[c-nsp] GE over copper port adapter for a 7206VXR

[Adrian Chadd]

On Wed, Oct 10, 2007, Masood Ahmad Shah wrote:
> Not Cat5... You need to have Cat 5e or Cat 6... Simple Cat 5 will not work
> for 1000BaseT

I'm sure it works, just not as well as you think..

Quoting Gigabit Ethernet article from Wikipedia (of course, its Wikipedia, so its
not an authoritative source. Does someone have a spec sheet?)

IEEE 802.3ab, ratified in 1999, defines gigabit Ethernet transmission over unshielded twisted pair (UTP) category 5, 5e, or 6 cabling and became known as 1000BASE-T. With the ratification of 802.3ab, gigabit Ethernet became a desktop technology as organizations could utilize their existing copper cabling infrastructure.

and:

1000BASE-T (also known as IEEE 802.3ab) is a standard for gigabit Ethernet over copper wiring. It requires, at a minimum, Category 5 cable (the same as 100BASE-TX), but Category 5e ("Category 5 enhanced") and Category 6 cable may also be used and are often recommended. 1000BASE-T requires all four pairs to be present and is far less tolerant of poorly installed wiring than 100BASE-TX.

I know it works with my not-home-made sub-3-metre cat5 (non -e) cables from
an intel gige to a small gigabit ethernet switch. YMMV. (ObNote: I do suggest
Cat5e as a minimum to my clients and try to "educate" on Cat6..)


Adrian