Thread: Cable - Cat 5e vs Cat 6

Cat 5e is good for 350mbps your router lan ports typically run at 100 mbps
FTTP Optic fibre is being fitted with cat 6 from your optic ternimal , your not likely to be getting much more than 100meg so why bother with cat6 , by the time gbit speeds are implemented wireless will be faster & cheaper.

THE NBN is Big con job if you ask me, whats the use of having the worlds fastest network when the rest of the world is pushing out less than 50mbps

you will find that in real life situations that your 5/5e cable will happily connect at 1000, the data transfer rate of course is a different matter, you may or may not get a real 1Gb transfer but it will be a substantial increase for large file transfer to/from and across your network.
I guess you will have several considerations like, do you intend to run a full 1000 network inc all core/secondary switches?
Are all the user endpoints 1Gb?
will your end user and more importantly management be expecting full 1000 throughout? Will your servers and switches have the capacity to supply several 1Gb at one time. Its great haveing 1000 throughout but if you server has only a 1Gb as opposed to 10Gb or multiple 10Gb connection to switches, well you can see where I'm coming from.
The major consideration I suppose is that your cat6 will be certified, if not and you have issues with your switch gear your supplier wil point the finger at your cables and potentially ignore any issues.

Then you need to look at future proofing, will cat6 speeds be sufficient next year and several afterwards.
Have you considered Cat7, WiFi, optic ?
I guess it all comes down to your budget and what speeds you really need

Cat 6 is a solution still looking for a problem...

Currently there is nothing to be gained by installing Cat6. There is an argument, in the cabling standards, for Cat6a if you a looking to provide 10GBaseT to the desktop. But I would still be discounting this...

In reality, 10G is currently provided via fibre optic cabling and is reserved for computer rooms and distribution networks and not in the access layer.

Cat 5e is the cheapest and provides support for 1G to the desktop; what more do you want.

Cheers
Ron

Originally Posted by RSCHIPP

Cat 6 is a solution still looking for a problem...

Currently there is nothing to be gained by installing Cat6. There is an argument, in the cabling standards, for Cat6a if you a looking to provide 10GBaseT to the desktop. But I would still be discounting this...

In reality, 10G is currently provided via fibre optic cabling and is reserved for computer rooms and distribution networks and not in the access layer.

Cat 5e is the cheapest and provides support for 1G to the desktop; what more do you want.

Cheers
Ron

Where I work it is fibre to the desk top.

By the looks of things, Cat 5e is the way to go.

Fibre isn't an option (I wish it was), and neither is wireless (under review, but currently, not permitted on our network)

Unless the desk / laptops are going to support the Cat 6 speeds, which they wont for a long while, there doesn't seem to be much point.

It will be interesting to see what the actual price difference is between the 2, especially when we take into account the skill level required to certify Cat 6 at each connector.

I just wired my house up with cat6, was doing a renovation so while the walls were open I went with cat6 everywhere including a patch panel in a coms cupboard. I did it because I thought the extra cost was worth it in terms of having the house future proof.

the physical work involved in laying 5 versus 6 will be very little, usually just the cost of the cable.

Originally Posted by HangOver

the physical work involved in laying 5 versus 6 will be very little, usually just the cost of the cable.

You are right on. The act of physically pulling the cable will be the same.

However, from what I am reading, Cat 6 connectors need to be done differently, requiring a different skill set, take longer to do vs Cat 5e connectors, and need to be tested to ensure that you are getting the right thru-speeds.


If I was doing a house, or a smaller office, I would probably go with the Cat 6, as the cost difference wouldn't be that big an issue.