Issue: How to determine the correct cable type by Ethernet network speed
Product Line: Cables and Connectivity Solutions
Environment: Network Cables
Cause: Need to install the proper cabling to support expected network speeds.
Resolution: see below
Cat 5 supports 100 Megabit per second and 100 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Ethernet 10Base-T, 100Base-T.
Cat 5e supports 1 Gigabit per second and 100 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Gigabit Ethernet, 1000Base-T.
Cat 6 supports 1 Gigabit per second and 250 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports Gigabit Ethernet, 1000Base-T.
Cat 6a supports 10 Gigabit per second and 500 Megahertz bandwidth. This supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 10GbE.
The higher speed cables are backwards compatible to the lower speed cables.