Differences And Wiring Of Utp Cat5e Cable

Physical Differences in Cables

One of the interesting things about the Cat5 and UTP CAT5E Cable is that they look almost identical. You can't tell them apart based on thickness, color, or material used. The only way to identify them is to look at the text printed on the cable and see for yourself. That being said, some manufacturers have gone to great lengths to improve the durability of PVC jackets on Cat5e cables. This makes them more suitable for frequent use over years or even decades. Another unwanted way to tell the two apart is to cut the cable and inspect the internal wiring. Generally speaking, the wires in Cat5e cable are tighter than those in Cat5 cable. This is what makes Cat5e cables more resistant to crosstalk, as you'll find out in the next section.

Classification of wiring

Believe it or not, Cat5 and Cat5e are wired the same way. These cables are of two types: stranded and solid. Stranded cables are made up of several thin strands of copper wire, which give them flexible properties that allow them to function when bent and deformed. The tradeoff with this arrangement is that you will experience lower performance when using these types of cables. A solid cable consists of rigid copper wire that can only be bent so much before it starts to break. The benefit of this is that it provides better performance over longer distances than stranded cable.