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| Thread ID: 27649 | 2002-11-27 10:25:00 | Cat 5 (or not) etc | brett_np (2649) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 101933 | 2002-11-27 10:25:00 | Hi, I have a PIII 550e based system and I'm about to get an Athlon2200+ system. Both systems have 10/100 Nics. I am also getting an 8 port 10/100 switch because I have an Ethernet ADSL router, using up my Nic port without the hub. As I understand this rules out a crossover cable. I will be using WIN XP Pro on the new system and Win ME or 98SE on the other. My question is about the cabling to network these systems. The two systems are in adjoining rooms. I've read a bit about structured cabling in homes but it really doesn't seem worth the effort/cost. Does seem though like I may as well use Cat 5 rather than Cat 3 cabling. Main purpose of the network is to share the ADSL connection but will also do some sharing of drives, devices, (scanner and printer) and LAN games. How do you install the cabling? Would any run of the mill electrician be able to do it well? Or would I be able to do it? I have installed an extra telephone jack in one of the rooms before. Would installing the Cat5 cabling be simply a matter of installing a wall jack in each room and running Cat5 between the jacks, with patch cables connecting the jacks to the PCs at either end? Probably very straightforward but I want get ot right first time so that I get the new system humming! Thanks, Brett |
brett_np (2649) | ||
| 101934 | 2002-11-27 10:43:00 | cat5e is cheap and easy to get. i'm not sure if you can get cat3. cat6 is advailable if you want something better than adverage. easy to do. hardest part is doing the conections. you can get the tools easy enough tho it might be cheaper/easier to pay soe one to connect it. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 101935 | 2002-11-27 10:51:00 | Hi Brett Yes, use Cat 5. The biggest cost is the punch-down tool to fit the cable to the sockets though. You really need to do it properly and I gave up on cheap tools and bought a good one from Jaycar. It is also important that you keep the leads really short and that's another reason for using the right tool. I wired throughout in Cat 5E on the basis that I might want to go faster one day and it was cheaper than ripping the walls out again Another option would be to buy long Cat 5 patchleads and make a hole in the floor/wall big enough to pass the plug through. I have a 30 metre lead from DSE that I use for proving suspect connections. Re Electricians, your run of the mill electrician might not be up to it, so I'd get one experienced in data if you decide to pay for the job, though it is far cheaper to buy the tool and do it yourself. Once you start, data cabling is infectious and I ended up with outlets everywhere including a ducted fed to my garage in case Mrs T banishes me for not coming to bed early enough. Oops, time to go! Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 101936 | 2002-11-27 11:07:00 | Definitely cat5 or cat5e, as tweak'e said you probably won't be able to get cat3 & you wouldn't want to anyway as it is only good for 16Mbps. Use STP (Shelded Twisted pair) if it is going to be close to any other electrical cables/devices etc. It will cost a wee bit more but will be worth it especially if you are hiding it in the walls. (Don't want to be pulling it out again because of interference) Forget cat6 as it is expensive & unreliable & you probably won't get any anyway. Dicky Smiths sell cable tool kits quite cheaply & there is a wealth of info on the net about cabling & home networks. Try these out. www.pcmech.com www.homenethelp.com |
Stumped Badly (348) | ||
| 101937 | 2002-11-27 11:25:00 | Thanks for both of these replies. They are helpful. I'll probably cross my fingers and have a go myself. One thing I would like to check. At www.coloradodsl.com it says: There are 3 common types of cabling: 1). Category 3 Twisted-Pair: Standard telephone wire which has 4 wires inside and uses the RJ-11 jack found in all homes. 2). Category 5 Twisted-Pair: Known as 10BaseT or Cat-5 and looks like ordinary telephone wire, except that it has 8 wires inside instead of 4 and plugs into a RJ-45 jack (like phone jacks...only larger). 3). Thin Coax: Known as 10Base2 and looks like the copper coaxial cable used to hook up your cable TV. It took this to mean that Cat 3 is the same as standard telephone wire, which would make it pretty easy to get. Is Cat 3 like standard telephone wire but with an extra 4 wires, or is it just standard telephone wire, (or is the site I have mentioned just plain wrong)? I have another "wild card" question that just occurred. I also have an old 486/66 with 32mb of RAM. Is there any point/advantage trying to use this for a dedicated print/file/net server? It runs OK on Win 95 but 85 doesn't have internet connection sharing. If I stick with ME on the 550e I would have a spare 98se licence but the 486 is pretty sluggish on 98. Cheers, Brett |
brett_np (2649) | ||
| 101938 | 2002-11-27 19:17:00 | Hi Billy T.This r-o-t-m sparky uses Cat 5 cable for wiring phone points in customers houses. :D |
Neil McC (178) | ||
| 101939 | 2002-11-27 20:44:00 | >Forget cat6 as it is expensive & unreliable unreliable ??? a lot of sparkys now wire phones with cat5. makes it easy for those who want 3 or 4 phone lines. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 101940 | 2002-11-27 20:46:00 | Hi. Not that I like advertising DSE's stuff, but all of their cat5 Jacks use a special system that doesn’t require a punch down tool, just lift up the cap, insert the wires, and push the cap down again, couldn’t be easier. Dse's network stuff can be found here: www.dse.co.nz BTW Don’t buy your cta5 cable off them, they are a rip-off! Cheers Liam |
nz_liam (845) | ||
| 101941 | 2002-11-28 00:58:00 | You are probably not r-o-t-m then Neil . Many sparkies do of course install Cat 5 these days, but getting it right for high speed data does require care and that's what differentiates the r-o-t-m from the expert sparky who produces reliable results . Phones are easy and undemanding, 100Mbps is not . Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 101942 | 2002-11-28 02:11:00 | Cat 3 is obsolete and no uise to you . Cat 5 is the "standard" which allows up to 100 Mbps Ethernet . The idea of using long patch cables is a good one . The sockets are pricey, and it does require care in making the connections . Remember that the wires are in pairs inside the cable . Each pair is twisted . . . and the pitch of the twists is critical . You must not untwist more than 1/2" of a pair to make the connections . The location of the wire ends in the 8pin connector is non-intuitive . The pins used for pairs are: 1&2, 3&6, 4&5, 7&8 . Most wall mounting jacks I have seen have a map showing the colours . A 486-DX66 would make a good printer and file server . Or a firewall . There are Linux setups for this . (Linux will do this very efficiently, and costs nothiong for a licence . ) |
Graham L (2) | ||
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