Ethernet Cable Types, Performance & Pinout: Cat 5, 5e, 6, 6a, 7, 8 etc.
Various cables are used for carrying Ethernet: current common types include Cat 5, 5e, Cat 6, 6a, 7 and Cat 8 and the RJ45 connector is widely used.
There are many Ethernet cables that can be bought. Often these cables are supplied free with equipment that uses Ethernet connectivity in some way or another.
There are several different varieties of Ethernet cable that can be obtained: speed variations, crossover cables, Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat6, etc..
Normally Ethernet cables will be bought and there is no major need to understand what is inside or on the connectors, although it can be both interesting and helpful on some occasions.
Even so, an understanding of the different types of Ethernet cable and the maximum lengths that should be used is helpful.
The commonly used cables: Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6 all have different levels of performance, and therefore to is necessary to buy or select the right cable for the right application.
Categories for Ethernet cables
A variety of different cables are available for Ethernet and other telecommunications and networking applications.
These cables that are described by their different categories, e.g. Cat 5 cables, Cat-6 cables, etc, which are often recognised by the TIA
(telecommunications Industries Association) and they are summarised below:
- Cat-1:
This is not recognised by the TIA/EIA. It is the form of wiring that is used for standard telephone (POTS) wiring, or for ISDN.
- Cat-2:
This is not recognised by theTIA/EIA. It was the form of wiring that was used for 4Mbit/s token ring networks.
- Cat-3:
This cable is defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. It is used for data networks employing frequencies up to 16 MHz. It was popular for use with 10 Mbps Ethernet networks (100Base-T), but has now been superseded by Cat-5 cable.
- Cat-4:
This cable is not recognised by the TIA/EIA. However it can be used for networks carrying frequencies up to 20 MHz. It was often used on 16Mbps token ring networks.
- Cat-5:
This is not recognised by the TIA/EIA. It is the cable that is widely used for 100Base-T and 1000Base-T networks as it provides performance to allow data at 100 Mbps and slightly more (125 MHz for 1000Base-T) Ethernet. Cat 5 cable is now obsolete and therefore it is not recommended for new installations.
- Cat-5e:
This form of cable is recognised by the TIA/EIA and is defined in TIA/EIA-568-B.. It has a slightly higher frequency specification that Cat-5 cable as the performance extends up to 125 Mbps. It can be used for 100Base-T and 1000Base-t (Gigabit Ethernet). Cat 5e or enhanced is a form of Cat 5 cable manufactured t0 higher specifications although physically the same as Cat 5. It is tested to a higher specification.
- Cat-6:
This cable is defined in TIA/EIA-568-B provides a significant improvement in performance over Cat5 and Cat 5e. During manufacture Cat 6 cables are more tightly wound than either Cat 5 or Cat 5e and they often have an outer foil or braided shielding. The shielding protects the twisted pairs of wires inside the Ethernet cable, helping to prevent crosstalk and noise interference. Cat-6 cables can technically support speeds up to 10 Gbps, but can only do so for up to 55 metres.
- Cat-6a:
The “a” in Cat 6a stands for “Augmented.” The Cat 6a cables are able to support twice the maximum bandwidth, and are capable of maintaining higher transmission speeds over longer cable lengths. Cat 6a cables utilise shielded which is sufficient to all but eliminate crosstalk. However this makes them less flexible than Cat 6 cable.
- Cat-7:
This is an informal number for ISO/IEC 11801 Class F cabling. It comprises four individually shielded pairs inside an overall shield. It is aimed at applications where transmission of frequencies up to 600 Mbps is required.
- Cat-8:
These cables are still in development, but will be released in the foreseeable future to provide further improvements in speed and general performance.
Further descriptions of Cat-5 and Cat-5e cables are given below as these are widely used for Ethernet networking applications today.
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ETHERNET CABLE PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
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CATEGORY
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SHIELDING
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MAX TRANSMISSION SPEED (AT 100 METERS)
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MAX BANDWIDTH
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Cat 3
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Unshielded
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10 Mbps
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16 MHz
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Cat 5
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Unshielded
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10/100 Mbps
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100 MHz
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Cat 5e
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Unshielded
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1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps
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100 MHz
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Cat 6
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Shielded or Unshielded
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1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps
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>250 MHz
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Cat 6a
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Shielded
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10000 Mbps / 10 Gbps
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500 MHz
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Cat 7
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Shielded
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10000 Mbps / 10 Gbps
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600 MHz
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Cat 8
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Details to be released later
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