Category 5 Cable; Category 5 Cable Specifications - NETGEAR FS518 Installation Manual

Installation Guide for the Model FS518 Fast Ethernet Switch

Category 5 Cable

Category 5 distributed cable that meets ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-A building wiring standards can be
a maximum of 328 feet (ft) or 100 meters (m) in length, divided as follows:
• 20 ft (6 m) between the hub and the patch panel (if used)
• 295 ft (90 m) from the wiring closet to the wall outlet
• 10 ft (3 m) from the wall outlet to the desktop device
The patch panel and other connecting hardware must meet the requirements for 100 Mbps
operation (Category 5). Only 0.5 inch (1.5 cm) of untwist in the wire pair is allowed at any
termination point.

Category 5 Cable Specifications

Ensure that the fiber cable is crossed over to guarantee link.
Table C-1 lists the electrical requirements of Category 5 UTP cable.
Table C-1. Electrical Requirements of Category 5 Cable
Specification
Number of pairs
Impedance
Mutual capacitance at 1 KHz
Maximum attenuation (dB per 100 m, at 20° C) at 4 MHz: 8.2
NEXT loss (dB minimum)
C-2
Category 5 Cable Requirements
Four
100 Ω ± 15%
≤ 5.6 nF per 100 m
at 31 MHz: 11.7
at 100 MHz: 22.0
at 16 MHz: 44
at 31 MHz: 39
at 100 MHz: 32
Cabling Guidelines