What Kind of Ethernet Cable from ONT to Plusnet Hub 2

[#1]

Yep - cat5E is sufficient for (IIRC) speeds up to 500Mbps.

[#2]

• CAT5E Standard 26 AWG 4P

Thats the bit that's significant , means it's cat5e standard cable and 4 pairs

It's good for up to 1Gb speed at up to 100m

[#3]

So better than what I thought - thanks, @MisterW .

[#4]

Well done with that magnifying glass @plusmouse . 

Bog standard cable for the last 25 or so years or so, i.e. Cat5e, good for 1000mbps up to 100 metres. 😎

Even Cat5 would probably have been fine, Wikipedia notes "most Cat 5 cables actually happen to meet Cat 5e specifications even though they are not certified as such".

[#5]

I have read elsewhere, that whilst spec'd for up to 100 metres, CAT5e is not recommended for much more than 80 metres.

I guess it depends on the quality of the actual cable in question, and I guess the assumption is that the cable is one continuous length and not two or more cables joined together.

Does anyone on here have real world experiences of very long ethernet cable runs - ie 80 to 100 metres or more?

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[#6]

"Does anyone on here have real world experiences of very long ethernet cable runs - ie 80 to 100 metres or more?".

Yes, I'm a retired IT/Comms manager and been responsible for many large networks in big office buildings, warehouses and other industrial sites. 100metres is conservative if the cable meets the specifications and the equipment using it is working properly.

[#7]

@plusmouse 

Cat5e and Cat6 both have the same speed rating. The difference is Cat6 is shielded to carry more traffic. Think dual carriageway and moterway You can travel at the same speed but the latter carries more traffic.

If you look at pictures of "open" Cat6 cables you can see a 4 way plastic cross spine to reduce interference. It also makes the cable less flexible.

Brian

[#8]

Not exactly @bmc Cat6 can support higher bandwidth/frequency so can run at up to 10Gbps, i.e. ten times faster than Cat5e.

BUT at that speed it's only useable up to about 55metres, longer than that it will support 1Gbps, same as Cat5e.

[#9]

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@bmc wrote:

The difference is Cat6 is shielded to carry more traffic.

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Cat6 can also be unshielded @bmc - the clue will be in the lettering in the cable description, e.g. Cat6 UTP, Cat6 STP, Cat6 FTP and other variations. 

[#10]

Just to clarify that the actual Cat6 specification is NOT shielded, though it is manufactured with various options (as noted above including shielding) to improve reliability in potentially challenging professional environments.

There is also a Cat6A specification which allows 10Gb speeds up to the full 100 metres. If you have seen Cat6e mentioned that's not "a thing" formally at all.

And remember the 100 metres is "normally" expected to be 90 metres (max) cable run plus 5m patch cable each end. All cables AND CONNECTORS need to meet the relevant/same specifications.

So, to summarise, in a  domestic environment Cat5e is all you're likely to ever need for the foreseeable future, and older Cat5 cables are very likely to work perfectly fine if you have any on hand. And over shorter distances Cat5e will probably run at 10Gb anyway.

[#11]

The most significant difference between cat 5e and 6 in my experience is that cat 6 cables separate the four twisted pairs with a central spreader. This increases the diameter and makes it much stiffer..No doubt the extra complication is required at higher frequencies but for normal household use....

Whilst cat 5e is good for 1Gbps up to 100m, very few domestic properties need this length. What I can't find are any test results for running at higher bit rates over the sort of distances required for most homes.

[#12]

@Baldrick1 wrote: Whilst cat 5e is good for 1Gbps up to 100m, very few domestic properties need this length

[#13]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

Whilst cat 5e is good for 1Gbps up to 100m, very few domestic properties need this length.

I'd agree that 100m is more than most domestic properties will ever need. I have a large garden with several out-buildings and I do have runs that approach 80m - I have about a mile of cat5e installed in total! A big problem that most people wouldn't think about is the different earth potential when going between buildings - especially if they have different consumer units and earth points. Anyone that thinks they need anything approaching 100m had better read up, and prepare for a learning curve!

[#14]

@corringham  Just curious. How does different earth potential, points & consumer units affect the throughput  of a piece of cable ?

[#15]

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@Champnet wrote:

Just curious. How does different earth potential, points & consumer units affect the throughput  of a piece of cable ?

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It can introduce noise, it can result in voltages & currents that the devices aren't expecting, and in the worst case a fault (or a nearby lightning strike etc.) can result in harmful differences in potential that can kill equipment. At the very least if you use shielded cable you must only earth it at one end. It is rather like earth loop hum in hi-fi equipment, but worse.

For a long run (even below 100m) between building's I'd now recommend optical fibre!