CAT1 is typically telephone wire. This type of wire is not
capable of supporting computer network traffic and is
not twisted.
Cat3 -- 3 pair unshielded twisted pair (but the number of
twists is slight).
is typically used for phone and telco interconnect.
It is also good enough for 10Base-T ethernet.
Cat5 -- 4 pair unsheilded twisted pair (UTP),
is most often used for building LAN wiring, and most
machine room interconnects.
It is good enough for 10/100Base-T Ethernet.
Cables designated "100base-TX" may only have 2 pair used.
Cables designated "100base-T4" use all 4 pair.
CAT6 wire was originally designed to support gigabit Ethernet
(although there are forthcoming standards that will allow
gigabit transmission over CAT5 wire). It is similar to
CAT5 wire, but contains a physical separator between the
4 pairs to further reduce EM interference.
Regards,
-allan
At 01:23 AM 6/5/2002 -0400, Eric B. Richardson wrote:
>Simple question: what is the difference between different kinds of
>ethernet cables, eg cat 5 vs cat 6?
>--
>
>Eric Richardson /We are constantly misled by the ease with which our
>Detroit MI /minds fall into the ruts of one or two experiences.
> /Sir William Osler
--
MacNetwork is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
XRouter Pro | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers!
Dr. Bott | Only $199 <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH130.html>
Now shipping! Farallon Wireless SkyLINE PCI Card for Mac Desktops!
<http://www.farallon.com/le/skyline/pci/index.html>
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
MacNetwork list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/macnet.html>
Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/macnetwork%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks!
<http://www.applelinks.com>
