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Connections

UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Connections

Trying to best plan where the equipment should go and could do with answers to a couple of questions I have:-
The wired connection between the ONT and a router is actually ethernet. Obviously to gain anything faster than about 80 mbps download, you'd need a Gigabit connection. So would I be correct in thinking that the supplied ONT has a Gigabit port for this?
Would I also be right to hope that it's autosensing and can happily work with a 100baset connection to the router?
And that would be sufficient for the current PlusNet 80/20 offering?
How long can this ethernet cable be? Any limits apart from those imposed by ethernet itself?
How long can the 'internal' fibre be, i.e. the one between the CSP and the ONT?
How prepared are the 'internal' installers to run the fibre around the inside of the house to get it to where you want it?
12 REPLIES 12
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Another question has occurred since reading something else.
Currently we have a 'copper' cable slung between the pole on the road and to a fixing on the house. When FTTP is installed, do they simply run a fibre alongside/attached to the existing copper cable? Or is there a special hybrid single cable that contains copper AND fibre, so I will still just have a single wire dangling in the air across the drive?
jim1985
Grafter
Posts: 35
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Registered: ‎28-04-2015

Re: Connections

I have my gigabit router connected to the ONT via a CAT5 ethernet cable so I would imagine the connection speed between the two is only 100Mbps. It is running fine
There is no limit on how long this ethernet cable can be, other than the 100 meters or so that is imposed by the ethernet standards

When I had my FTTP installed, the engineers ran a second separate fibre cable from the telephone pole to my property so I do now have two cables coming to my house from the pole
SpendLessTime
Hero
Posts: 3,000
Thanks: 928
Fixes: 86
Registered: ‎21-09-2009

Re: Connections

The ONT has:
• Four 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet data interfaces
• Auto-negotiation and MDI/MDIX auto-sensing.
• Data transferring at wire-speed for all packet size.
• Built-in layer-2 switch
• Two voice ports, BT601A connectors for FVA services
The technical specification of the interface connections provided by the ONT device
for Ethernet physical interfaces are described in SIN 360 – Ethernet Customer
Interfaces, Interface Characteristics.

source http://www.sinet.bt.com/sinet/SINs/pdf/506v1p3.pdf
Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Quote from: jim1985
I have my gigabit router connected to the ONT via a CAT5 ethernet cable so I would imagine the connection speed between the two is only 100Mbps. It is running fine
...
When I had my FTTP installed, the engineers ran a second separate fibre cable from the telephone pole to my property so I do now have two cables coming to my house from the pole

Thanks for that. As I suspected.
But if your router has a gigabit connection and the ONT does (as I now know), then barring actual physical problems, it will be a Gigabit connection. From what you say, it looks like you have the mistaken belief that Cat5 can only handle Fast, 100baset Ethernet. This is not the case and Cat5 is perfectly capable of handling Gigabit. The only real advantage of Cat6 is longer permissible cable runs.
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Quote from: georgelnx
The ONT has:
• Four 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet data interfaces
• Auto-negotiation and MDI/MDIX auto-sensing.
• Data transferring at wire-speed for all packet size.
• Built-in layer-2 switch
• Two voice ports, BT601A connectors for FVA services
The technical specification of the interface connections provided by the ONT device
for Ethernet physical interfaces are described in SIN 360 – Ethernet Customer
Interfaces, Interface Characteristics.

source http://www.sinet.bt.com/sinet/SINs/pdf/506v1p3.pdf

Which answers the question, thanks. But I am left wondering why 4 Ethernet ports. Since your router is connected to one of them for it's PPPoE link, the other ports are useless. So if I want faster than 80/20, I need to upgrade my router to one with a Gigabit WAN port. Not required yet, but at least now I know and can plan ahead.
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Sorry, another question. What are the telephone connectors on the ONT?
Previously I saw a picture which clearly showed them as RJ11, but the doc linked to above shows them to be BT tel. type sockets. Which is it?  I can deal with either, but would appreciate knowing in advance.
jim1985
Grafter
Posts: 35
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎28-04-2015

Re: Connections

Quote from: UKenGB

But if your router has a gigabit connection and the ONT does (as I now know), then barring actual physical problems, it will be a Gigabit connection. From what you say, it looks like you have the mistaken belief that Cat5 can only handle Fast, 100baset Ethernet. This is not the case and Cat5 is perfectly capable of handling Gigabit. The only real advantage of Cat6 is longer permissible cable runs.

Not true, CAT5 is not capable of handling gigabit connection speeds, CAT5e along with CAT6 is..........
I have a server here running CentOS 6.5
It has a gigabit ethernet port. However with that connected to my gigabit capable router via a CAT5 cable it was only achieving a 100 Mbps connection as confirmed by running the following command: /sbin/ethtool eth0
I purchased a CAT6 cable to attach the server to the router and the above command now confirms that they are communicating with each other at 1000 Mbps
Cable length is also not a factor here, both cables were half a meter long as the router is right next to the server
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Quote from: jim1985
Quote from: UKenGB

But if your router has a gigabit connection and the ONT does (as I now know), then barring actual physical problems, it will be a Gigabit connection. From what you say, it looks like you have the mistaken belief that Cat5 can only handle Fast, 100baset Ethernet. This is not the case and Cat5 is perfectly capable of handling Gigabit. The only real advantage of Cat6 is longer permissible cable runs.

Not true, CAT5 is not capable of handling gigabit connection speeds, CAT5e along with CAT6 is..........
I have a server here running CentOS 6.5
It has a gigabit ethernet port. However with that connected to my gigabit capable router via a CAT5 cable it was only achieving a 100 Mbps connection as confirmed by running the following command: /sbin/ethtool eth0
I purchased a CAT6 cable to attach the server to the router and the above command now confirms that they are communicating with each other at 1000 Mbps
Cable length is also not a factor here, both cables were half a meter long as the router is right next to the server

I understand that that is what you saw, but it was for some other reason. I can promise you that Cat5 IS quite capable of handling Gigabit.
Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6 are all 4 twisted pairs and over a short distance it would be impossible to tell them apart. This is not based on my mere supposition or personal experience.
What however IS true is that Gigabit requires the use of all 4 pairs, whereas the lower speeds (10/100baset) only use 2 pairs. So a cable without all 8 connections fully functioning could force the lower speed and be incapable of Gigabit.
Anyway, sorry, but the real fact is that Cat5 CAN carry Gigabit speeds and spurious reports and statements to the contrary simply serve to promulgate the myth that Gigabit requires Cat5e/6 which is in fact NOT true.
What IS true is that I'd still like to find out what the telephone connection sockets are on the ONT. Anyone?
SpendLessTime
Hero
Posts: 3,000
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Registered: ‎21-09-2009

Re: Connections

Quote from: UKenGB
Sorry, another question. What are the telephone connectors on the ONT?

When my FTTP was installed, the engineer fitted a new BT faceplate. The faceplate has a Copper/Fibre switch on it which you use to select the appropriate method of phone line connection. There is a fly lead from the faceplate which terminates with a standard BT phone plug to fit into the ONT.
Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

Quote from: georgelnx
Quote from: UKenGB
Sorry, another question. What are the telephone connectors on the ONT?

When my FTTP was installed, the engineer fitted a new BT faceplate. The faceplate has a Copper/Fibre switch on it which you use to select the appropriate method of phone line connection. There is a fly lead from the faceplate which terminates with a standard BT phone plug to fit into the ONT.

That confirms my hopes that they're BT sockets and not RJ11 as the former are easier to fit (and I've got more BT plugs than RJ11).
As your telephones are plugged into the ONT, am I correct in thinking therefore you have FVA and your telephone calls also use the fibre? Would I then be correct in thinking that your telephone line must still be with BT? But you have PlusNet Broadband over the FTTP? In which case that answers another of my questions that I posed in another thread. Thanks.
SpendLessTime
Hero
Posts: 3,000
Thanks: 928
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Registered: ‎21-09-2009

Re: Connections

I haven't connected the phone face plate to the ONT, the cable is just dangling.
FVA is not available with Plusnet and Plusnet do not require FTTP users to have a copper line so mine was ceased back in March. There is a discussion thread in this forum about it.
So I'm a VOIP user using an Obi200 contented to a Panasonic DECT phone.
Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
UKenGB
Grafter
Posts: 66
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎09-12-2009

Re: Connections

I also have several VOIP 'lines', but so far, I wouldn't consider them reliable enough to ditch the main house phone. However, a lot of the VOIP issues seems to be related to 'network problems' that I hope will be eliminated with a fast fibre connection. If so, then what with increasing use of mobile phones etc, dropping the main house phone line will be a distinct possibility. Not however until I've had time to see how well everything will work over the fibre.
Thanks for the information you've provided here. Most helpful.