About a year ago, I could tell that there were some things that needed to change at home. For starters, I felt really strangely about all the windows on my property, and I knew that I wanted to change them. I began going through and working to make things better, and it was really interesting to invest in technologies that were so beneficial. It made it easy to make sure that my doors were closed and that my windows were locked, and I was grateful for the new technology. This blog is all about home technologies that could help your family.
Are you ready to run wiring through your home or business, but not sure what type of cable to use? Here are a few things that you should know about CAT network cables.
CAT 5e
There are not a lot of original CAT 5 cables out there, with most cables these days being the next step up of CAT 5e. These are going to be your standard gigabit networking cable. Most devices are going to be compatible with using CAT 5e cables, such as Internet-enabled tech devices that accept a hardwired connection. CAT 5e cables are the cheapest CAT cables for those that are on a budget and just want devices to be hardwired to an Internet connection and not clog up their WiFi network. However, there are other types of CAT cables that may be a better investment in the long run.
CAT 6 and CAT 6a
There are multiple types of CAT 6 cables out there, with there also being a CAT 6a variant. CAT 6 seems to be the sweet spot in terms of price and functionality. The cable itself is fairly flexible but not as flexible as CAT 5e. Many people are able to create their own CAT 6 cables on their own if they have the right tools for the job. What makes CAT 6 an appealing type of networking cable is the additional bandwidth it can handle. CAT 6 is known as a 10-gigabit networking cable. Of course, there are limitations for that speed over a specific distance of cable, but it should not be a problem for most residential homes.
If you need 10-gigabit speeds over a longer distance, then you'll need to use a CAT 6a cable, which comes at a more premium price. The benefit of CAT 6a is that it is capable of running 10-gigabit networking over the cable's entire length. The downside of CAT 6a cables is that it is incredibly thick and hard to work with. You won't have the flexibility you have with CAT 5e or CAT 6 cables.
CAT 8
CAT 8 cables are going to be something that you will likely not need in your home, since they offer up to 40-gigabit speeds. They are often used for data centers that work with high data loads. It is often used as a more affordable alternative to fiber but is definitely overkill for home networking basic electronic devices.
For more information, contact a local network cabling service.
Share11 April 2022
