A Few Questions about Gigabit Ethernet

[theonewhotried]

Hi everyone, While googleing cat6 i came upon these forums. I have read some posts but they lead to a few questions.

It seems that People can use cat 5e for gigabit speeds, Is there a real difference in throughput between cat 5e vs cat 6 for gigabit speeds.

If not am I to assume that all I would need would be a spool of some cat 5 and a gigabit switch/router?

say something on the order of a D-Link DGS-2208 (if better please name a good switch) plus some cat 5e.

Also Im going to assume cable quality matters, if so what would be the recommended.

Thanks for taking the time to read and *hopefully* respond to this.

 

[Mr. Chenevert]

Cat5e is sufficient for running gigabit speeds. Cat6 is a higher quality (better insulated) standard. Cat6 is not as flexible as cat5e and can be difficult to run in existing walls. If you are running cable in an existing building, I would recommend cat 5e.

I use 5e throughout my house and gigabit works perfectly.

 

[theonewhotried]

Thanks for the reply

Is there any recomendations on the switch then, ive seen the hp 1400 series switches that are pretty good but its a bit out of the price range. is the switch in my previous post good enough or is there a better recommendation in the $50 price range?

So something like this would be good for cable -> http://sewelldirect.com/Cat5e-Bulk-...=cse&cvsfa=1306&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=53572d39343134

 

[thiggins]

For practical purposes in a home network, all 8 port Gigabit switches provide equivalent performance. Buy on price, warranty and brand preference. Warranty could be the deciding factor, since Gig switches tend to have higher fail rates because they run hotter.

 

[stevech]

FYI
My first home/consumer gigE switch was a 5 port from Linksys. It ran hot. A couple of months of age and its power supply apparently went flakey - causing bizarre symptoms on my LAN. Until I realized it was the switch.

I doubt this is an isolated incident, since it ran so hot.

Reluctantly (I have been hosed by Netgear many times), I bought a Netgear 5 port. Runs cool. Several months, no problems.

 

[thiggins]

Reluctantly (I have been hosed by Netgear many times), I bought a Netgear 5 port. Runs cool. Several months, no problems.

Did you buy a plastic or "blue box" switch? The "blue boxes" are supposed to be business grade and built a bit better.

You definitely want a Gig switch with a heatsink. Check this slideshow of 8 port switches.

 

[theonewhotried]

thanks for the replys

Ill have to look at reviews of gigE switches but any suggestions on a good switch in the $50 price range? i realize this may be limiting my options so i can go a bit higher but not if i don't have to.

What about the cabling options , any good po# or brand that you have used in the past im not looking to go crazy here just to use for a home gigE network

*** Edit ***
After looking around im seriously considering the gs108 from netgear, im going to look through a few more reviews on the switch before i make my decision

 

[00Roush]

I think both the D-Link DGS-2208 and the Netgear GS108 would be good choices. I have a DGS-2208 that has worked great for the 2-3 years I have had it. Most recently I bought a Netgear GS108T and so far it has worked great.

00Roush

 

[stevegarvey]

Hi there, I've used loads of unmanaged Netgear GS605/GS608 and ProSafe GS105 ("blue box") switches and have never had one second's trouble with any of them.

I've also had generally great experience with D-Link's DGS-1005D/DGS-1008D/E "green" switches, although a power supply did go on one of them but was replaced under warranty.

I've always used Belden (www.belden.com) low smoke CAT-5e cable for any jobs I've done and have found it to be great.