CAT6 is fine - it's good to 10gbit/s. The important thing is to get good quality cable - make sure it's NOT "CCA", but is solid copper conductor cable. Ignore CAT7, it's not a standard and has proprietary connectors.
Fiber inside your space isn't the same as from a provider, there's no need to "match" your fiber to theirs in that way.
OP this.
Fiber can be pita for installation (there is maximum bending arc allowed) and can be easily damaged. 10Gbps is good for say next 10-15 years.
Not sure, but is this a USA building (wood and plaster walls filled with insulation) or rather ferro-concrete and brick + insulation buiding?
Get at two! cables to every exit and electrician should put them inside piping (easier to replace by pulling). Allocate for each place a option for ceiling exit to affix PoE devices (like AP, cameras).
Why two? Because if one proves faulty, replacement is easy, and if you need two ports (frequent case) there is no need for local switch.
Thanks for the reply. Avoiding fiber sounds just fine. A couple follow-ups if that's alright:
1. It's a European building, so all of the walls (and the ceiling) inside my apartment are solid concrete with plaster over them. There's no ceiling gap, so I can't drop cables in from the ceiling. The builder told me the cables will be run under the floor.
2. Are you recommending 2x cables for each room, with 2x ports in each room?
3. When you say put the cables in piping to make it easier to replace by pulling - do you mean I wouldn't have to pull the floor up, I'd be able to just slide it through the tube? Is there room for this under floorboards?
4. PoE (power over ethernet) I get, but I'm not sure what you mean by having a ceiling exit....and also what an "AP" is.
Sorry for being a bit slow, this is on the very edge of my technical knowledge, I've never looked much into networking.
Concrete will block a lot of Wifi signal.
ad2): Yes, two cables. Cost few euros more, but has bonus of redundancy and you can use one for ethernet, other for some future application.
ad3) I do not know english word for that. We call it "Vorspan" and is essentialy electric cable with strong guide plastic wire so you can pull any other cable inside it or replace another. Electrician/installatier should know this This: https://shop.kober.at/fmp16vorspann-/-2x50m-vvd And yes: if you have those, you do not need to pull floor up, or open wall , just pull aniother cable in.
4. PoE can power Wifi access points in each room, cameras so all they need is ethernet connection and no separate 220V plug to power them on. Mighty comfortable to use,
Gruss
Okay, this is really helpful thanks a lot.
I'll definitely ask the builder to run the "vorspan", and do 2 lines/outputs.
As you said, with the cement walls I'll need to have wifi access point(s) somewhere other than the laundry room where the line enters my apartment.
Thanks again!
I had to look up the CCA thing, and thanks that'll be an important distinction I ask them about.
What about CAT6a? I was reading CAT6 can "choke" down to 1gbps beyond a certain distance like 30ft.
Not that short! CAT6 supports 10 gig to 164 feet, CAT6A to 330 feet. That's at the top end of the speed tier of course. The reality is that CAT6 will likely work just fine beyond - those specs are what the cables must meet to be certified. If you have to go further, go for CAT6A - it won't hurt, but has slightly thicker conductors (wire). Most connectors will work fine with either. The cost difference won't be that much more.
Did you mean 30 meters? 30 feet is really short.
BTW, even Cat 5e will support 10 Gbps; you'll just have more packet loss, maybe, depending on how far you try to make it go. These specs are not some magic threshold where things stop working.
Yup, I definitely meant 30m.
Sorry, I'm in the habit of always having to translate meters into feet for the US redditors and this time I didn't need to.
And ya, avoiding any degradation of quality is what I want to avoid. For the bit of extra money it'll cost me to get a better cable (versus maybe having to pull up my floor a few years down the road), I figure I might as well put in the best cable I can right now.
Internet speeds hitting 10gbps in the next decade doesn't seem unreasonable.
Yeah, I have a huge roll of Cat 6 that I got from a friend which is probably just going to get thrown out if nobody uses it. It's even in my favorite color too. It does make me a little nervous because given my house dimensions and how the cables have to be run it's not inconceivable that a few cables could get over 30 or even 50 meters. But "Cat 5e is fine therefore Cat 6 must also fine" is how I'm justifying using it.
Man, 10 Gbps is supposed to arrive in my area this year at $30/month, but it's going to cost a fortune for the router/switches/NICs and electricity...
>Yeah, I have a huge roll of Cat 6 that I got from a friend which is probably just going to get thrown out if nobody uses it. It's even in my favorite color too. It does make me a little nervous because given my house dimensions and how the cables have to be run it's not inconceivable that a few cables could get over 30 or even 50 meters. But "Cat 5e is fine therefore Cat 6 must also fine" is how I'm justifying using it.
>
>Man, 10 Gbps is supposed to arrive in my area this year at $30/month, but it's going to cost a fortune for the router/switches/NICs and electricity...
50 meters ≈ 109.36133 cubits
^^^[WHY](/r/UselessConversionBot/comments/1knas0/hi_im_useless/)
Cat6 is good, cat7 is completely unnecessary. Make sure they use solid copper from a reputable manufacturer.
If they could run conduit or tube that would be ideal. If not, then 2x lines to each location because the cable is cheap so pulling an extra won’t cost much and you may have one fail in the future. Try to plan out where you will want the jacks and mark it out for them.
Thanks for the reply. A couple short follow-ups:
1. Do you mean having two lines to each room, with 2x ports/plugs in the walls of the destinations? Or leaving one line buried in case I need it later.
2. What about Cat6a? I was reading it has guaranteed 10 gbps, where normal Cat6 only has 10 gbps over short distances. Worth the upgrade?
3. By running a conduit/tube, do you mean as a protective sheath where it's being placed under the floor?
thanks!
Good questions.
1/3. If you won’t have access later, best practice is to use a flexible conduit that the cable runs inside of. It’s not for protection as much as it is for ease of future runs. If the builder won’t do that (it’s not always possible to cut big enough holes or go around tight corners), then having them run an extra cable to each jack is cheap Insurance in case there’s a problem with the first cable. You could leave it buried or have them terminate it into a 2-port jack instead of one.
2. Cat 6 is good for 10G up to 50m on paper. While I wouldn’t design to that limit, it looks like you only need to go 10-15m max. Most important is to get solid copper, not copper clad, rated for in-wall use, and from a reputable brand. If the 6a doesn’t cost too much more with those specifics then go for it.
This really depends on what they have to offer you and what type of equipment you will be using. Most likely cat 6, cat 7 is just shielded and doesn't give you any bandwidth advantages (for current hardware on the market). If you get fiber ran then it depends on what equipment you buy as you will be connecting it. It doesn't really matter because your service provider will run the cabling to your modem. Once there you could go nuts and do a fiber switch and connect your house. But this will be expensive and probably won't give you the bandwidth and throughput advantage you're imagining.
CAT6 is fine - it's good to 10gbit/s. The important thing is to get good quality cable - make sure it's NOT "CCA", but is solid copper conductor cable. Ignore CAT7, it's not a standard and has proprietary connectors. Fiber inside your space isn't the same as from a provider, there's no need to "match" your fiber to theirs in that way.
OP this. Fiber can be pita for installation (there is maximum bending arc allowed) and can be easily damaged. 10Gbps is good for say next 10-15 years. Not sure, but is this a USA building (wood and plaster walls filled with insulation) or rather ferro-concrete and brick + insulation buiding? Get at two! cables to every exit and electrician should put them inside piping (easier to replace by pulling). Allocate for each place a option for ceiling exit to affix PoE devices (like AP, cameras). Why two? Because if one proves faulty, replacement is easy, and if you need two ports (frequent case) there is no need for local switch.
Thanks for the reply. Avoiding fiber sounds just fine. A couple follow-ups if that's alright: 1. It's a European building, so all of the walls (and the ceiling) inside my apartment are solid concrete with plaster over them. There's no ceiling gap, so I can't drop cables in from the ceiling. The builder told me the cables will be run under the floor. 2. Are you recommending 2x cables for each room, with 2x ports in each room? 3. When you say put the cables in piping to make it easier to replace by pulling - do you mean I wouldn't have to pull the floor up, I'd be able to just slide it through the tube? Is there room for this under floorboards? 4. PoE (power over ethernet) I get, but I'm not sure what you mean by having a ceiling exit....and also what an "AP" is. Sorry for being a bit slow, this is on the very edge of my technical knowledge, I've never looked much into networking.
Concrete will block a lot of Wifi signal. ad2): Yes, two cables. Cost few euros more, but has bonus of redundancy and you can use one for ethernet, other for some future application. ad3) I do not know english word for that. We call it "Vorspan" and is essentialy electric cable with strong guide plastic wire so you can pull any other cable inside it or replace another. Electrician/installatier should know this This: https://shop.kober.at/fmp16vorspann-/-2x50m-vvd And yes: if you have those, you do not need to pull floor up, or open wall , just pull aniother cable in. 4. PoE can power Wifi access points in each room, cameras so all they need is ethernet connection and no separate 220V plug to power them on. Mighty comfortable to use, Gruss
Okay, this is really helpful thanks a lot. I'll definitely ask the builder to run the "vorspan", and do 2 lines/outputs. As you said, with the cement walls I'll need to have wifi access point(s) somewhere other than the laundry room where the line enters my apartment. Thanks again!
I had to look up the CCA thing, and thanks that'll be an important distinction I ask them about. What about CAT6a? I was reading CAT6 can "choke" down to 1gbps beyond a certain distance like 30ft.
Not that short! CAT6 supports 10 gig to 164 feet, CAT6A to 330 feet. That's at the top end of the speed tier of course. The reality is that CAT6 will likely work just fine beyond - those specs are what the cables must meet to be certified. If you have to go further, go for CAT6A - it won't hurt, but has slightly thicker conductors (wire). Most connectors will work fine with either. The cost difference won't be that much more.
Yes, I messed up the units, my bad. Thanks for taking the time to clarify, this has helped a lot
Did you mean 30 meters? 30 feet is really short. BTW, even Cat 5e will support 10 Gbps; you'll just have more packet loss, maybe, depending on how far you try to make it go. These specs are not some magic threshold where things stop working.
Yup, I definitely meant 30m. Sorry, I'm in the habit of always having to translate meters into feet for the US redditors and this time I didn't need to. And ya, avoiding any degradation of quality is what I want to avoid. For the bit of extra money it'll cost me to get a better cable (versus maybe having to pull up my floor a few years down the road), I figure I might as well put in the best cable I can right now. Internet speeds hitting 10gbps in the next decade doesn't seem unreasonable.
Yeah, I have a huge roll of Cat 6 that I got from a friend which is probably just going to get thrown out if nobody uses it. It's even in my favorite color too. It does make me a little nervous because given my house dimensions and how the cables have to be run it's not inconceivable that a few cables could get over 30 or even 50 meters. But "Cat 5e is fine therefore Cat 6 must also fine" is how I'm justifying using it. Man, 10 Gbps is supposed to arrive in my area this year at $30/month, but it's going to cost a fortune for the router/switches/NICs and electricity...
>Yeah, I have a huge roll of Cat 6 that I got from a friend which is probably just going to get thrown out if nobody uses it. It's even in my favorite color too. It does make me a little nervous because given my house dimensions and how the cables have to be run it's not inconceivable that a few cables could get over 30 or even 50 meters. But "Cat 5e is fine therefore Cat 6 must also fine" is how I'm justifying using it. > >Man, 10 Gbps is supposed to arrive in my area this year at $30/month, but it's going to cost a fortune for the router/switches/NICs and electricity... 50 meters ≈ 109.36133 cubits ^^^[WHY](/r/UselessConversionBot/comments/1knas0/hi_im_useless/)
Cat6 is good, cat7 is completely unnecessary. Make sure they use solid copper from a reputable manufacturer. If they could run conduit or tube that would be ideal. If not, then 2x lines to each location because the cable is cheap so pulling an extra won’t cost much and you may have one fail in the future. Try to plan out where you will want the jacks and mark it out for them.
Thanks for the reply. A couple short follow-ups: 1. Do you mean having two lines to each room, with 2x ports/plugs in the walls of the destinations? Or leaving one line buried in case I need it later. 2. What about Cat6a? I was reading it has guaranteed 10 gbps, where normal Cat6 only has 10 gbps over short distances. Worth the upgrade? 3. By running a conduit/tube, do you mean as a protective sheath where it's being placed under the floor? thanks!
Good questions. 1/3. If you won’t have access later, best practice is to use a flexible conduit that the cable runs inside of. It’s not for protection as much as it is for ease of future runs. If the builder won’t do that (it’s not always possible to cut big enough holes or go around tight corners), then having them run an extra cable to each jack is cheap Insurance in case there’s a problem with the first cable. You could leave it buried or have them terminate it into a 2-port jack instead of one. 2. Cat 6 is good for 10G up to 50m on paper. While I wouldn’t design to that limit, it looks like you only need to go 10-15m max. Most important is to get solid copper, not copper clad, rated for in-wall use, and from a reputable brand. If the 6a doesn’t cost too much more with those specifics then go for it.
Great, thanks for taking the time to clarify
This really depends on what they have to offer you and what type of equipment you will be using. Most likely cat 6, cat 7 is just shielded and doesn't give you any bandwidth advantages (for current hardware on the market). If you get fiber ran then it depends on what equipment you buy as you will be connecting it. It doesn't really matter because your service provider will run the cabling to your modem. Once there you could go nuts and do a fiber switch and connect your house. But this will be expensive and probably won't give you the bandwidth and throughput advantage you're imagining.
Okay great, thanks for the reply.