You could argue that the thickness of the cable can be used to help identify them as the more recent standards of cable are thicker and more rigid because of the shielding that is in place, but this still isn’t particularly reliable. Telling the different cables apart from the color of the outer jacket can be both difficult and unreliable, and all cables will use an RJ45 connector meaning this cannot be used to identify the type of cable either. ![]() How to Identify Different Types of Ethernet CableĪt a quick glance, all ethernet cables appear to be the same, regardless of which type they are and the standard that they meet. Each twisted pair is wrapped in foil which is meant to eliminate crosstalk altogether whilst also enabling higher data transmission speeds.Īs you would expect, the overall cable is both heavier and thicker, making it rigid and a bit trickier to install in tighter spaces. One of the key differences that sets Cat8 cable apart is the shielding that it uses. The most recent standard of ethernet cable to be introduced is Cat8 cable, which once again provides a leap in data transfer speeds compared with Cat7 cable, which is already incredibly fast. It probably won’t come as a surprise that Cat7 cable can be considerably more expensive than the older standards of ethernet cable, but the outstanding performance it can provide is the justification for the higher price tag. Thankfully, this is still backward compatible with a regular RJ45 port so you don’t have to worry about only being able to use Cat7 cable with compatible devices. Like Cat6a cable, Cat7 cable will always be shielded, but actually uses a modified gigagate45 connector. Now as you would expect with Cat7 cable, it supports higher bandwidths and faster transmission speeds than Cat6 cables.Īlthough limited to just 15 meters when operating at a maximum speed of 100 Gbps, they can make an excellent choice of cable in certain situations.Įven if the cable needs to be run further than 15 meters, they are still capable of delivering incredibly fast speeds which most people won’t even be able to take full advantage of due to being limited by the speeds they receive from their internet service provider. This is something you probably want to keep in mind if you are looking to run ethernet cable with a few bends in the way between both devices. The sheathing is so thick that it can eliminate crosstalk altogether, but with the caveat being that the cable is much denser and therefore less flexible than the other standards of cable. The reason for this design decision was to help reduce crosstalk even further. These more modern will always be shielded and the outer jacket is much thicker than that you find on the older standards of cable. Cat5e cable is limited to 1 Gbps, which is still plenty fast enough for the majority of people, but with a maximum distance of 100 meters for a single length of cable.Ĭat6a cable is the next standard of ethernet cable to be introduced, with the “a” standing for “augmented”.Ĭat6a cable supports twice the maximum bandwidth of what Cat6 cable can support whilst also being able to maintain higher data transmission speeds over a longer length of cable. The shielding is designed to better protect the copper cables inside with the aim of further reducing the chances of crosstalk and other forms of noise interference.Ĭat6 cable can support faster speeds than Cat5e cable with a limit of 10 Gbps, but you are limited to a maximum distance of 55 meters. This won’t be visible from the outside, so you would need to remove the outer jacket of the cable in order to see it. The cables are twisted tighter together and will often come with either foil or braided shielding. In fact, I personally still use Cat5e cable throughout my own home network.Ĭat6 cables are up next which have a slightly different construction to Cat5 and Cat5e cable whilst also supporting higher bandwidths. ![]() It is also backward compatible with older devices that may support a standard Cat5 connection.Ĭat5e cable is built under stricter standards which helps to reduce crosstalk and is still one of the most commonly used types of ethernet cable. It is considered to be an upgrade to Cat5 as it utilizes all four pairs of twisted wires to better support the ever-expanding use of gigabit ethernet. The next standard of ethernet cable developed was Cat5e, also known as Cat5 Enhanced. ![]() It contains four pairs of copper wires that are twisted together as a way of providing an ethernet connection. This along with Cat5 cable has now largely become obsolete as they are simply too slow for most devices they cannot keep up with the performance that a lot of modern devices are now capable of.Ĭat5 cable received its name as it uses the fifth generation of twisted pair ethernet technology. The very first iteration of ethernet cable was known as Category 3, or Cat3 for short.
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