Physical Networking

[zman6911]

I was just over at www.belkin.com to take a look at networking cable so I can wire my house. I already have networking cable running arround my house (Patch Cable I believe) but it isnt very neat. It is just laying all about my floor and if OSHA saw it, they'd probably have a fit. Before I go and wire my house for speed, I have a few questions.

What is the difference between patch cable, horizontal cable, and Crossover Cable.
and...
What cable should I use to run through my walls to jacks.
What cable should I use from the jacks to the computers.
What cable should I use from hub to hub / switch to switch.

 

[Russ]

<< What is the difference between patch cable, horizontal cable, and Crossover Cable.
and...
What cable should I use to run through my walls to jacks.
What cable should I use from the jacks to the computers.
What cable should I use from hub to hub / switch to switch. >>



Cat5 or Cat5e(newer, better). Everything on your list is comprised of Cat5. &quot;Patch&quot; cable is just a term for Cat5 with an RJ45 module on each end. This would run from your wall jack to your system, and between the uplink port on a switch/hub to a standard port on another switch/hub.

&quot;Crossover&quot; is a cable used to connect two systems directly, or to run between &quot;uplink&quot; ports on switches or hubs.

Russ, NCNE

 

[willawake]

Cat 5 is for 100Mbps
Cat 5e is for 200Mbps

i can reccommend alcatel brand of utp cable.

Dont forget the 100Mbps rules

Client - Hub - Client : Cable length less than 205m
Client - Hub : Cable length less than 100m
Hub - Hub (Crossover Cable) : Cable length less than 5m

Please correct me if i remember incorrectly and good luck,
wish i was there to help, it is the most satisfying job
when it finally works

 

[zman6911]

lol. Thanks for the info guys, you've been a great help. It must besatisfying not having cable laying everywhere .

 

[cavingjan]

One more thing to note is the exact construciton of the wire. Patch cables are made of stranded wire while most bulk wire is solid core. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Stranded has many thin wires braided together to for each wire and is more useful in places where the wire will be moving or disturbed. Solid core is not as susceptible to interferance/crosstalk but is weaker when moved about.
Typical installation uses both types where the solid core is running from patch panel to wall plates in the walls and stranded is used for all the patch cables.

Edit: Homedepot has been carrying cat5e cable cheap ($56 for a 1000 ft spool) and also carries keystones too. I would suggest buying the cable locally but ordering the keystones in bulk.

Second edit: stranded cannot be used in keystones.

 

[Russ]

<< stranded cannot be used in keystones. >>



Really? Some of my jacks here are wired with stranded, works just fine. Is that a spec that I'm violating?

Russ, NCNE

 

[zman6911]

You've all been a great help in my home networking project. Does Home Depot have both Patch cable and Flat cable?

 

[cavingjan]

Russ: I believe it is but I will admit I do make mistakes. The question I have is how did you get it punched down? The jacks I use just slice any stranded wire (I tried with with some stranded cat3 for telephone - long story, don't ask) and it would always come right out of the keystone whenever I pushed it back into the wall box. I'm assuming you used a non cutting punch down tool?

 

[Russ]

I use self-crimping Keystones. No punchdown tool for me.

Russ, NCNE

 

[spidey07]

There are two different kinds of RJ45 ends and also two different kind of jacks.

One is used for solid copper and the other is used for stranded. Yes you can mix and match but is not recommended because you really don't make a good mate between the connector and the wire.

Always used solid copper for jack to jack runs. Then the patch cables can be whatever you wish, but I prefer stranded, easier to work with and bends better.

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