Network cable
- Thread starter alex2929
- Start date
Innovate1
Well-known member
Depends on what speed you want/need. Either one would work. Some people pull fiber to avoid thunderstorm damage to equipment. If you run wire you should think about surge protection. If it's close enough you might be able to do wifi instead of cable.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Need more info.
How long is the run?
How long is the run?
75gmck25
Well-known member
I've seen other postings in this forum that recommended using media converters and fiber cable for a long run outside, since the fiber is not subject to lightning damage. Its usually best to buy a premade fiber cable that covers the required distance, since you need special tools and some training to terminate fiber cable. The media converters are surprisingly cheap.
Prior to reading those posts it never occurred to me that a lightning strike would hit a Cat 5 cable buried 18" under the ground in conduit and burn out the attached equipment, but I guess its not that unusual in some areas.
Bruce
Prior to reading those posts it never occurred to me that a lightning strike would hit a Cat 5 cable buried 18" under the ground in conduit and burn out the attached equipment, but I guess its not that unusual in some areas.
Bruce
Paul_The_Builder
Well-known member
Cat6. If its in conduit you can just get the regular stuff that they sell on the shelves at Home Depot. If its in the ground or exposed to the elements you want the outdoor or direct burial rated stuff that has the thick black jacket and the gel fill. The outdoor stuff is probably a good idea to get regardless since any underground conduit usually fills up with water eventually.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Ummm no
Underground Conduits are considered a wet location so the CMR cable sold at home depot is not the right type of wire to use.
Innovate1
Well-known member
It doesn't hit the cable in the ground. It causes a voltage difference between the grounds of the buildings. The low voltage cables carry the difference in voltage to the other building and can destroy equipment.
bikesandcars
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2016
- Messages
- 127
I have a pretty long run, 180' from house (where 1 router is) and where my garage router is. I used outdoor cat6 and pulled it through a buried PVC conduit I had dedicated to cable/ethernet. That conduit runs in the same trench as my 200 amp service.
It works very well, can use "dish TV" and internet in garage, no interference or issues.
Cat6 Direct Burial, Waterproof, Outdoor Rated CMX, Black, 23AWG Solid Bare Copper, 550MHz, ETL Listed, Unshielded UTP, Bulk Ethernet Cable off amazon. I ordered a 500' spool for some stupid reason, but I certainly had enough.
You don't need to use fiber unless you are 300+ feet for 1gbe (or 150 feet for 10gb). I'd stay away from an overly-complicated fiber setup. I've seen media converters / fiber in action at work and they work lovely for 1000 foot runs, but the media converters will occasionally fail too. Not worth it for garage internet.
Wifi works, but nothing beats a hard-line for security, speed and reliability. If you are day-trading stocks in your garage run a cat6e
It works very well, can use "dish TV" and internet in garage, no interference or issues.
Cat6 Direct Burial, Waterproof, Outdoor Rated CMX, Black, 23AWG Solid Bare Copper, 550MHz, ETL Listed, Unshielded UTP, Bulk Ethernet Cable off amazon. I ordered a 500' spool for some stupid reason, but I certainly had enough.
You don't need to use fiber unless you are 300+ feet for 1gbe (or 150 feet for 10gb). I'd stay away from an overly-complicated fiber setup. I've seen media converters / fiber in action at work and they work lovely for 1000 foot runs, but the media converters will occasionally fail too. Not worth it for garage internet.
Wifi works, but nothing beats a hard-line for security, speed and reliability. If you are day-trading stocks in your garage run a cat6e
Last edited:
nadogail
Well-known member
IMHO, Over the years I have come to regret just meeting the minimum requirements. Since recognizing this, I make an effort to allow for growth in either mission or capabilities.
fteufert
Well-known member
Pull two lines, just in case!
bikesandcars
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2016
- Messages
- 127
terabitdan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Messages
- 152
If you decide on twisted pair vs fiber then the Category rating of the cable determines the maximum speed supported at rated length.
For reference 4K streaming needs about 25Mbps, a single 1Gbps Ethernet will support over 30 simultaneous streams to the shop and 30 additional from the shop.
All distances include the patch cables on both ends, so total distance from device to device. Patch cables are typically stranded for flexibility and do not support the speeds below...
Cat 5 supports 1Gbps up to 326 feet.
Gat 5e supports 2.5GBASE-T up to 326 feet. That’s for cable rated at 100MHz. It’s not unusual to have 350MHz rated cat 5e. You can actually run 10GBASE-T up to 55 meters on most Cat 5e. For example, I’m running 10GBASE-T on Cat 5e rated at 350MHz at about 75’ with no errors.
Cat 6 with 250Mhz rating supports 5GBASE-T up to 326 feet. Shorter distances or higher cable rating will run up to 10GBASE-T.
The 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T are supported on multigigabit switches, some cable modems or fiber providers and some WiFi 6 routers and access points. It was designed around needing higher speeds using existing building wiring. The devices will auto negotiate the best speed supported by your cable and equipment.
Those same multigigabit switches can be similar in cost to the fiber converters.
My point? A high quality Cat 5e will be more than enough for typical users web browsing and streaming. If you plan on a server farm in the shop than Cat 6 is a good idea. Nothing wrong with buying better cable than you need. You can use the MHz rating when comparing cabling as an indicator of the quality.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For reference 4K streaming needs about 25Mbps, a single 1Gbps Ethernet will support over 30 simultaneous streams to the shop and 30 additional from the shop.
All distances include the patch cables on both ends, so total distance from device to device. Patch cables are typically stranded for flexibility and do not support the speeds below...
Cat 5 supports 1Gbps up to 326 feet.
Gat 5e supports 2.5GBASE-T up to 326 feet. That’s for cable rated at 100MHz. It’s not unusual to have 350MHz rated cat 5e. You can actually run 10GBASE-T up to 55 meters on most Cat 5e. For example, I’m running 10GBASE-T on Cat 5e rated at 350MHz at about 75’ with no errors.
Cat 6 with 250Mhz rating supports 5GBASE-T up to 326 feet. Shorter distances or higher cable rating will run up to 10GBASE-T.
The 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T are supported on multigigabit switches, some cable modems or fiber providers and some WiFi 6 routers and access points. It was designed around needing higher speeds using existing building wiring. The devices will auto negotiate the best speed supported by your cable and equipment.
Those same multigigabit switches can be similar in cost to the fiber converters.
My point? A high quality Cat 5e will be more than enough for typical users web browsing and streaming. If you plan on a server farm in the shop than Cat 6 is a good idea. Nothing wrong with buying better cable than you need. You can use the MHz rating when comparing cabling as an indicator of the quality.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
reader2580
Well-known member
The price difference between cat 5e and cat 6 is so little that it just makes sense to install cat 6 these days.