[kwlug-disc] CAT6 - worthwhile? [Was: Re: Powerline networking - viable?]

Fri Oct 25 16:57:17 EDT 2013

Personally I think any new installation should use Cat 6. It's only
marginally more expensive than 5e but could future-proof your house a
little more. That said 5e will perform very well in a house since runs tend
to be short and will work in cases where Cat 6 is supposedly required. The
way I look at it is that the time spend installing is the the most
expensive cost (even when done yourself) so using a higher grade cable
future-proofs so you can avoid pulling everything out and re-doing cable.
Sometimes I'll use 5e jacks because those are easier to replace.

I prefer using cable because a switched network is far superior to a shared
media network like wifi or powerline and it's nearly impossible to
interfere with a discrete cabled network from outside the house.

Pulling the cable can be a bit of an art form. You need some tools like
long drill bits (4' bits for example), punch-down tools and a tester. Cheap
ones are available so you don't have to break your budget. The most common
way of running a cable is to first cut a receptacle-sized hole in the wall
and then drilling through the floor inside the wall cavity. This is
assuming the area underneath is unfinished, or that you want to cut a hole
in the wall below as well, say for an other jack. This is where the 4'
drill comes in handy. A fish-tape can be pushed through the hole you made
and the cable, or a piece of twine pulled back.

On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 3:31 PM, Chris Irwin <chris at chrisirwin.ca> wrote:

> I didn't do conduit, but after each wall I labouriously fish cable
> through, I leave a guide string (which will hopefully stand the test of
> time).
>
> Discussions of upgrading from 5e to 6 aside, I added a docking station for
> my laptop on my desk: Do I buy a desktop switch, or run a second cable
> through the wall? Second cable is cheaper, and doesn't have a wall-wart.
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 3:11 PM, CrankyOldBugger <
> crankyoldbugger at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> If I had the money and the talents, I would put conduits in the house
>> instead of just pulling cable.  Then I'd be ready for whatever the next big
>> technology is, with a easy way to change out the existing cables.  But
>> alas, I have neither!
>>
>>
>>
>> On 25 October 2013 14:55, <peter_melse at gto.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, 25 Oct 2013 13:52:16 -0400, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> [Thanks very much John, excellent.]
>>>>
>>>> Re: CAT6
>>>>
>>>> I have always assumed there is no significant (home) benefit to CAT6
>>>> over CAT5e, particularly given the additional handling 'difficulties'
>>>> / cost, especially as I never expect to have any home equipment better
>>>> than 1 gigabit, full duplex even, to connect it to.
>>>>
>>>> Have I assumed incorrectly in terms of benefits?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 13-10-25 09:26 AM, John Van Ostrand wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have two pairs at home, not the av speeds, slower. They work but not
>>>>> always
>>>>> flawlessly they tend to get warm so they suck a fair amount of energy.
>>>>>
>>>>> They have some drawbacks. They don't work across a transformer. Which
>>>>> usually
>>>>> isn't a problem unless you're trying to connect to a neighbour across
>>>>> the
>>>>> street. This also means that interference from a neighbour's powerline
>>>>> adapters
>>>>> is possible. And interloping is too.
>>>>>
>>>>> When you use more than one you are effectively setting up a shared
>>>>> media, unlike
>>>>> a switch. More like a hub or wifi access point.
>>>>>
>>>>> Also like wifi it's not easy to get the full bandwidth because like
>>>>> shared media
>>>>> collisions happen.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now that we are down to two in use (from four) they seem to operate
>>>>> well for
>>>>> Internet use. I'd be wary of pumping a lot of data across them, like a
>>>>> backup.
>>>>>
>>>>> The ones I have (dlink from years ago) have a password protect option.
>>>>> I bet
>>>>> this means a neighbour would have to spend 15 or 20 minutes to crack
>>>>> the security.
>>>>>
>>>>> I originally purchased them as a stop gap. We bought a house and I
>>>>> needed time
>>>>> to wire it. These gave access during the months it took me to pull cat
>>>>> 6.
>>>>> *From: *unsolicited
>>>>> *Sent: *Thursday, October 24, 2013 7:11 PM
>>>>> *To: *Kwlug-Disc
>>>>> *Reply To: *KWLUG discussion
>>>>> *Subject: *[kwlug-disc] Powerline networking - viable?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Been minded that 'powerline' is out there, again. Poking about at
>>>>> Canada
>>>>> Computer, seems I see 3 manufacturers, D-Link, Netgear, Trendnet - no
>>>>> doubt all the same internals. Kits range from $55 - $100.
>>>>>
>>>>>   From a bit of poking, I see claims of gigabit ports, but further
>>>>> reading reveals max. 500 Mbps transmission. (And they wonder why people
>>>>> mistrust marketers. The info. may be factual, but ...) (Tag seems to be
>>>>> 'AV 500'.)
>>>>>
>>>>> Anyone have any experience with powerline / wisdom to share?
>>>>>
>>>>> - not trying to run multiple HD video streams, just get across a gym
>>>>> with very high ceilings that make a physical copper run problematic.
>>>>> One
>>>>> 1280x800 ip cam stream reliably coming full bore would be desired,
>>>>> though.
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>> In my (humble) opinion, it depends on if you forsee 802.3an (10gigabit
>>> ethernet) being used in the future consumer market. (at the rate these
>>> things seem to be moving, I'd count on it in the next 10 years, if the
>>> copper Ethernet standards remain attractive)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Chris Irwin
> <chris at chrisirwin.ca>
>
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>

-- 
John Van Ostrand
At large on sabbatical
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