Ethernet cable Archives - Fiber Optical Networking

Shocked! Most Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet Cables Fail to Meet the Rated Specification

Recently, a number of reports indicate that most open-market patch cords, such as Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet cables, do not meet the standard specifications. In fact, the result comes as no surprise. There are two versions of the specifications, TIA and ISO (ISO is more stricter than TIA), but neither of these standards involves enforcement organization or licensing. Vendors get away with inferior Ethernet cable because the average consumer is the least able to buy the equipment worth $10,000 to check the purchase against specifications.

alt Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet cable

Why Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet Cable Do Not Meet the Standard？

The cat5e patch cable we used is designed to meet performance specifications up to 100 MHz (as specified in TIA-568-C.2), enabling it to handle common 100Base-T and 1000Base-T wired networks. The cable cat6 has higher performance confirmed to 250 MHz; enabling it to handle 10GbE wired networks. However, many vendors do not take specification compliance seriously because the transmission rate of the standard Ethernet cable and inferior Ethernet cable cannot be judged easily by non-professionals, but only by cable test devices. So some vendors manufacture Ethernet cables to very lax quality standards, which leads the good and the bad patch cords are intermingled on the market.

What Are the Consequences of Cat5e/Cat6 Not Meeting the Standard?

Assuming that your network switches are all set up correctly, the bad links will slow down by themselves, but the rest of the network will run at full speed. Otherwise, the switches will turn down the speed of every link due to one bad link, and the whole node slows down. This will affect your network transmission rate and data transmission. What’s worse, inferior Ethernet cables sooner or later will cause poor network performance and could even damage active equipment. Installing counterfeit cables is a risk that eventually will have an expensive cost of maintenance.

How to Avoid Buying Inferior Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet Cables?

So if you want to avoid buying counterfeit cables, you have to make sure the following four points.

alt Cat5e/Cat6 Ethernet Cable

Use Ethernet Cable Passed the Fluke Test

The Fluke test is considered as the most authoritative criteria for telling the quality of an Ethernet cable. This test includes patch cord testing and channel testing for Ethernet patch cables, and permanent link testing for bulk network cables. For Ethernet patch cables, the channel standard is not the applicable specification and is much easier to pass. Therefore cables passing the patch cord testing have higher performance.

Use Ethernet Cable With Oxygen-Free Copper Wire

The conductor material of copper-clad-steel or copper-clad-aluminum is a classic method manufacturer use in order to save money, which is easy to cause high attenuation and poorly signal. It is the purity of copper that determines the Ethernet cable quality. The purer the copper wire is, the less signal loss you will suffer. The purity of copper in descending order is oxygen-free copper > pure copper > bare copper > copper clad aluminum > copper-clad-steel. So you’d better choose oxygen-free copper wires. To learn more about choosing the best network cable wire, please read Network Cable Wire: Oxygen-Free Copper VS Pure Copper VS Copper Clad Aluminum VS Aluminum

Use Ethernet Cable With Fire-Proof Cable Jacket

There are two types of Ethernet cable jacket, non-flame retardant, and flame retardant jacket. Maybe not every application requires a cable to have a flame retardant jacket, but when needed, it is critical for cables to have a flame retardant jacket for safety concern. Normally Ethernet cables with PVC CM and CMP jacket are commonly used in patch cabling environment. However, some manufacturers replace CM and CMP flammability rating with inferior non-fireproof jacket material. That’s one point you would not want to miss.

Use Ethernet Cable Made By Reliable Manufacturers

Last but not least, instead of buying the cable test devices, you need to select reliable sellers that can provide the Fluke test reports and product details of above. Buying cables from a reliable manufacturer is directly related to your cable performance.

Conclusion

Choosing reliable manufacture is half the success of choosing a qualified Ethernet cable. Every Ethernet patch cables FS sells comes with its individual Fluke test report, showing that it meets the rated specification. If it doesn’t, FS won’t sell it. We manufacture the patch cable with top-quality oxygen-free copper and environment-friendly CM flame retardant jacket, and we certification-test every cable to ensure the performance. You’re welcomed to visit www.fs.com to find what you need.

Network Cable Wire: Oxygen-Free Copper VS Pure Copper VS Copper Clad Aluminum VS Aluminum

There are many Ethernet network cable wires used for data center applications such as Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, and Cat7 cables. The conductor metals adopted by those network patch cables vary in different kinds such as oxygen-free copper wire, pure copper wire, copper clad aluminum wire, and aluminum wire. This article discusses the above network cable wire and compares the differences.

alt Network Cable Wire: Oxygen-Free Copper VS Pure Copper VS Copper Clad Aluminum VS Aluminum

What Is Oxygen-Free Copper Wire?

An oxygen-free copper wire is the highest conductivity copper cable wire that is refined to reduce the amount of oxygen to less than 0.003%, the total impurity content to less than 0.05%, and the purity of copper to more than 99.95%. Thereby, improving the conductivity and oxidation resistance.

What Is Pure Copper Wire?

The pure copper wire has a slightly lower copper content than that of oxygen-free copper wire, which is around 99.5% to 99.95%. The other impurities are some metals such as iron and oxygen. The pure copper wire has excellent conductivity, thermal conductivity, plasticity, and is easy to be pressed.

What Is Copper Clad Aluminum Wire?

The copper clad aluminum wire is an electric conductor composed of an inner aluminum core and an outer copper cladding. Since it contains aluminum, it is significantly lighter and weaker than pure copper wire or oxygen-free copper wire, but stronger than pure aluminum wire. Copper clad aluminum wire is not compliant with UL and TIA standards, both of which require solid or stranded copper wires, but it’s a cheap alternative for category twisted-pair communication cables.

What Is Aluminum Wire?

An aluminum wire is made of pure aluminum. Due to the lightweight nature of aluminum, aluminum wire is quite malleable. However, when compared with copper wire, it has lower electrical and mechanical properties, which is a relatively poor electrical conductor.

Aluminum VS Copper Wire: Which Is the Better Network Cable Wire?

Despite being the best material, copper is a little expensive than aluminum. Thus, people prefer to use aluminum to save money without compromising quality. However, when the aluminum wire warms, it expands, and when it cools, it shrinks. With each gradual warm-cool cycle, the tightness of the wiring decreases, resulting in sparks, even fires. Aluminum wire will also corrode when it encounters certain metal compounds, which increase the resistance to the connection. Thus, aluminum wire requires higher maintenance than copper wire. In contrast, copper has one of the highest electrical conductivity rates among metals. Copper has high tensile strength so it can withstand extreme stress and is more durable. Due to its high elasticity, high durability, low maintenance, and high performance, it is a more stable material than aluminum. So a good manufacturer will use a great deal more copper in the wire to ensure the performance.

Conclusion

Now we know that copper wire outweighs aluminum wire when used in wired networks. The higher the copper content of the network cable wire, the better the conductivity and transmission capacity. However, most of the network cables sold on the market are pure copper wires or copper clad aluminum wires. FS provides oxygen-free copper wires, which outperforms among the peers. These oxygen-free copper wires are 100% pass the Fluke Channel Test with PVC CM jacket material, making them the best choice for you in terms of price and quality. If you’re interested, please visit www.fs.com.

Importance of Plug Boot For RJ45 Cables

Network cable with RJ45 connectors is widely applied to our life. When choosing the RJ45 Ethernet network cables, you may discover that these cables have different appearances of their cable plugs. For example, some cables will have a rubber thing on the clip while some don’t. Why do RJ45 cables have such design and what is the function? This post is going to present the basic knowledge about the RJ45 boot.

What Is Plug Boot for RJ45 Cable?

This rubber thing is known as plug boot. A booted cable has the plug boot on the Ethernet patch cable end of the connector. You can find two main types of boots on the market. One is the separate boot that can be purchased individually to put on the cable, and the other is the injection molded boot to be bought together with the cable. Of course, the latter is stronger to provide support for the cable when the connector is being pulled out of a switch, patch panel or other devices. Non-booted cables will not have the plug boot as the protection, which is easier to be damaged.

cable with RJ45 boot

Functions of RJ45 Boot

Generally speaking, the RJ45 boot design has two purposes. Firstly, the plug boot can prevent the connector clip from flipping up or even breaking off from the cable. When the plastic clip is broken, cable won’t be able to firmly connect to the network which will then interrupt the data transaction. Secondly, using the booted cable is also a protection for your own nails. Because the clip is slim and small, it is easy to stick into the nails during the installation or removal of RJ45 cable. Hence, for the better protection of both cable connector and your nails, Ethernet cables with plug boots are a great solution.

Several Types of RJ45 Boot

If you want to buy the booted cables, you should also consider which type of boot is the best fit for your network since plug boot also has different constructions. Here will introduce the common types of plug boots.

Standard RJ45 Boot

The standard boot looks like the half of a dome. It protects the clip on all sides and prevents it from snagging or breaking off. This is the type widely applied to cable installation through floors or walls.

standard boot

Molded RJ45 Boot

The molded boot does not protect the locking clip. It is easy to plug in and out. This type of boot is suitable for hard-to-access space where cables are seldom plugged or unplugged.

molded boot

Snagless RJ45 Boot

Snagless boot has a small flap to protect the RJ45 clip. It is often used in applications where there are high insertion cycles in easy-to-access space.

snagless boot

Slim RJ45 Boot

The slim boot has a 28% reduction in diameter than the Snagless boot. It offers minimal protection and is easy to plug or unplug. This type of booted cable is usually seen in high-density applications.

slim boot

No Boot

Non-booted RJ45 cable is much easier for plugging or unplugging, but the whole connector is exposed with no protection. This type is typically used for applications that don’t require frequent unplugging.

no boot

Conclusion

In summary, if you want to have better protection for your Ethernet cable, using RJ45 boot is an ideal solution. If the application does not demand too much cable shifting, non-booted cables are also acceptable. No matter which type of RJ45 cable you choose, the decision must be made according to your own project.

Guide to Build Up Home Network

Since network has been ubiquitous in today’s world, building it into our home seems to be necessary when moving into a new house. However, millions of households are haunted by the terrible network cabling mess. Cables are usually tucked into corners, tangled around the ceiling or jumbled behind devices. If you want these problems to be solved, a good plan for home network is a must. Have you ever thought about setting up a fiber optic home network via network cables all by yourself? This article can be the guide to the beginners.

home network

Advantages of Good Home Network

A good fiber optic home network is beneficial to the visual neatness. House will be more tidy when less cables are exposed to the surface. Most wires will be installed through the walls. Possibility of cable mess is greatly reduced and you don’t need to be nervous about tripping over by the cables. Constructing a good home network also increases the value of the home. If the house is for sale in the future, a built-in network can certainly raise the price potentials. In addition, when setting up the network, you can add some aesthetic designs to your house like painting the wall into a new color or moving wall plates to appropriate places.

Different Network Connections

There are generally three types of home network connections. Choosing a suitable type for the network is also important.

Ethernet/LAN

Ethernet or LAN network uses physical cables to plug into the LAN port of router or network switch. The speed for Ethernet cables can reach up to 1 Gbps. The cable length usually runs up to 100 meters without any influence to performance. Using a wired network is more secure and reliable. However, if you want to totally get rid of the cabling mess, there are better alternatives.

wired fiber optic home network

WiFi/Wireless LAN

People nowadays are familiar with this wireless network. It is the network that operates through radio waves without any wires. The latest 802.11ac standard defines the WiFi network for the maximum of gigabit speed. Wireless network allows for easier access to mobile devices and is simple to be set up. However, the signal also has a limited range and is easily interfered by other devices or buildings.

wireless network

Power Line

Power line network, known as Ethernet over Power (EoP) is carried through the existing wiring. With the help of adapter plugs, it can be connected to small devices by standard Ethernet cables. It is a good option when installing traditional network cabling is not possible but you want better performance than wireless.

Components Needed for Home Network

Central hub, Ethernet jack, wall plate and Ethernet cable are some basic components for the home network. Technically, a basic 8 port switch could accomplish your goals in the central hub. Ethernet jack makes the installation more professional and allows for easier connection with wall plate. Wall plate also provides an easier and stable location for cables to plug into. Of course, Ethernet cable is indispensable and should be selected according to your needs.

How to Expand Fiber Optic Home Network

When Ethernet ports are running out on the router, you can buy a new one to add more ports so as to expand the wired network. As for the wireless network, the problem is always about the range of signal coverage. You can try the commercial WiFi extender, or use metal can focus the antenna in a specific direction.

Conclusion

Many homes are now building up networks into their places. A wonderful fiber optic home network can provide you with better online experience. This post only offers some basic knowledge about home network. If you are unprofessional, please consult the specialists first before starting the construction.

How to DIY Ethernet Cables?

Buying the Ethernet cable in stores is probably a common way for average people. However, have you ever met the problem that the cable length is too long or too short? It is so difficult to find the most appropriate cable length at ordinary stores for your network. Especially when the cable is too long, the extra length may end up becoming a mess at your place. In order to solve this issue, why not DIY Ethernet Cable? You can create your desired length and the procedures are fairly simple. This post will guide you to make a DIY Ethernet cable.

Essential Tools and Materials

Before you get started, there are some necessary tools and materials needed during the procedure. Wire cutter or wire stripper is used for the task of cutting and stripping wires. RJ45 cable crimping tool can make your cable’s data plug a permanent part of your new cable. RJ45 data plugs are important materials which can be found at many cable stores. Some plugs are labeled specifically Cat 6 or Cat 5e, you can buy specific ones if your network needs one or the other. And you should prepare the bulk Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6 or other Ethernet cables according to your needs. Sometimes, having a cable tester is better since it will save time and prevent headaches down the line when you have a problem with a cable or connection.

Which Wiring Schemes?

Ethernet cables have several standard wiring schemes. T568A and T568B are the common wiring schemes which define the order of the individual wires and pin-outs for eight-pin modular connectors and jacks. If the cable is used for home-networking connections, T568B wiring scheme is recommended. T568A wiring scheme may be employed for the preexisting residential network wiring or other similar projects. The following figure presents the different wiring orders of T568A and T568B.

t568a-t568b-wiring-schemes

DIY Ethernet Cable Steps

After all the preparations, now you are ready to make your own Ethernet cable. Follow these DIY Ethernet cable steps and you will soon have your first self-made cable.

Step 1, measure the cable to the proper length you want. And don’t forget to add an inch or two because you may lose a bit of cable during the process. Then use the tool to cut down the cable.

DIY Ethernet Cable

Step 2, remove the outer jacket of the cable. A good way to do so is to cut lengthwise with snips or a knife along the side of the cable, away from yourself, about an inch toward the open end. Also leave an inch to an inch and a half if you are green hand.

strip-the-cable-jacket

Step 3, untwist and straighten the wires, then arrange the wires into the desired scheme order.

wire-the-cable-into-specific-order

Step 4, once your wires are in the correct order, trim the excess away. Only leave slightly less wire to be fit inside the RJ45 clip. And hold the wires in place with your fingers and insert them all at once into the data plug.

install-cable-into-plug

Step 5, place your data plug into your crimping tool and give it a firm squeeze. And you just finally complete your Ethernet cable.

cimp-data-plug

Conclusion

If condition permits, using the cable tester to test the Ethernet cable before installation is recommended. Getting this new skill, you will no more worry about the cable length, you can make them as long or as short as you want. Enjoy using your DIY Ethernet cable!

Related Article:

RJ45 Cat5e cable, How to Crimp It?

How to Wire Cat5e Ethernet Cable