Category 5 cable quality – NETGEAR MR814 v3 User Manual

Page 108

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Reference Manual for the MR814 v3 Cable/DSL Wireless Router

B-12

Network, Routing, Firewall, and Basics

202-10039-01

Category 5 Cable Quality

Category 5 distributed cable that meets ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-A building wiring standards can be a
maximum of 328 feet (ft.) or 100 meters (m) in length, divided as follows:

20 ft. (6 m) between the hub and the patch panel (if used)

295 ft. (90 m) from the wiring closet to the wall outlet

10 ft. (3 m) from the wall outlet to the desktop device

The patch panel and other connecting hardware must meet the requirements for 100 Mbps
operation (Category 5). Only 0.5 inch (1.5 cm) of untwist in the wire pair is allowed at any
termination point.

A twisted pair Ethernet network operating at 10 Mbits/second (10BASE-T) will often tolerate low
quality cables, but at 100 Mbits/second (10BASE-Tx) the cable must be rated as Category 5, or
Cat 5, by the Electronic Industry Association (EIA). This rating will be printed on the cable jacket.
A Category 5 cable will meet specified requirements regarding loss and crosstalk. In addition,
there are restrictions on maximum cable length for both 10 and 100 Mbits/second networks.

Table B-1.

UTP Ethernet cable wiring, straight-through

Pin

Wire color

Signal

1

Orange/White

Transmit (Tx) +

2

Orange

Transmit (Tx) -

3

Green/White

Receive (Rx) +

4

Blue

5

Blue/White

6

Green

Receive (Rx) -

7

Brown/White

8

Brown

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