Confused about difference between Cat5 and Ethernet cable

Question

I am trying to add a second PC to my DSL line and am obviously stupid or confused because I'm sure thousands of people do this every day.

I was told to purchase a simple 4 port router. The sequence is (I am told) phone company box to existing modem to router to the 2 PCs.

Details here.

I have a standard phone company box (about 3" X 4"). It has the phone company's 6 or 8 wire gray shielded cable coming in from their demark on one end. The other side of this box has 2 receptables, One is a standard RJ11 phone jack that works fine, The other female connector was what I thought was a standard RJ45 jack because the 25' Cat5 cable I purchased a few years ago plugs into this and the other end plugs into my Speedstream 4100 modem's female connector marked DSL. A second yellow cable goes from the Ethernet female connector on the modem to the PC, and has wider connectors and has worked well.

Now, I am told I need to connect my existing PC and the one I want to add to a router. I purchased a standard 4 port router. The two 25' Cat5 cables connect the router and the PCs just fine. I purchased a 3' Ethernet cable and it connects the modem and router just fine.

I'm not sure if these wider connectors are RJ45 or whatever. My problem is I cannot connect the phone company box to the modem because all the cables I am able to locate at Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc. have wider Ethernet connectors. One end connects to the phone company box with no problem but the DSL receptable on the modem will not accept this wider connector.

As I said, when I try to purchase a short cable (to connect the phone company box to the modem) with the smaller male connectors that are the same as the ones I have on the two 25' cables I thought were Cat5 cables, everyone tells me this is not available.

Are my 25' cable not Cat5? Are they Cat4 or something else? As I said, I am confused. Do I need a new modem that can accepot the wider connectoir or what?

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Cat 5 cables are commonly (but incorrectly) called RJ 45 (8P8C) cables, the terms are interchangeable.  Chances are, they are Cat5 because Cat4 isn't really used commercialy and has a slower connection speed.  

Without a visual aid of what you are describing, the only thing I can recommend is taking the modem to the store with you and showing it to one of the associates, and seeing if they can help you find the correct cable.

Answer 2

RJ45 is the specification for the plastic 8-wire plug that's on the end of the wire.  These can be wired in a number of waysl

Cat5 is the type of wire most commonly used in making network cords, but also is used for wireing newer homes for telephone, network and various other services that require twisted low-voltage cable.  Similar types are Cat5e and Cat6 that provide better performance in super-fast networks.

Eithernet is the type of cable (Cat5/Cat5e/Cat6 cable with RJ45 jacks usually wired the same at both ends) used in computer networks

Let me simplify this for you...

You have one computer hooked up now...there's a RJ45 (looks like a fat phone plug) jack on your computer that has a network cable to the modem.

Let sleeping dogs lie...your modem works however it's hooked up to the "phone company box" so don't touch that.  All you have to do is move that network wire from your computer to the WAN/Internet port of the router, then use another wire from the router LAN ports to your computer(s).  Unplug the modem for 10 seconds to reboot it and everything should work now.

This is of corse over-simplified, you have to set up security for wireless and such but that's all in the directions for your router.

I like the Belkin 54G router because it's the cheapest name-brand one I've found ($39 at most office stores) and I know it works (I've installed 3 of them) but the brand is really up to you.  Only one of those Belkins has gone bad, and Belkin replaced it for free.  I don't know if all routers include this but the Belkin one comes with a setup CD that guides you through plugging everything in correctly and automatically programs the router to work as well as guiding you through enabling security.

Answer 3

When you say "Phone Company Box", do you mean the box that is located outside/basement/garage?  If so, that should be the starting of your phone network, whether it go to a 66 block, or a phone line daisy chain around the house to the different phone ports, you can choose any of these ports for your DSL connection, just make sure all the other phone ports have filter connections before a phone is connected

Now from the phone port on the wall, you should use an RJ11 (phone) line to the SpeedStream DSL modem's phone like port (the small one without the yellow indicator), now if the modem is plugged in, and you have it on, the lights should start flashing red and green, then all lights should remain a steady green except for the last 2, this means no computer or router is connected

Now take any ethernet (RJ45) cable (CAT5/CAT5e (preferred)/CAT6(best)), though you may want to use the yellow one to keep with the color, connect the ethernet cable (RJ45) from the ethernet port with the yellow indicator on the modem, to the "WAN" port on the router, then connect the router's power, now the second to last light should turn green, and the final light should begin blinking, this means it's found the router and is now connected, the "WAN" light on the router should be blinking too

Now take another ethernet cable and connect it from the "1" port on the   router to your first computer, the "1" port light should now be blinking, and the first computer should now be online, now take another ethernet cable and connect it from the "2" port on the router to the second computer, the "2" port light should now begin blinking and the second computer should be online, ports "3" and "4" will work the same as "1" and "2" if you plan to add more computers later on

Ethernet is CAT cable that is suitable for data transfer, so that would be anything CAT5 and up, anything CAT4 and under is considered voice cable