Tag: cables

It is difficult to find cables which are created equally. It is crucial to connect the network devices using the right cables. This will help in improving the performance of your devices significantly. The network cables available have different technical specifications, data transfer rates, construction, and configurations, all of which helps in determining their suitability for the various applications. Among the important factors to consider when buying these cables include the length of the cables and connectors, categories of the cables, and the type of the conductors used.

Categories of the ethernet cables

The categories of Ethernet cables are used in determining their capabilities. Some of the common networking cables used for the various household applications includes Cat 5e and Cat 5. These cables are affordable and readily available. They are mostly suited for connections of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second). However, Cat 5e can be used for supporting higher speeds of up to 1000 Mbps. It is a cable which is designed with less interference and improved reception.

Advanced cables such as Cat 6 are suitable for very high speeds and faster connections. They can support a speed of up to 10 Gbps. These cables are designed with a higher megahertz rating as compared to Cat 5 cables. Cat 6 cables can support a frequency of 250 MHz whereas cat 5 cables can only support a frequency of 100 Mhz. Cat 6 cables are mainly designed for commercial and professional installations. You can also choose them for future proofing your home network.

Type of the conductor cables

Ethernet cables are either made from stranded or solid conductors. A solid conductor has one wire per conductor. On the other hand, a stranded conductor has numerous wires. The numerous wires in a stranded conductor are wrapped together thereby creating a single conductor. A solid conductor has a sturdy design which makes an ideal option for networking wires which can be installed inside the wall. The stranded conductors are considered to be more fragile, but they are very flexible.

Ethernet cable connectors

The shorter cables are designed with their connectors attached to them. Connectors should be attached to the custom or longer lengths. The common types of connectors used are 8P8C and RJ-45 connectors. These connectors are suitable for both the Cat % and Cat 6 cables.

Length of the ethernet cables

The quality of the signal produces is inversely proportional to the length of the cables used. Long ethernet cables have slow rates of data transfer thus affecting the performance of the network. The cables used in connecting your devices should have the shortest length as possible.