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What is the difference between CAT5, CAT5E, and
CAT6?
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a.
Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded
twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity.
Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e
specification. This type of cable is often used in
structured cabling for computer networks such as Gigabit
Ethernet, although they are also used to carry many other
signals such as basic voice services, token ring, and ATM
(at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances). |
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b. Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds
specifications for far-end crosstalk. It was formally defined in
2001 in the TIA/EIA-568-B standard, which no longer recognizes the
original Cat 5 specification. Although 1000BASE-T was designed for
use with Cat 5 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat
5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with
1000BASE-T. Despite the stricter performance specifications, Cat 5e
cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks:
horizontal cables are still limited to a maximum of 90m (295ft) in
length. Cat 5e cable performance characteristics and test methods
are defined in TIA/EIA-568-B.2-2001.
c. Cat 6- Category - 6, (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1) is a cable
standard for Gigabit Ethernet and other network protocols that is
backward compatible with the Category 5/5e and Category 3 cable
standards. Cat-6 features more stringent specifications for
crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard is suitable for
10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet) connections.
It provides performance of up to 250 MHz.
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