This topic

Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

unixnerd — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 12:44:10 GMT

About to have fibre to the property installed, supposedly 900Mb/s. Should I be using cat 8 cables from the hub to my PC's 1Gb/s network card?

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

licquorice — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 13:37:27 GMT

Only if you want to waste your money.

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

yorkspark — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 18:30:39 GMT

i cannot understand peoples obsession with using cat 7 or cat 8, it can only go as fast as the slowest device

Why do you think they give you a cat5e patch lead with the hub?

cat5e will do 1gb for 92 metres, how big is your house?

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

licquorice — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:02:47 GMT

Russ Andrews has a lot to answer for!!! 😃😃

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

WSH — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:16:21 GMT

@unixnerd

The thing to remember here is that while a cable can limit the speed, it does nothing to increase the speed. That is determined by the network cards at either end. Cat 5e is adequate for 1Gb/s. Cat 6, arguably, has a bit more future-proofing as it could cope with more than 1Gb/s at short distances.

Cat 7 and 8 are intended for data centres pushing a lot more data about than a home network. If memory serves, Cat 7 is capable of 10Gb/s out to 100m and Cat 8 is capable of 25 - 40Gb/s out to 30m.

Using Cat 7 or 8 is a bit like buying a Ferrari to do the shopping. You can do it if you like but it’s really a waste of money.

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

unixnerd — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:39:58 GMT

Thanks, been a while since I've looked into this and I had it in my head cat5 was limited to 100Mb/s for some reason. I did spec a 10Gb/s network once but it was years ago and I've quite forgotten the details.

Another wee question. Is the newest generation of hubs still OK with 10Mb/s devices? I have an A0 inkjet plotter that's ancient and has a very old network card.

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

WSH — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:45:37 GMT

Cat 5, (no "e"), was 100Mb/s. It is possible to come across 5e wired to the old tx standard, with just four wires. That will limit it to 100Mb/s. Gigabit needs all eight wires connected.

Re: Ethernet cable type for FTTP hub?

licquorice — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 19:50:16 GMT

@unixnerd yes, SH2 LAN ports are 10/100100/1000 Mbps