There was a time when the internet was a fascinating concept. Literally, it meant interconnected network and that was all. Before the possibilities of the interconnected network were explored and eventually expanded, you got one cable: the Ethernet cable that plugged into your massive desktop computer. And to do so, you had to unplug off all other communication to your house.

Fortunately, things changed, computers got smaller and portable and so did the internet. Let’s get a deeper insight into the history of the internet and how our way of living has changed because of it:

Dial up connection:

The beginning of the internet was complicated. If you had a landline connection in your house, you had to use the same cable to plug into your computer to get on the internet. The caveats were plenty: disconnection in the landline and therefore defunct; expensive internet data, not to mention the whole thing was slow!

However, what this internet brought was a completely different way of communication. Online communities were born and it gave rise to the internet culture. People met in chat rooms, developed relationships, and networked with like-minded people.

Modem-router connection:

Once the internet established a place in houses, the attempt was to make it simpler, better and more accessible to as many people as possible.

This change came alongside the miniaturization of computers. They became more portable in the form of laptops which became more accessible by the general public. People started knowing how to plug in an Ethernet cable to get on the internet.

This meant that people also started putting things on the internet like music, movies, books, information of all kinds, etc. This brought a disruption in not only the technology but also in a variety of other industries.

Doing homework for kids was easier, communicating with someone across the globe was far cheaper and seamless than before. Most of all, this was not limited to offices and didn’t require a deep understanding of technology. It was for the average consumer.

WIFI:

The next shift came with the invention of the Wireless network. Once laptops became popular, it was unpopular to sit in a place just to use it. Wi-Fi made moving around with a laptop, while still using the internet, possible. You still had to connect your modem or router to the internet line in the house via an Ethernet cable, but at least you were free to move around.

Since anything wired has better connectivity than wireless, this required improvements to the cables in use. The wiring in the houses had to be with better, newer Ethernet cables, like the cat4, cat5, cat5e cable, and cat 6a cable. The latest one was enough for all industries to leverage the internet.

Now that the basics are covered and we are moving towards constant connectivity, streaming high-resolution movies and games, and cloud architecture, the demands of the average user’s internet have shifted again.

The wiring in the houses needs to be with cat 7 cable or cat 8 ethernet cable, and you also need to use that on your routers and modems. Even if your house doesn’t need this advanced speed, if you are rewiring the house, it is better to future proof it.

Mesh WIFI:

The next best thing to happen to consumer accessible internet, since Wi-Fi was mesh network Wi-Fi. Its main use is to eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones that can happen in a house. The bigger your house, the more difficult it is to get decent Wi-Fi coverage in all parts of it.

With the mesh Wi-Fi system connected to a cat 7 cable or a cat 8 ethernet cable, you can experience seamless internet connectivity in all areas of your house. Not only that, but your device will also be handed off from one node or zone to another as you move through the house.

If you use the internet only on your phones and laptops, you can make do with cat5e cable and cat 6a cable, but if you want to turn your home into a smart home that has multiple IoT devices that need to run on fast internet, you should splurge for the more expensive, top tire Ethernet cables.

Last Words

The coming enhancement of the internet is 5G connectivity. It promises almost no lag and negligible ping time in the cloud-computing era that we currently live in. But it is still a couple of years out. So, if you want to get the best internet experience right now, you can do so by upgrading your cables, and devices.

When it comes to consumer technology there is always a balance you need to find: use what’s most comfortable for you while also making sure that the device you are buying is future proof for at least more than a couple of years.

5G connectivity will change the internet and once again, the way we use it. For the foreseeable future, Ethernet cables are here to stay and therefore we’ve stocked them at SF Cable. Browse from our wide selection, and contact us if you need more information about which cable is right for your use.

Source: https://www.sfcable.com/blog/brief-history-internet/

Supposedly, you have to install data cables for your newly built house. But don’t have any clue about them. And we all know that it can get overwhelming with the variety of ethernet cables available in the market such as Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7, cat8, and so on.

So, if you are selecting the cable for your place then it is important to understand their features and capabilities.

Presently, Cat 7 and Cat 8 cables are marking their presence in the market with their efficiency and compatibilities with other ports. And complicated questions are bound to arise like if using Cat 8 with standard Cat 7 would work or not.

To answer such questions before they arise, let’s understand Cat 7 and Cat 8 in details including their main differentiating point.

Category 7 cable known as a Cat7 or Cat-7 cable is used to cable the infrastructure of Gigabit Ethernet. It offers up to 600MHz. A perfect choice to cable your smart home. After cabling, you can even check for the automation ideas. It supports high-speed ethernet communication up to 10 Gbps. These are backward compatible with Cat6, Cat5, and Cat5e categories. It provides a 100-meter 4-connector channel with shielded cabling. They require twisted wires to become a full shield system. Such systems are known as screen shielded twisted pair (SSTP) or screened foiled twisted pair (SFTP) wiring. It eliminates alien cross-talk with improved noise resistance. It allows users to get higher speeds with longer cables.

Category 8, Cat8 cable or Cat-8 cable is an ethernet cable which is a different type of cable standing apart from the previous cables. It supports a frequency of up to 2GHz(2000 MHz). It is limited up to the 30-meter 2-connector channel. It requires shielded cabling as well. The major point to consider is that it can support a speed of 35 Gbps or 40 Gbps. Overall, its physical appearance is similar to lower category cables. They terminate in RJ45 connections or non-RJ45 connections. It is compatible with all its backward versions. You can use it with the standard connectors of previous versions such as Cat-7.

While comparing these cables transmission frequency and cabling length are of great importance. Here is the detailed comparison:

Cat7 cable offers performance up to 600 MHz Whereas Cat8 offers up to 2000 MHz

The maximum cabling length of Cat 7 network is 100m with 10 Gbps. Whereas Cat8 is limited to 30m cabling length with 25 Gbps or 40 Gbps.

If we consider pricing, Cat 8 cables are more expensive than other standards considering its unique features.

Both the cables have shielding cable construction. Cat 7 cable offers extensive shielding for reduced attenuation. And they require special GigaGate45 connectors to attain the full advantage of its higher performance features.

As Category 7 cables offer 1 100-meter 4-connector channel with shielded cabling, even if it operates at a higher frequency, there would be no improvement in data rate. Because 10GBase-T is still the fastest twisted pair-based data rate recognized by IEEE 802.3. Hence, even if a Category 7 cabling system is there in your network, any available active equipment would have limitations up to 10-Gbit/sec performance. It is not a recognized category by TIA.

Category 8 cables require shielded cabling. Unlike Cat5e to Cat6A, it does not come with an unshielded twisted pair. The most likely cable construction for Category 8 will be 22-AWG S/FTP cabling.

• Pros – Shielded with a higher operating frequency than Cat6a cables.
• Cons – They are a bit expensive. They require 40 to 60% more space to contain the cable and different connections. Their testing is trickier and requires modern test equipment. There is no real speed advantage over a good Cat6a system.

• Pros – The fastest copper network is available for any distance.
• Cons – Due to different connectors, they are not compatible with cat5e and cat 6 cables. These cables are expensive than the previous versions.

These cables are modern-day products designed to cable appropriate environments. Based on the feature comparison, you can pick your choice to make a that fits your requirement and helps you render maximum data speed.

Here is a detailed overview of the differences between Cat 7 and Cat 8 cables. Understand their features and their use cases for a high-speed network system. 

Still confused which cable to pick? Post your query in the comment section below and we’ll try our best to help you out.

We associate Internet speed with getting information faster, getting data faster.

IoT enabled smart home:

Gaming:

Ethernet cables are one of the most conventional forms of network cables used for internet networks. They provide a connection within local area networks like routers, switches, and PCs. Generally, they are practically indistinguishable despite their thickness. However, not all the Ethernet cables are the same.

This blog focuses more on the design aspect of Ethernet cables which is taken for granted many a time. For instance, the appropriate use of copper, benefits of twisted pairs for signal propagation, and how we can compare Cat 5 to Cat 6.

A Quick Tour of Ethernet Cable Making

You will find numerous types of Ethernet Cables in the market. For example, there are shielded, unshielded, 4 pair, 25 pair and many more.

The most basic Ethernet cable consists of 4 twisted pairs covered in an outer case. Other basic versions include a spline or star filler which helps in keeping the cable round. Secondly, there are other options available like ripcords and drain wires. Permanent wiring available in both stranded and solid conductor forms. While patch cables are usually stranded, it is advisable to not to bend the cable tighter than four times the outside diameter of the cable. Otherwise, there are chances of degraded performance.

These network cables are halogen-based, covered with polyethylene or PVC. Therefore, in case of fire, halogen-containing plastics release a poisonous gas that forms hydrochloric acid when it comes in contact with water. If you go for Halogen-free cables also known as low smoke zero halogens then these cables won’t produce such gas/acids or other toxic smoke when exposed to flame. Hence, these low smoke sheathing is getting popular.

Here are some of the listed benefits of halogen-free cables:

• Weight: It reduces overall cable network weight as they are light in weight.
• Eco-Friendly: As mentioned above there are less toxic chemicals used in construction. Thus, it impacts less downstream.

Some cables are made to combat outdoor UV radiation without possible degradation because they are “UV-rated” or “UV-stable”. Whereas, when non-UV stable cables come in direct contact with sunlight and other substances, it might make the cable jacket slightly greasy.

Coming to 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX which consists of two pairs data grade twisted-pair to operate. They are Located on pins 1 plus 2 and pins 3 plus 6. Because these two need only two pairs and Cat5e cables have four pairs. The extra pair can be used for PoE. However, 1000BASE-T requires all of those four pairs to operate.

Application of Copper in Cables

When it comes to choosing the conductor for conductive metal, Silver tends to be an ideal one as it contains electricity conductivity of 106% compared to the heated copper. Yet the high cost of silver combined with its low strength limits makes it appropriate for special applications such as joint plating and sliding conduct surfaces.

Copper used in Ethernet cables is not as good a conductor as aluminum. Comparing cubic densities of copper and aluminum, aluminum has 61% of the conductivity of copper. But one pound of aluminum has the same similar electrical conductivity compared to two pounds of copper. However, the decreased conductivity of aluminum means that for the same current capacity, aluminum conductor’s cross segment will be ~50% larger in comparison of copper. This makes copper better suited for applications where the place is a prime requirement. On the contrary, where conductor thickness is an advantage, copper is of rare use. Such as aerial electric power transmission cables.

After reading this major benefit of using copper in Ethernet cables, here are some other benefits of using copper in the next segment.

Benefits of using copper:

• Tensile Strength: Copper’s high strength is capable to confront stretching, creep, nicks and breaks. It reduces field failures and service obstacles.
• Ductility: It makes it easy to draw down to diameters with close tolerances. It doesn’t conflict with tensile strength. It means that Copper is just less vulnerable to break under tensile load than other conductors. Thermal Expansion: Copper has a low coefficient of thermal expansion. Aluminum expands about 30% more than copper. A higher degree of expansion, along with aluminum’s lower ductility is prone to electrical problems. Hence, copper makes for the best option.
• Resistance: Copper provides a safe layer from moisture, industrial pollution, and other components. Another differentiating factor is that oxides or other chemical compounds that form on copper are conductive. Therefore, copper connections and terminations wouldn't overheat due to increased conductor resistance.
• Strength: Usually, high density of metal is important. As it determines the bending ability of metal. However, with metal, high strength and high ductility make copper a proper choice for Ethernet wiring.

After having an overview of the design and construction side of the Ethernet cables, let’s have a quick look into what are the other factors to look if you are choosing to buy the network cables.

The major difference between network cables is the normal conductor gauge. Cat 5e cables or Cat 5 cables use 24-26 AWG wire. While Cat6/6a cables use slight larger conductors of 22-24 AWG. Therefore, Cat 6 cables have high rated operating frequency. Another aspect to consider is the maximum length of the cable run. If you are using it for 10/100/1000BASE-T, the maximum allowed length for Cat 6 cable is 100 meters. For 10GBASE-T Cat6 cable’s maximum length is 55 meters or less.

In a Nutshell:

There are many factors that affect the choice one makes while buying the network cable. To make the right choice, one has to first understand his needs and requirements. This way one can make the best of these cables.

This post is originally posted here: https://www.sfcable.com/blog/ethernet-cable-construction-know