Which network cables are legitimate?

[orde]

There are a lot of articles indicating that almost all cables sold as cat6 nowhere near meet the actual cat6 standards. Most of them don't even meet cat5e standards. And buying a big brand name apparently means nothing.

I have a particular interest in running decent cables as I have PoE cameras at the end of some of them.

Any recommendations for LAN cables that meet the spec?

 

[Nintendofan]

I always though that a cat6 installation was certified cat6 once the cables are installed and in situ. Any tight bends or kinks will make the test fail.

 

[orde]

Perhaps but the cable itself needs to meet a spec to be considered cat6 in the first place surely. Apparently there is nothing to stop someone writing catX on a cable and selling tit without meeting the standard.

I was trying to buy some cat6 bulk cable and it turns out it the conductors are AWG 26 which can't be cat6 by definition. And there's quite a bit more to the spec than just the wire size.

 

[Nintendofan]

I was trying to buy some cat6 bulk cable and it turns out it the conductors are AWG 26 which can't be cat6 by definition. And there's quite a bit more to the spec than just the wire size.

But at the end of the day will you be certifying the installation as cat6 with a tester? have you even though about how your going to get cat6 through a brickwall and bend into a poe camera whilst maintaining the speed, and do you really need 10GB Ethernet? do you even have a 10GB network switch to utilise the extra bandwidth?

 

[orde]

Possibly I won't need it but as I'm building the house and there is no plasterboard on the walls, I would like to put in reasonably up to date cables with spare capacity, hence the cat6.

No I don't have a 10GB switch but I am sending 12v power down data cables so I would like for those cables to be at cat6 spec.

 

[Nintendofan]

Possibly I won't need it but as I'm building the house and there is no plasterboard on the walls, I would like to put in reasonably up to date cables with spare capacity, hence the cat6.

No I don't have a 10GB switch but I am sending 12v power down data cables so I would like for those cables to be at cat6 spec.

Obviously up to you but as I'm presuming your not going to certify the installation as cat6 (to prove otherwise) the extra considerations required in running the cat6 cable compared to cat5 cable I'll guarantee if you did certify the installation you'd probably see better results with cat5. POE can be used in both cat6 and cat5e.

 

[orde]

Would you mind expanding on that part about better results from cat5e? Why would there be better results?

Also even if I go for cat5e I'm still left with the same problem of cables with fictitious labels, I'll pay for cat5e but own cat5. Can you recommend somewhere to buy legit cables that meet spec?

 

[Nintendofan]

Would you mind expanding on that part about better results from cat5e? Why would there be better results?

Are you doing the install yourself or are you getting professionals in? have you ever handled and compared a piece of cat5 and cat6 cable? the cat 6 is larger and very stiff and quite hard to run around corners without kinking it and creating tight bends, these tight bends/kinks will reduce the high data transfer speed you're trying to achieve. Cat5 is a lot easier to install as its more flexible and smaller with less chance of kinks therefore at the testing stage less troublesome. If your certifying with a test meter then any tight bends/kinks will become apparent and will need rectifying to comply with the cat6 spec.

 

[ironsidebod]

There is lots of Cat5e and Cat6 about that is CCA (Copper Clad Aluminium) - this is what you want to avoid. Perhaps it's this stuff you've heard problems with?

Solid copper core cable from a reputable source correctly labelled will see you right.

 

[PaulUszak]

Just to confirm, you're going to run a few ip cameras with some PoE inside your home. You're not running a data centre.

I suggest you get some bog standard solid cat5 stuff on line. Just get a drum load. Cat 6 is rated for 10GBASE-T. That's 20 GBits/s duplexed. You'll not have any equipment capable of even remotely reaching that sort of through put. And I'm not talking a music server equipment. I'm talking a pretty major switch equipment. Not the sort you get at Currys either. The builder types will try to flog you the most expensive stuff, probably with oxygen free copper or depleted uranium shielding. Forget it. It's easy to get bogged down in IT techno babble. Your domestic system will work happily on legacy cat5. Just for some context: If your DVR recorded from all your cameras at the full 10GBASE-T rate, you'd fill a 1TB hard disk in 15 minutes. Also, BBC1 Freeview runs at 8MBits/s.

From the left field. Whist IT advances rapidly, statistically you'll only stay in your house seven years and this sort of domestic investment is not reflected in house resale values.

 

[ITGURU]

Working in IT cate and cats are very different kinds of cable. For cat 6 you have to have cat 6 connectors and backboxes etc and even once you have crimped the connector you cannot always guarantee it's cat tested spec without obviously testing. We have one building all cat 6 and I typically only buy pretty made cables whereas everywhere else that is cat I make the ends.

Cat6 cable is far more Regid with an inner plastic core.

I have 10gig backbone 1 gig to each pc and only benefit really if cat 6 is to support 10gb to the desktop. I happily run 1 gig over cat 5e for poe cameras and wireless points up to 100m.