Basic networking question

[calgarychris]

Hi,

I have confirmed that I have cat5 running behind the walls (yay!) that is currently unconnected to RJ-45 connections. I am going to get him to do it but had a couple of questions:

1. The contractor's saying that you can basically split the cable run into two separate connections since there are two wire pairs. Is there any issue with doing this, performance wise? I would lose telephone at that junction I guess, since some of the cable is begin used for pstn

2. All of the cables run back to a central point. If I were to split the cable as above and have two connections run back to the central point, my question is, how do these work if they're both connected to switches at both ends. I'm thinking I would have a small 8 port switch at one end and a 16 or 24 port at the other end.

I guess what I'm asking in #2 above is, I get that if I have a single connection into a switch the devices plugged into that would share the bandwidth, but how does it work with two? Is the load split between the two, do you need specific hardware to do that?

Thanks, hopefully that makes sense.

Cheers

 

[System Error Message]

when you say cat5 it sounds like cat5a not cat5e. Cat5 by itself is just 100Mb/s so it means no gigabit. For full gigabit connections all the pairs are used except some which related to the use of POE. So it sounds like you've got only 100Mb/s.

I suggest against cable splitting because there are things that use the extra pairs for example POE if you ever want to use it. The splitting is done at both ends.

 

[L&LD]

Agree with SEM's post.

Is there anyway you can replace those CAT5 cables with anything newer (CAT5e at minimum)?

You also seem to have jumped into this new thread assuming many things off the bat. Is there a previous thread where this thread is continuing from?

 

[calgarychris]

No assumptions, I'm probably just not explaining myself. Anyway, I've confirmed that I don't want to split the single cable as I go from gigabit to 2x100Mbps. I don't know if I have cat5 or cat5e - the place is fully finished and developed, so no I cannot replace the cables without tearing up the walls, which will significantly increase cost.

It's not my ideal scenario of cabling, but a hell of a lot better than wifi.

Anyway, thanks for answering my question.

Cheers

 

[KenZ71]

If you can view the sides of the cables it should be labeled as to the type. Might need to look at 2 to 3 feet.

Also, check your equipment what are the specs? If your switch is 10/100 swap it for a gigabit. What are the network adapters on PCs?

 

[calgarychris]

I don't know about the cable yet but most of my systems are gigabit and the router and switches are as well

 

[TonyH]

I don't know about the cable yet but most of my systems are gigabit and the router and switches are as well

Purpose of splitting cable?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I don't know about the cable yet but most of my systems are gigabit and the router and switches are as well

You do not need to replace the existing CAT5 with CAT5e or CAT6...in order to run gigabit.
it is a myth that 5e or higher is needed for gigabit.
The gigabit standard was designed to start with CAT5....as long as all 4 pairs are used and it is properly terminated to higher standards (example..no untwisting of the pairs far back, etc).
http://www.iebmedia.com/ethernet.php?id=4622&parentid=74&themeid=255&showdetail=true
CAT5e was designed for gigabit and up...and if you start pushing the 100 meter length it's preferred when you can. And yes there are benefits which further enhance gigabit performance over 5e and 6 and now 7. Of course these days you usually buy CAT6 now when doing installs, and CAT 5 hasn't been made since...oh I forget...over 10 years ago probably more.

But it is a myth that you have to rip out existing CAT5 to run gigabit. As long as its terminated properly, and you're not doing long backbone runs with heavy traffic on it....CAT5 will do gigabit fine.