Ever since its initial inception, the category 5 cable has been the preferred carrier for most Ethernet cabling solutions. It is a twisted pair cable that is unshielded, however considering twisted pair cabling cancels out EMI from most external sources this doesn't really matter. The category 5e (enhanced) is the next logical step for the cable as it can carry up to 1000 Mpbs high-speed broadband (as apposes to the cat 5's 100). The 5e can support not only high-speed broadband but also high definition analogue video signals and is currently the most powerful commercially available twisted pair cable.
The standard category 5e is built from 4 twisted cable pairs with each pair having a different number of twists. This is important as it ensures there will be no interference between the pairs. The category 5e can support as many as 100 twisted pairs but most cables (for example the standard Ethernet cable) very rarely use any more than 4. As well as being able to handle the latest high-speed broadband connections of course category 5e is also compatible with older network cards, the specifics of which will be outlined later.
There are two main forms of category 5e cable, the 'stranded' cable and the 'solid conductor' cable. The stranded cable is more flexible and is used primarily in shorter Ethernet cables. Solid conductor cables are less flexible but can be stretched to greater lengths whilst still being effective so are used in situations where great lengths of cable are required in more permanent locations. Most Ethernet cables will be simple patch cables that will use the stranded variation and will be only up to around 10 metres long.
When discussing the network cards that can accept the category 5e you need to first understand the differences between network cards. The 10BASE can accept up to 10 Mbps, the 100BASE 100 and the 1000BASE (the standard used by the 5e) 1000 Mbps or 1 gigabit. Broadband in this country is not yet available at those speeds but it is a future-proof technology.
More advanced cabling technologies are currently being developed (the category 6 and category 7) but for the foreseeable future they would be far too expensive to mass-produce and the category 5e handles the fastest currently available broadband speeds as well as high definition video and ultra fast telephony.
The standard category 5e is built from 4 twisted cable pairs with each pair having a different number of twists. This is important as it ensures there will be no interference between the pairs. The category 5e can support as many as 100 twisted pairs but most cables (for example the standard Ethernet cable) very rarely use any more than 4. As well as being able to handle the latest high-speed broadband connections of course category 5e is also compatible with older network cards, the specifics of which will be outlined later.
There are two main forms of category 5e cable, the 'stranded' cable and the 'solid conductor' cable. The stranded cable is more flexible and is used primarily in shorter Ethernet cables. Solid conductor cables are less flexible but can be stretched to greater lengths whilst still being effective so are used in situations where great lengths of cable are required in more permanent locations. Most Ethernet cables will be simple patch cables that will use the stranded variation and will be only up to around 10 metres long.
When discussing the network cards that can accept the category 5e you need to first understand the differences between network cards. The 10BASE can accept up to 10 Mbps, the 100BASE 100 and the 1000BASE (the standard used by the 5e) 1000 Mbps or 1 gigabit. Broadband in this country is not yet available at those speeds but it is a future-proof technology.
More advanced cabling technologies are currently being developed (the category 6 and category 7) but for the foreseeable future they would be far too expensive to mass-produce and the category 5e handles the fastest currently available broadband speeds as well as high definition video and ultra fast telephony.
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