it matters as long as you keep everything the same... but I also don't see any advantages in using Cat6 either...CAT6 comes at a significantly higher price tag than CAT5 or CAT5e, and today's applications simply can't take advantage of CAT6's better performance. However, if wiring a home or building for the long term, one may still consider using CAT6.

If iSCSI (SCSI protocol over Internet) ever really goes anywhere, there will be more than enough applications to take advantage of everything cat6 has to offer.

The standard for cat7 is now being, uh, standardized and it will find applications sooner or later as well. Network technology is a bit like Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will come ...

 

[LarryFine]

The standard for cat7 is now being, uh, standardized and it will find applications sooner or later as well.

What will be the point where optical will be the better technology over UTP?

 

[tallgirl]

What will be the point where optical will be the better technology over UTP?

Cost. And when glass isn't as fragile and hard to install as it is.

I started using glass cabling about 20 years ago and hated it. I don't like the current glass products much more than the older ones, but copper is absolutely sweet. Very few special tools are required to work with it.

Where glass is a must is backbones -- the big pipes that connect floor and building routers.

Copper has a lot of life left in it. There are clever ways to encode multiple bits per cycle, so a 400MHz signal can carry significantly more than 400Mb/s. The same techniques that were used to get modems past 9600 baud can be used with network cabling.

I've not followed the 10000BaseT standards (because I don't work that far down the ISO/OSI stack), but 10Gb/s over copper is being worked on.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Julie,

And when glass isn't as fragile and hard to install as it is.

It is no more dificult to install than CAT-5 and there are terminations that are almost as fast and as easy as those for CAT-5.
Don

 

[mkoloj]

The 568a configuration is:1 blue pair, 2 orange pair, 3 green pair, 4 brown pair. This works best with home wiring of structured media. It is consistent with phone wiring.

The 568b configuration is:1 blue pair, 2 green pair, 3 orange pair, 4 brown pair. This is the standard for networking. but if it was used in a home structured media set up it would swap the orange and green of a phone so that line 2 would be line 3.

As long as you terminate each end the same (568a or 568b) for a network, you'll be fine

I have seen jacks and patch panels that punch down either order you said and a few more ways on the IDC connections and both ways have been 568A and 568B.
It has to do with the order of the pins coming out of the 8p8c end of the jack or patch panel not the back where the cabling connects to.

This is the difference:
http://cubus-adsl.dk/elteknik/opslag/tia_eia_568.jpg

 

[TysonLV]

You also have to be much more careful when installing it (if you're going to test it). When pulling it and handling it, it will not pass if you bend it too sharply or dont leave the twist in it, right up to the termination point as far as possible.

 

[Rjrus]

Cat 6 is a definite consideration on any commercial wiring job and some residential jobs especially if the customer is requesting it. Gigibit products have come down in price so why bottle neck on the network. Cat 6 requires Cat 6 termination on both ends, Cat 6 patch cords. Termination is an RJ-45 that a specially designed to maintain the Cat 6 characteristics and can be 568A or B just be consistant on both ends.

If, as in most residential applications, the network cabling is just being used for internet connection--keep things in perspective. The bottle neck is not the network it is the internet connection. 6 Meg is a very fast internet. Most high speed connections are 256 K to 1.5 meg. Cat 5 runs at 100 meg, Cat 5e runs at 155 meg, Cat 5E usually runs at 350 meg, and Cat 6 runs will handle 1000 mbs.

Best of wiring fun!

 

[tallgirl]

If, as in most residential applications, the network cabling is just being used for internet connection--keep things in perspective. The bottle neck is not the network it is the internet connection.

Squid servers are your friend. That and POP and IMAP servers set to poll the mail provider on a regular basis. You'd be surprised how much faster a network behaves with the appropriate software between the user and the ISP.