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CAT 5 vs CAT 6

WHAT IS IT ?

  • Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are widely used in the computer and telecommunications industry as Ethernet cables and telephone wires. 

  • The wires are typically made of copper with polyethylene (PE) or FEP insulation 

  • They are typically used in computer networking such as telephone or Ethernet for short-to-medium distances.

  • There are 5 types of UTP cables prefix by Category (CAT):

  • CAT 1- Old telephone cable  

  • CAT 2- Token Ring Network

  • CAT 3- Token Ring & 10 base-T ethernet

  • CAT 4- Token Ring Network

  • CAT 5- Ethernet, FastEthernet, Token Ring

  • CAT 5e- Enternet, FastEthernet, Gigabit Ethernet 

  • CAT 6- GigabitEthernet, 10G Ethernet (55 meters)

  • Made up of four twisted pairs of copper wire.

  • The most common connector used with UTP cable is an RJ-45.

  • Here are some key difference between Category 5 and Category 6 cable.

CAT 5

CAT 6

Less Twisted

  • It the basic ethernet cable with higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

internal separator

More Twisted

  • Has internal separator to reduce electromagnetic interference. 

  • Frequency 100 MHz.

  • Frequency 250 MHz.

Thiner Copper

Thicker Copper

  • Thicker, because it uses thicker copper wire.

  • Speed upto 100 Mbps.

  • Data performance is 10 gbps.

  • Less Performance.

  • Because it have internal separator and have better performance over Cat 5.

  • Applications of CAT 5

  • Ethernet

  • FastEthernet

  • Token Ring

  • Applications of CAT 5

  • Gigabit Ethernet (100 meters)

  • 10G Ethernet (55 meters)

  • Cost is less than Cat 6.

  • Generally cost is more than Cat 5.

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