Networking for a vet surgery

Guys - collective wisdom time - what is the 'best' to go for?

Cat5/5e/6

Is there a difference in anything other than the cable?

For computers and phones.

im no expert on networking, but i done all my office/ unit in cat5e

be careful with cat5, the dogs may not like it.

:coat

seriously...

cat6 unless you want to save a bit of money.

Go for Cat6 Apache, its all I have been installing lately.

The terminations are the same? I can do everything I can with cat 6 that I can with 5/5e, it just supports higher speeds?

I'm basically checking there are no downsides?

What is the maximum length

?

Apache said:

The terminations are the same? I can do everything I can with cat 6 that I can with 5/5e, it just supports higher speeds?

I'm basically checking there are no downsides?

What is the maximum length

?

Click to expand...

Technically the terminations are different, a cat 5 RJ45 connector is supposed to be different to a cat 6 one, though I think the difference is just what they have been tested and approved for rather then any significant physical difference 

Cat6 is easier to damage on install than 5 or 5e, and will then give you lower rates than Cat 5/5e.

why's that then Sidey?

Then is it UTP or STP

Canoeboy said:

Well if on install the Cat6 is chopped in half the speed will be limited to 0Mbps msl1:

Click to expand...

yeeees, but why is it more fragile than cat5?

I've been told that if it bends in too tight a radius, or it twists, and kinks, the kink or pinch will affect the internals of the cable, i.e. the screening/shielding and thus the transmission reliability of the cable will be drastically reduced, potentially below what can be achieved with Cat5e.

Bend radius

kinking during installation

individual pairs 'touching' other pairs at termination point

undoing too much twist at termination point

carp cable

carp ports

carp,patch leads

tucking spare wire in trunking or back box

pairs 'popping out' of segregation channel and touching another pair

NEXT and FEXT....near end cross talk, far end cross talk

screening connection issues

just saying I have installed a couple :innocent

Sidewinder said:

I've been told that if it bends in too tight a radius, or it twists, and kinks, the kink or pinch will affect the internals of the cable, i.e. the screening/shielding and thus the transmission reliability of the cable will be drastically reduced, potentially below what can be achieved with Cat5e.

Click to expand...

no different to any other data cable then, it's all quite fragile and needs handling with a little care

I've used 6 a couple of times, it's a ballache,!  tbh, for the extra hassle and time, I don't see any advantage over 5e at present, if you really feel the need to install 6 then go fibre, imho, :C

IMHO, when looking at what cable, you also need to consider....

how many users will there be on you own internal network bit and

how much data will they actually be needing to transfer internally or access from external sites, requiring fast transmission speeds..

What is the current max speed you can get coming to your building via your network provider...

Some government stats a few months back stated the average internet download speed for the majority of the country was approx. 10mbps..

Is there much point have really, really, fast data from your PC to your router..

for it then just to slow down by 80% when its goes outside your building?

We are getting 30mbps download speeds at home, all my internal network wiring is CAT5e,

which will still probably future proof me for several years to come....

But then we don't have any high demand on-line gaming or loads of video on demand streaming..

Just bog standard internet browsing, shopping, e-mails and the occasional I-player catch-up program...

So think on what you need when deciding what cable to put in...

No different than do we do a 2.5mm 20A radial

or a 2.5mm 32A ring, 4.0mm 32A radial...

Think what work has it got to do.

binky said:

no different to any other data cable then, it's all quite fragile and needs handling with a little care

Click to expand...

I've been told it's "more" sensitive than Cat5 & 5e, and when damaged the speed drops dramatically, where as Cat5 is more tolerant.

I'm FAR from the right person to take advice on this from TBH, it's not really my bag.

I am trying to install at least 1GB @ home to all our wired points as we have a central file storage device which is 2x1GB connected to our main switch.

So, I reckon with 1GB from each device to the switch and "diversity" we should get reasonable file transfer speeds up to the file server.

Much faster than our internet connections anyway, we have the fastest BT VDSL, & Virgin media cable connection we can get at the moment.

Just wish I could find a way for the Draytek to combine them instead of load sharing across them...

FWIW, I can't imagine a vet surgery will need the benefits offered by Cat6.

In my experience I need to use cat6 for the likes of HDMI matrix.

If you are not doing rj45 terminations a lot then cat6 can be more of a PITA to terminate (getting decent quality plugs can help with this).

Using cat5 would not save that much money but definitely it can be easier for you to install.

Personally I would go cat6 but if you have never done any cat6 terminations then cat5 could be a more viable solution for you.