Will using a long cable decrease the speed of a network compare with several short cables?

Answer 1

No. It will be faster to use a single cable as long as you do not exceed the maximum recommended length.

Maximum cable length: The Simple Answer
http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/support.htm
For 10/100 MHz speeds
CAT-5 is rated to 100M (Meters)
CAT-5e is rated to 350M
CAT-6 and CAT6e is rated to 550M or 1000M depending on your source
CAT-7 is supposedly rated to 700M or presumably 1000M

Today there is no approved CAT-6 or CAT-7. While some folks are selling products they call Level 6 or 7, there aren't even specs for them, making CAT-5e the best available option. CAT-6 cable is being made with 23 guage conductor wire as opposed to the slightly smaller 24 guage for CAT-5e and also has a separator to handle crosstalk better.
Both CAT-5 and CAT-5e have 100 ohm impedance and electrical characteristics supporting transmissions up to 100 MHz. The differences between CAT-5 and CAT-5e show in all aspects of performance: capacitance, frequency, resistance, attenuation, and NEXT. CAT-5e components were designed with high-speed gigabit Ethernet in mind. While CAT-5 components may function to some degree in a gigabit Ethernet, they perform below standard during high-data transfer scenarios. CAT-5e cables work with ATM and gigabit speed products. Simply, if you are using a 100Mbps switch, get CAT-5e cable instead of CAT-5.

CAT-5e is formally called ANSI/TIA/EIA 568A-5 or simply Cat-5e (the e stands for 'enhanced'). CAT-5e is completely backward compatible with current CAT-5 equipment. The enhanced electrical performance of CAT-5e ensures that the cable will support applications that require additional bandwidth, such as gigabit Ethernet or analog video.

3. What is the difference between 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T?
10BASE-T is the IEEE standard that defines the requirement for sending information at 10 Mbps on unshielded twisted-pair cabling, and defines various aspects of running Ethernet on this cabling.
100BASE-T is the IEEE standard that defines the requirement for sending information at 100 Mbps on unshielded twisted-pair cabling, and defines various aspects of running baseband Ethernet on this cabling.
1000BASE-T (also called gigabit Ethernet) is the IEEE standard that defines the requirement for sending information at 1000 Mbps on unshielded twisted-pair cabling, and defines various aspects of running baseband Ethernet on this cabling


http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Transition-Gigabit-Ethernet.html
Probably the biggest hurdle of upgrading to gigabit Ethernet was the cabling issue. A lot of people seem to think that you can transmit data at gigabit speeds over standard CAT5 cable. This is a myth though. Currently, the only twisted pair cables that support gigabit Ethernet are CAT5E and CAT6. There is also an emerging CAT7 standard, but I don’t think that CAT7 cable exists yet.

Answer 2

Technically, it is correct, but the amount that it is slowed down due to the length of the cable is so small that you would not be able to measure it without very specialized equipment. If the cable is over 100meters, it is beyond the specification for ethernet, and might cause errors (which would make the connection seem slow). Your ethernet connection is probably 100Mb/s (or 1000, but definitely no less than 10), so your internet connection up/download speed is much slower than that. As long as you are using good cables, I would not worry about cable length, unless you are talking longer than 100 Meters

Answer 3

A network cable is limited to a distance of about 320 feet (100 meters). You can normally go that distance without losing any signal. If you exceed that length, the signal strength drops quickly.

Each time you place a "connector" into a cable, you lose some of the signal strength. So one long cable is better then several shorter ones connected together. (Plus it reduces the changes that one of the connectors will come loss.)

Answer 4

Connecting short cables together to make a longer one is actually much worse that a single long cable. Every break in the wire reflects back a little of the signal, and introduces a little noise.

Some cables are short for a reason. What are you trying to do?

Answer 5

It's best to have one long cable because going through couplers and such just creates more resistance. Cat 5 cable is only rated for 300 ft. or so so it needs to be shorter than that for signal integrity.

Answer 6

It would be better to have one long cable than several short ones because there would be a loss in the connectors.

Answer 7

the signal will start to die at a certain length, but manufacturers usually don't make cables that long for that reason. It shouldn't be an issue.

Answer 8

you mean ethernet cable? signal will degrade at about 300ft, up to that your fine after that you would need repeaters

Answer 9

i dont really think it matters they both do the same thing...sorry i didnt have that much information but im not very good at all this kind of stuff...good luck

Answer 10

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