Been a dream project for years but when I first explored it a decade ago, cat6 was still new and expensive, and wasn’t recommended because “who needs internet that fast”.
I remember being told (on Reddit) that the only difference between Cat5 and Cat6 is the shielding in the insulation, and that it wouldn’t affect speeds at all. Shit fucking doubled my speeds!
Many people find Ethernet confusing.
CAT6 and CAT5e are very similar, but standard CAT5 can not do above 100mbps duplex. 5e can, but isn’t tested for 1000mbps duplex, whereas CAT6 is designed specifically for that speed.
CAT6 doesn’t actually need to have shielding to be CAT6 but in the early days it was a common way to meet the standards.
The biggest difference is actually the connectors. You need CAT6 RJ45 to make a CAT6 cable. 5e cable with a 6 connector works better than CAT6 cable with a CAT5 RJ45 in my own testing.
CAT5 connectors have pins that all line up straight across, CAT6 has staggered pins. This staggering helps prevent crosstalk between the wires.
CAT8 is the current newest standard, and I am not brushed up on the standards specs yet.
CAT7 was never made official, manufacturers made it ahead of time and it might be a little better than 6 but it almost never meets 8 standards, and is about the same price.
Cat7 doesn’t use RJ45 connectors, so it’s not useful for residential use. Any Cat7 with RJ45 connectors is fake.
Cat8 isn’t worth it for residential usage, and IMO 6A isn’t worth it either. Cat6 will do 10Gbps. For anything faster than 10Gbps, I’d use fiber. It’s similar in big data centers - they almost always use Cat6, Cat6A, and fiber (for 25Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps connections). No Cat7 or Cat8 or anything like that.
The one place I’d always use fiber instead of Cat6, regardless of distance, is when connecting to a different building. There’s risks with lightning strikes, ground loops, etc that fiber avoids since it’s just light.
When you’re renovating that expense is relative imo. And the cable is relatively cheap imo. Nice wall sockets for them are super expensive though. 200 euro or thereabouts for 500m of cat6, but 20 euro per outlet pair adds up. Definitely still worth it, because like expected there’s more stuff to connect.
As somebody who does networking for a jerb, you are getting ripped off if you are paying $20 USD for a CAT6 wall plate. What you want to get is punch down keystones and a keystone wall plate, at least half the price. Maybe that’s what they cost at the hardware store though, I haven’t ever had to buy one from there. I order all mine.
I use these keystone jacks: https://a.co/d/2sl6M8I. A bit expensive ($60 for 50) but they’re toolless and work better than other toolless designs. Haven’t had any issues with them. You can likely find cheaper ones outside of Amazon.
For faceplates, I usually use some like these Legrand On-Q ones, which are usually $0.99 each: https://a.co/d/ieAqlSq
I use keystone blanks to cover the unused ports (eg like these: https://a.co/d/3JYTdAq). I initially only had Ethernet near my TV, but I added HDMI too (using keystones like these: https://a.co/d/bknAVDc). Using the 6 port faceplate meant I didn’t have to replace the faceplate when routing the HDMI through the wall.
This is what I did. Grabbed UL certified faceplates and a bunch of keystones. Total outlay was probably $50 including drywall/Sheetrock mounting brackets.
I went all out with Cat6A. I have some 10Gbps capabilities with my home lab, and although I currently do not have any 10GbE copper capable systems, I thought I’d try to go future proof.
My only regret is that I only went with riser grade cable - plenum was way too much, even for plain Cat6.
I literally just did this over the Christmas break. The drywall mounting outlets are a game changer.
My house came with a convenient hole connecting my office to the basement so I just used that.
Incredible stuff! Cat6?
Been a dream project for years but when I first explored it a decade ago, cat6 was still new and expensive, and wasn’t recommended because “who needs internet that fast”.
I remember being told (on Reddit) that the only difference between Cat5 and Cat6 is the shielding in the insulation, and that it wouldn’t affect speeds at all. Shit fucking doubled my speeds!
Many people find Ethernet confusing.
CAT6 and CAT5e are very similar, but standard CAT5 can not do above 100mbps duplex. 5e can, but isn’t tested for 1000mbps duplex, whereas CAT6 is designed specifically for that speed. CAT6 doesn’t actually need to have shielding to be CAT6 but in the early days it was a common way to meet the standards. The biggest difference is actually the connectors. You need CAT6 RJ45 to make a CAT6 cable. 5e cable with a 6 connector works better than CAT6 cable with a CAT5 RJ45 in my own testing. CAT5 connectors have pins that all line up straight across, CAT6 has staggered pins. This staggering helps prevent crosstalk between the wires.
CAT8 is the current newest standard, and I am not brushed up on the standards specs yet. CAT7 was never made official, manufacturers made it ahead of time and it might be a little better than 6 but it almost never meets 8 standards, and is about the same price.
Cat7 doesn’t use RJ45 connectors, so it’s not useful for residential use. Any Cat7 with RJ45 connectors is fake.
Cat8 isn’t worth it for residential usage, and IMO 6A isn’t worth it either. Cat6 will do 10Gbps. For anything faster than 10Gbps, I’d use fiber. It’s similar in big data centers - they almost always use Cat6, Cat6A, and fiber (for 25Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps connections). No Cat7 or Cat8 or anything like that.
The one place I’d always use fiber instead of Cat6, regardless of distance, is when connecting to a different building. There’s risks with lightning strikes, ground loops, etc that fiber avoids since it’s just light.
I’m getting 10gbps over my 100ft 5e run. But iirc 33m/100ft is the max for that
When you’re renovating that expense is relative imo. And the cable is relatively cheap imo. Nice wall sockets for them are super expensive though. 200 euro or thereabouts for 500m of cat6, but 20 euro per outlet pair adds up. Definitely still worth it, because like expected there’s more stuff to connect.
As somebody who does networking for a jerb, you are getting ripped off if you are paying $20 USD for a CAT6 wall plate. What you want to get is punch down keystones and a keystone wall plate, at least half the price. Maybe that’s what they cost at the hardware store though, I haven’t ever had to buy one from there. I order all mine.
I use these keystone jacks: https://a.co/d/2sl6M8I. A bit expensive ($60 for 50) but they’re toolless and work better than other toolless designs. Haven’t had any issues with them. You can likely find cheaper ones outside of Amazon.
For faceplates, I usually use some like these Legrand On-Q ones, which are usually $0.99 each: https://a.co/d/ieAqlSq
I use keystone blanks to cover the unused ports (eg like these: https://a.co/d/3JYTdAq). I initially only had Ethernet near my TV, but I added HDMI too (using keystones like these: https://a.co/d/bknAVDc). Using the 6 port faceplate meant I didn’t have to replace the faceplate when routing the HDMI through the wall.
This is what I did. Grabbed UL certified faceplates and a bunch of keystones. Total outlay was probably $50 including drywall/Sheetrock mounting brackets.
I went all out with Cat6A. I have some 10Gbps capabilities with my home lab, and although I currently do not have any 10GbE copper capable systems, I thought I’d try to go future proof.
My only regret is that I only went with riser grade cable - plenum was way too much, even for plain Cat6.
Just run OM3 and you’ll be set for 100gbe!
By that point might as well go with OS2 and be set for 400gb+