What are the different type of Ethernet cables such as cat5 etc?

Question

What are the different type of Ethernet cables such as cat5 etc?

Answer 1

cat5 is the cable used by almost everyone everywhere.  Cat6 is a newer version that supports a higher bandwidth and i believe is backwards compatible with cat5.  Do a search on wikipedia for cat5, and cat6.

Answer 2

CAT5E is the primary ethernet cable with RJ45 ends.

There is also CAT6.

CAT5 has 2 types really.. Plenum rated (for drop ceilings, etc.) and not for walls, etc.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Hello from the Tech

There are only three types of cables one is cat 5 the other is cat 3 the difference is the size of the wire inside the bigger cable can push through more information.  The cat 6 is new and not very popular to home users as of yet...These are designed for the 100/1000 but most equipment is ready as of yet.

There are two cable setups as well one is a cross over when you just want to hook two computers together so they can talk to one another and the other is a basic straight through.  This has to be hooked to a router, switch or hub to get a proper push through of data.

The colour of the cable has not bearing on the design.  

Have a gr8 day, hope this helps.

NightHawk