Information You May Like To Gather About Ethernet Cables

At this point, when you consider setting up a home network, your feelings normally go to Wi-Fi and the capacity to move information all through a house. Another efficient way to transfer information quickly and smoothly is by using an Ethernet cable.

The use of the right Ethernet cable also enhances the performance of your Wi-Fi routers. They can increase the speed of your internet and make it more efficient. Most of the family members in the house usually use a Wi-Fi network to connect their devices like laptops, mobiles, and others but still, certain machines require wired internet connections such as printers, scanners, and others. For these devices, mostly Ethernet cables are used to provide the internet connection.

The Ethernet cables come with RJ-45 connectors. When these connectors get plugged in, they give a sound of a click. The sound of a click gives a satisfying feeling to the user. Things play a vital role in getting the best results from a wired network.

  • Router’s speed
  • Ethernet cables used in the network

Ethernet cables are available in the market with different capacities. The selection of Ethernet cables depends on your needs and budget. If you are planning to design a home network for professional use then you need to install high-efficiency Ethernet cables and if you planning to design a simple home use network then the ordinary level of Ethernet cables will work perfectly for you.

The performance of Ethernet cables can be judged on the level of their throughput potential. It starts from 1 Mbps and goes up to 40 Gbps. Therefore, it is your choice that which cable you want to use out of the available ones that fulfill your needs and requirements completely.

Origin of Different Ethernet Cables:

Cat1 Ethernet Cable:

Ethernet cables were first time used in the late 1980s. The cable used at that was coaxial cable which is also called Cat1 cable. They are usually made of insulated telephone wires twisted into pairs. They are much more efficient in reducing the crosstalk and covered in a plastic cover.

These cables were capable of carrying a signal of 10 KHz and delivering up to 1Mbps data speed to the networkers. With time, the cables get upgraded and their new versions come in the market.

Cat2 Ethernet Cable:

Category 2 cables were the first upgraded version of Category 1 cables. They have the capacity to deliver up to 4Mbps network speed to the users with 1MHz signal carrying power.

Cat3 Ethernet Cable:

In the early 1990s, category 3 cables were introduced in the market. These cables are highly proficient and more efficient than the last two versions of Ethernet cables. They have enhanced signal carrying power of up to 16MHz and can deliver network speed up to 10Mbps.

Cat4 Ethernet Cable:

Category 4 cables had pushed the efficiency limits to a new level. They come with a signal carrying ability up to 20MHz and roughly deliver the network speed up to 16Mpbs. This helped in enhancing the efficiency of internet networks to a great deal.

Cat5 Ethernet Cable:

In 1995, some great developments had occurred in the field of information technology. Microsoft had launched their first user-friendly operating system Windows 95 and with that, we also see the launching of category 5 Ethernet cables. These cables are highly efficient as they have the ability to deliver 100Mbps of data at the frequency of 100MHz. With that, these cables can also be used over 330 feet distance that was not possible in the previous versions of Ethernet cables.

Cat6 Ethernet Cable:

A new version of Ethernet cable known as category 6 was introduced at the start of the 21st century. These cables come with high-performance quality and efficiency. This is why they were very popular among the home networkers. Cat6 cables can deliver data at the speed of 10Gbps. Their signal carrying capacity is enhanced to 250MHz. They can deliver data up to 1Gbps over 330 feet and 10Gbps to almost half of it.

Cat7 Ethernet Cable:

A further upgraded version of cat6 was introduced in 2010. They get the name as category 7 cable. They come with more efficient performance and make. This is why most of the data centers and server rooms remain highly interested in them. These cables come with extra protection in the form of a double shield around each pair of wires. This increased their signal carrying capacity up to 600MHz and they can deliver data at the frequency of 10Gbps over 330 feet.

Lately, the presentation of Cat7A cable improves the performance to a further level. These cables can carry the signal level up to 1GHz and throughput to 40Gbps, however, finishes out at 165 feet.

Cat8 Ethernet Cable:

The latest version of Ethernet cable is category 8. They come with brand new specs and high-class performance abilities. They come with a double-shielding feature that improves their performance to a great extent. They have the ability to carry signals up to 1-2GHz and can deliver data at the speed of 40Gbps. Due to their high quality and better performance they are highly in demand from the network administrators.

Ethernet cabling can give a quicker and longer distance way to deal with home systems networking despite using Wi-Fi. However, don’t hold back on the cables only and look for other solutions as well. Cat5e cables might be famous and satisfactory among the present users as it fulfills their networking and connectivity needs appropriately for the time being.

Cable Types Shielding Maximum Frequency Potential Throughput
Cat1 No 10KHz 1Mbps
Cat2 No 1MHz 4Mbps
Cat3 No 16MHz 10Mbps
Cat5 No 16MHz 10Mbps
Cat5e No 1000MHz 100Mbps
Cat6 Sometimes 250MHz 1Gbps
Cat6a Sometimes 500MHz 1Gbps
Cat7 Yes 600MHz 10Gbps
Cat8 Yes 2GHz 40Gbps

Conclusion:

You should keep in search of more solutions with better specs and quality. Cat6 or cat7 can be the options to be utilized in home networking. It improves the data transfer speed to a great extent but it depends on the usage of the internet that whether it is worth it to spend money on improving the home networking facility or the current one is efficient enough for the users. The cost of an Ethernet cable is not too much but the installation will cost a lot to the home users.

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