Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between Cat5 and Cat6?
A: For cable runs up to 50ft, Cat6 is capable of 10Gbps vs. 1Gbps for Cat5e. If your business requires fast transmission speeds, Cat6 is the better choice. It's also important to note that for longer runs, Cat5e and Cat6 cables perform exactly the same, providing only a 1Gbps data transfer rate.
Q: Should I upgrade from Cat5e to Cat6?
A: Upgrading to Cat6 makes sense if the equipment on either end can be 10 Gbps. For example, the higher bandwidth would benefit core network connections between switches, routers, or bridges.
Q: What are the differences and advantages between shielded and unshielded types?
A: Unshielded: There is no shielding layer, and four pairs of transmission lines are intertwined to form a local area network, such as small and medium-sized enterprise data centers. Advantages: Cheap and easy to install. Disadvantages: Unable to shield more electromagnetic interference.
Shielded: There is an internal shielding layer. The shielding layer refers to aluminum foil and braided mesh. Advantages: Shielding electromagnetic interference and signal noise; good confidentiality performance; higher transmission rate than similar UTP cables.
Q: Is WiFi faster than Ethernet?
A: An Ethernet connection is generally faster than a WiFi connection and provides greater reliability and security. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is slower and more prone to interference but offers a lot of flexibility and freedom of movement.