CAt 6 wiring issue - making own cables

ellchester

Because I  want specific lengths and running quite a bit I have decided to make my own ethernet cables.  I have run a terminated cat 6 cable that I bought off Amazon from my server rack to another room and I get 300mb on a speedtest to the mac.  When I use my own cable alongside it (Cat 6) I am only getting 90-91mb.   So it must be the cable.   I wondered if anyone had any suggestions.   Thanks

mickevh

It would be worth checking what speed the NIC's are coming up at - 100mbps or 1000mbps (AKA Gigabit.) If you have mis-wired an ethernet cable, even with gigabit NIC's they will fall down to 100mbps operation, so test results of 90mbps would be in the right ball park.

Gigabit etherenet requires all 8 conductors in the cable to be correctly terminated and functioning whereas 100mbps only uses 4 conductors, so it's possible to mis-wired a cable and have it work 100mbps but not 1000mbps.

Everything you wanted to know about UTP in the following page... How to wire Ethernet Cables

ellchester

TP link Gigabit switches - have double checked that all wires are in teh right order and have cut and terminated about twenty times until I thought I got it right.  Will cut and reterminate......losing the will to live but i suspect its my wiring somehwere along the line....

Kristian

In addition to Mick's suggestion, try using a local 'speed test' rather than web based.  Look at iperf and run it between your server and end device.  It'll be a much better test because it'll be using just the minimum local infra rather than shed loads of Internet infra.

If you still can't get it sorted then think about running some trunk cable (solid core) and terminating into modules/sockets/patch panel and then using short bought patch leads.  It's much easier to terminate properly

techquest

The problem with the so called Cat 6 cable from Amazon or the likes of, especially if it the stuff sold in rolls, is you can't guarantee it as being Cat anything. Do you have a link to the cable you bought?

ellchester

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I must have now terminated and reterminated about 25 times each end.   The speed is limited to around 90-94mb.   When I used the one I bought terminated always 220-250 mb.      I haven't made my own before but the law of averages suggest after this many goes I should have got one attempt right I would have thought!!!!!  may give up but have a lot more to do so really wanted to crack this - it can't be this difficult!!

ellchester

i'm getting a flashing green light at one end of the cable on the switch but not on the other end - not sure if that is relevant

techquest

The problem is it might look like Cat6, might be marked as Cat6 but there is lots of cable out there such as that but basically is counterfeit for want of a better word. I'm not saying it definitely is but having worked in the industry, and on the cable side of it for the leading design and manufacturer of such cables for many years, I've seen lots of the stuff that proved to be counterfeit.

What are you terminating it onto. The plugs, the sockets and the terminating tool. Do you have any links to those.

techquest

What is the other end connected to?

ellchester

tp link switch which then connects to router  - have tried about five different types of plug
                                                                                                                                                                                                        VCE 50 Pack Cat6 RJ45 Connector Crystal 8P8C UTP: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics                                                                                                        Shop VCE 50 Pack Cat6 RJ45 Connector Crystal 8P8C UTP Network Modular Plug. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.                                                                                                                                                                                                        www.amazon.co.uk