How long can a Cat 5e cable be?

[Donovan]

Hello everyone,

For a change I'm not here to bitch about iBurst I was wondering how long a Cat 5e cable could be without needing any kind of signal boost along the way? Isn't it around 100m? I just need to connect two buildings.

It will go from building A's wireless access point to a wireless router in building B. The two buildings are not close enough to be covered by a single base station.

 

[WebhostingTalk]

Yes I think it’s 100m

 

[Roman4604]

Yes 100m.

If you're in the highveld your taking a chance running copper between buildings. A lightning ground strike in the vicinity could induce current and could take out the connected equipment. You'd be safer running fiber if you can afford it.

 

[ld13]

100Meters...But at about 80Meters you could see some degrading of the quality of the link. And like Roman4604 said, be careful if you are planning to lay this cable outside.

 

[Napalm]

"building A's wireless access point to a wireless router in building B"

Does the one building have direct line of Sight to the other building ??

If it does. 108mbps Wireless should do the trick. With Directional Antenna's

 

[Zax]

"building A's wireless access point to a wireless router in building B"

Does the one building have direct line of Sight to the other building ??

If it does. 108mbps Wireless should do the trick. With Directional Antenna's

I reckon this is the better alternative. Lightening can play havoc with copper cables especially if the two buildings have separate earths. If you are set on copper then at least use good quality lightening protection on both sides of the cable and replace it regularly.

 

[Ricard]

I reckon this is the better alternative. Lightening can play havoc with copper cables especially if the two buildings have separate earths. If you are set on copper then at least use good quality lightening protection on both sides of the cable and replace it regularly.

Ethernet transmissions lines are not grounded... they are differential and then fed in to an isolation transformer inside the ethernet switch.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

I reckon this is the better alternative. Lightening can play havoc with copper cables especially if the two buildings have separate earths. If you are set on copper then at least use good quality lightening protection on both sides of the cable and replace it regularly.

Ethernet transmissions lines are not grounded... they are differential and then fed in to an isolation transformer inside the ethernet switch.

Had a client with two buildings connected via Ethernet once.

Lightning happened, destroyed a switch, burnt (yes, burnt!) the cable (necessitating a new cable) and klapped the NIC in the server real hard.

Luckily the server wasn't damaged...

So if you plan to connect these two, use either wireless or fibre instead. I'll go for fibre (for extra security and better speeds).

With wireless you'll have to be more careful as an improper security configuration will allow any ne'er-do-well to enter your network...

Pity you can't use two iBurst modems to connect in peer-to-peer mode...

 

[Donovan]

Yes 100m.

If you're in the highveld your taking a chance running copper between buildings. A lightning ground strike in the vicinity could induce current and could take out the connected equipment. You'd be safer running fiber if you can afford it.

Unfortunately this is pretty much my only option. The cable will be in a plastic conduit, though. Not that lightning will be stopped by that but anyway... not many options.

For fiber optic stuff, do I need a fancy connector or something? How does it work and how much more expensive is it?

 

[Roman4604]

How does it work and how much more expensive is it?

Simplest way would be to use 2 Ethernet to Fiber converters, but you would need an experienced installer to put in the fiber cable as attaching the end connectors is not a DIY job.

Been out of this game for a long while, maybe someone else can provide some costs.

 

[Ricard]

Had a client with two buildings connected via Ethernet once.

Lightning happened, destroyed a switch, burnt (yes, burnt!) the cable (necessitating a new cable) and klapped the NIC in the server real hard.

Luckily the server wasn't damaged...

So if you plan to connect these two, use either wireless or fibre instead. I'll go for fibre (for extra security and better speeds).

With wireless you'll have to be more careful as an improper security configuration will allow any ne'er-do-well to enter your network...

Pity you can't use two iBurst modems to connect in peer-to-peer mode...

I dont doubt that happens... but a lightning bolt has traveled 100KM to the ground, a cat5 cable and a surge arrestor are the least of its problems the biggest problem I have had from my "replacing smoking kit" is lightning either enters from Power grid or Telkom lines. (Telkom lines were the most common to do damage... Eskom lines tended to surge and whack out kit that way). Keeping all the equipment on a floating ground avoids that, and Ethernet transmission lines do that. The Copper is a different story.. electricity likes copper

I was just pointing out that grounding or not, it would have done the same Fibre or wifi if you want to be safe.. but wifi performance stinks compared to fibre, but wifi is mega-cheaper than fibre terminating equipment

 

[Csnoopy]

I dont doubt that happens... but a lightning bolt has traveled 100KM to the ground, a cat5 cable and a surge arrestor are the least of its problems the biggest problem I have had from my "replacing smoking kit" is lightning either enters from Power grid or Telkom lines. (Telkom lines were the most common to do damage... Eskom lines tended to surge and whack out kit that way). Keeping all the equipment on a floating ground avoids that, and Ethernet transmission lines do that. The Copper is a different story.. electricity likes copper

I was just pointing out that grounding or not, it would have done the same Fibre or wifi if you want to be safe.. but wifi performance stinks compared to fibre, but wifi is mega-cheaper than fibre terminating equipment

All has been said. Fibre is your option.
Advantages.
1) Speed.
2) Security.
3) Safe from lightning.

Nowadays it isn't that expensive.

1) 2 x utp to fibre convertors.
2) fibre cable X Meters & 2 x Set pigtails. (What is the length of the 2 points)?
3) Cable installation charges.

Sorry dont have pricing.

 

[Conspirator]

Weird Q: If one were to put a cheap-ass PC with two NICs each on each side of the 100m cable, and ground the two PCs, would that prevent the lighting from knocking out the routers behind the cheap PCs?

Not a viable alternative, I know. Just curious.

 

[Csnoopy]

Weird Q: If one were to put a cheap-ass PC with two NICs each on each side of the 100m cable, and ground the two PCs, would that prevent the lighting from knocking out the routers behind the cheap PCs?

Not a viable alternative, I know. Just curious.

Depends where the lightening hits if the hit or surge is near or onto the UTP cbale it would be the 2 external nics & PCs that would die. The PCs by default should be earthed via the power cables etc.

 

[Conspirator]

Cool. Probably not very cost effective sacrificing two PCs for every lighting strike, but interesting nonetheless.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

I would prefer the fiber option tho... might be a wee bit expensive in the short term, but in the long term it'll be the best option.