if I'm ordering an ethernet cable for my home network, do I need to worry whether it's cat5, 6, 8 whatever?
I didn't realize there were cats > 5.
Ironically, I'm replacing one that my cat chewed all to hell.
@rpardee get Cat5e. That's about all you need, unless you're doing some higher end network computing.
@IRNMKE3 but higher cats will work?
The real feature I'm looking for is a braided jacket. On the theory that my cat will be less likely to chow down on it.
@rpardee yeah, they'll work, but just more expensive per the footage.
@rpardee you might want to use cat 6, specially if you have gigabit ports on your computer and router.
cat 5 (in my opinion) is too fragile and prone to failure, if this happens it will revert back to 100mbit connections or simply fail
on cat6. @voltronic @elmaxx I'm happy to spend a whole $9 on something that's overcapacity or whatever, so long as it has the braiding that my cat dislikes chewing.
@voltronic @elmaxx awesome--thanks!
@rpardee
If you have cable that works already, you can discourage chewing by adding this stuff. The name brand version is Techflex, and it comes in many different versions.
https://a.co/d/75QyBVG
@rpardee @voltronic
no cat bites because it likes biting....
it bites because of spite and likes annoying their humans
God I love my cats
@rpardee @voltronic up to you really, cat8 is more for data centers, while most home cases would be ok with cat6
They'll all work, on a purely electrical level, Ethernet's Ethernet. The difference is the maximum bandwidth you can push through them.
CAT8 is rated to, like, 40 gigabits a second, which is more than you can make.
CAT6 tops out at 10 Gbps, CAT5 at 100Mbps.
Go with CAT6.
Whichever one is cat-proof, @rpardee 😉
if you have gigabit ethernet interfaces, get cat6
@rpardee and for bonus points, are you running cables places like vents, cavities, etc. that’d require plenum jacketing?
@MookyTroubadour I will require robustness against dust bunnies and feline mastication. And I need it to carry bits from a 10-year-old switch over to a PC and back. That's pretty much it.
@rpardee plenum jacketing is mostly about fire tolerance if I recall correctly. Not sure there is official feline endure testing. I smell a marketing angle. :)
@rpardee this is mean. Your cat will hate you. But if you take an orange and rub it on the cable he will take one bite and leave them all alone forever. (wash the cable after he's learned his lesson) cats hate citrus,
He will hate you too. But if it works, your cables will be safe.
I second the use of Wire Loom Tubing Cable Sleeves.
@rpardee sheesh. it might be the coating on that that he likes, seems he left the other ones alone, some plastics use animal proteins, he also might just be an ass. Does he chew on anything else cable wise? (ours likes metal, so he will leave the cables alone and chow on the connectors)
@rpardee I use a card board tube from paper towel, foil tube. Cut straight on side and slip the wires through.
@rpardee NOT FOR LONG! Time to buy a replacement cable and have it overnighted.
if anybody's curious, this is the wire I'm talking at y'all over right now