Recommend a good quality networking cable.

[WinServer2012]

Hi Everyone,

Quite a while ago, I installed rj45 cabling in my home. At the time I wasn't too fussed about the LAN speeds, but recently with more and more need for a proper networking solution, I noticed that even though all my devices are can handle gigabit, I'm actually only connecting as 100mbps. I have done all the diagnostics that I could think of, including connecting the computers directly, so it seems that it comes down to the cable wiring quality.

I'm going to be honest and say at the time I didn't think much and bought a cheap ethernet cable which I assembled myself, so I think it's simply rubbish quality.

Now could you please recommend me a reasonably high-quality cat6 or preferably a cat6a cable that won't give me slow speeds of 100mbps? I need two lengths of 10mtrs and 15mtrs.

[peterb]

The throughput will not reach 1Gb/s in real life regardless of the cable quality. There are lots of factors that affect throughput, network loading, the capabilities of the equipment beind the port to name but two.

Most active devices have two lights on them to indicate the port speed, are you getting indications of a 1Gb/s connection?

Are you looking for patch cables with RJ45 plugs or backbone to link two RJ45 sockets?

[Dareos]

As you say quite a while ago...., have you then installed cat 5 cable which has a max of 100Mbps, rather than cat 5e, with 1GBps or even Cat 6 with a theoretical 10Gbps.

All the goodwill in the world cant make a cable carry more data than its rated for.

[Dareos]

Theres lots of suppliers of networking cables, a quick check on Amazon, maplin, scan or ebuyer etc should get you decent cable, as its all supplied to a standard then it should all be fairly similar (unless you want oxygen free, gold plated connectors with titanium clips, in which case i know a guy selling a bridge...)

[WinServer2012]

Thank you for your reply guys.

I think I might have found my problem. The cable I've got has writing on it that says CAT6E...surely the only real cable is a CAT6A??? I bought this cable cheaply on ebay and it might be a rubbish china brand. I'm not fussed whether the cable wiring has connectors or not as I've already got crimping tools and spare connectors. What I want is a recommendation of good/high quality thick cable that is future proof, so minimum must be a CAT6 and is not going to cost the earth for approx 20mtrs length.

@peterb - The router is shows two colours - orange = 100mbps and green = 1gbps. Mine is showing as orange, but as said above it might be that the cable is a crappy china brand and does not meet any quality requirements.

@ My cable says cat6e and was bought from ebay, so must be one of these cheapy china makes.

[shaithis]

Cat6e is extra shielded for 10G. It should be fine unless it was made incorrectly
When you connected the PCs directly, did you force GBe speeds on both machines and what happened?

[WinServer2012]

When connected directly, the speed is forced down to 100mbps, even though 1gbps full duplex is selected.

Sorry, but can you please clarify...are you trying to tell me that ALL ethernet cables are the same and there is no such thing as a premium quality cable?

[peterb]

Over the length you specify, cat5e will be fine. I usually buy mine from RS, but that is in long lengths. You could try screw fix. Use solid cores for socket wiring, stranded for plugs.

You need to use all 8 cores for Gb speeds, and they must be terminated correctly. If you are only showing orange lights, then the connection speed is limited, and your throughput will be lower any way.

[WinServer2012]

Thank you peterb. Your absolutely spot on that the 5e ethernet cable can handle 1gbit speed, but as you can understand, I still prefer paying a little extra for the Cat6 as with technology moving so fast, you never know when it may become a standard to have speeds of 10gbits very soon.

Could I please ask for a favour? Being an amateur, I don't know what is solid or stranded. Could you give me a direct link to an ethernet cable on sale that you can recommend?

Also what's all this utp/shielded etc terms? which one is the right one for me?

EDIT: What do you think of this? :- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duronic-CAT6...=duronic+cat6a

[peterb]

Solid cable has one conductor in each core as is generally used for installed wiring where it won't be disturbed. Nit is slightly cheaper than stranded, but is less flexible.

Stranded cable has each core made up of several finer stands. It is more flexible than solid core, and is usually used for patch or drop cables.

Cat5e will work at higher speeds than 1Gb/s, but over shorter lengths. If you are that worried about future proofing, then consider fibre! Cat 6a will only give optimum performance if it is correctly and carefully terminated, bend radii are observed, and the cable is not pinched or deformed. Doing any of those things (even with cat5e will impair the transmission characteristics.

As far as I can tell. The cable you have linked to will probably be OK. You can ignore the gold hype though!

Shielded cable is used in electrically noisy environments and over long runs. In a domestic environment it is usually not necessary, but there is no harm using it, although to get the benefit

[WinServer2012]

Thank you peter. I will order the one on Amazon. Knowing todays tech world, things are moving pretty rapidly and I got a feeling the 1gb/s speed will be what cat 5 is today, so it's worth investing...I mean £7.99 for 15m cat6a isn't a huge amount to invest in the first place, lol!

[probedb]

Are you sure it's anything at all to do with the cable? I had a dodgy switch that when run with another switch refused to connect at 1Gbps even though everything on the network was 1Gbps so it stuck at 100Mbps. When I got a better switch it was fine and everything connected at 1Gbps.

[WinServer2012]

Are you sure it's anything at all to do with the cable? I had a dodgy switch that when run with another switch refused to connect at 1Gbps even though everything on the network was 1Gbps so it stuck at 100Mbps. When I got a better switch it was fine and everything connected at 1Gbps.

The way I've setup my home network is a 4-port broadband router is connected to various devices (1st pc, smart tv, ps3 etc) and also an 8-port switch as I ran out of ports on the router. From this switch, I've got a 2nd pc connected at the moment. Other than the smart tv, all equipment is 1gbit ethernet.

Now whist wired to the switch, the pc constantly showed that it was connected at 1gbit, so I can safely rule out any issues with the switch. I then checked the back of the router and this showed that 2 ports on the router were orange 100mbit (smart tv & 2nd pc). I removed the switch and now connected the pc directly to the router, but it still connected at 100mbit. I then got another shorter ethernet cable as I didn't have any that ran such a long length and moved the pc closer to the router. This time the pc connected at full 1gbit connection.

From this it sounds like the problem is the ethernet cable and not the equipment, hence my reason for ordering a new one.

[WinServer2012]

UPDATE:

I've received the Duronic Cat6A ethernet cable (15m) and WOW! what a MASSIVE improvement! I used to get only a max of 11mb/sec lan transfer. But it's now on average around 85mb/sec, but on most occasions it exceeds the 100mb/sec !!!





The duronic cable compared to the old one is of very high quality and thick like a coaxial/satellite cable.

Originally I was worried that it might be the tp-link switch, but that fear was unfounded as this cable has resolved all issues.

I hope this helps and I highly recommend this cable for it's value for money.

I want to thank everyone for their advice and help.

[Dareos]

Glad you have it working mate, and nice one with the actual troubleshooting before splashing cash on a fix that might not have been a fix

[WinServer2012]

No problems Dareos. Thanks again