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Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity. Category 5 has been superseded by the category 5e specification. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Gigabit Ethernet, although they are also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services, token ring, and ATM (at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances).
Usage and wiring methods
Category 5
The original specification for category 5 cable was defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB-95. These documents specified performance characteristics and test requirements for frequencies of up to 100 MHz.
Category 5 cable included four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. It was most commonly used for 100 Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX Ethernet, although IEEE 802.3ab defined standards for 1000BASE-T - gigabit Ethernet over category 5 cable. Cat 5 cable typically had three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 24 gauge copper wires within the cable.
The twisting of the cable reduces electrical radio frequency interference which causes crosstalk. Also, the wires are insulated with a plastic (FEP) that has low optical dispersion, that is, the dielectric constant of the plastic does not depend greatly on frequency. Special attention also has to be paid to minimizing impedance mismatches at connection points.
Category 5e
Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far-end crosstalk. It replaced the specification for Cat 5 with the 2001 introduction of the TIA/EIA-568-B standard. Although 1000BASE-T was designed for use with Cat 5 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000BASE-T. Despite the stricter performance specifications, Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: horizontal cables are still limited to a maximum of 90 m in length. Cat 5e cable performance characteristics and test methods are defined in TIA/EIA-568-B.2-2001.
Connectors and other information
Generally solid core cable is used for connecting between the wall socket and the socket in the patch panel whilst stranded cable is used for the patch leads between hub/switch and patch panel socket and between wall port and computer. Cable types, connector types and cabling topologies are defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. RJ-45 electrical connectors were nearly always used for connecting category 5 cable.
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