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LAN cable recommendations wanted

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    #11
    Originally posted by smatty View Post
    You don't necessarily need cat6 for gigabit unless you have a really noisy (in electrical terms) environment, cat5e can have tighter bend radius, is cheaper and can still handle gigabit ethernet.
    When I upgraded to Gigabit I decided that my existing cables were at least 10 years old so thought a refresh wouldn't be a bad idea, and I went for Cat 6.

    Originally posted by smatty View Post
    I would avoid all the usual suspects for cabling as they are very expensive, ridiculous that PCWorld/Staples/etc sell Belkin patch leads at £20! Look for an online network supplier as cost should be around 50p for a cat5e 1m one. Cat6 is only about 80p for a 1m one so not going to break the bank if you wanted to play it safe.
    WHS.
    Behold the warranty -- the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh away.

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      #12
      Originally posted by BoredBloke View Post
      How much is that little lot costing you?
      £2700 - Sounds a lot, but will give me peace of mind and the convenience of disks shared over the network.

      Despite some replies saying Cat5 would be OK, I think I'll go for Cat6a. The cables aren't too expensive, compared with what I am splurging for the NAS.

      The Cat 7 cables do look a bit pricey though, and they don't seem to come with plugs!

      edit: I found a good article on cables here

      Why install Cat6a?
      At the time of writing (2011), 10GBase-T interfaces are still very new, expensive and power hungry. Most users are still choosing either Cat5e or Cat6 systems, on the basis that these systems are perfectly capable of running Ethernet up to 1000Base-T, which should prove more than adequate for the foreseeable future.

      The argument for installing Cat6a now is one of future proofing. We expect to start seeing server motherboards coming fitted with 10GBase-T interfaces later in 2011. PC’s coming equipped as standard with 10GBase-T network interfaces will follow in due course. Thereafter, only installations with Cat6a cabling will be sure of being able to exploit this new bandwidth. Therefore, the logic goes, if the planned lifetime of a new cabling system is five or more years, Cat6a should be considered as an option. If the planned lifetime is ten or more years, Cat6a definitely appears to be the favoured solution, even for relatively low performance users.

      Areas where Cat6a is already proving popular include Data Centres and Building Backbones, where users will wish to exploit the 10GBase-T interfaces as soon as it becomes more cost effective than the 10GBase-X fibre equivalent. Again, this is likely to be by around 2012 or even earlier.
      Last edited by OwlHoot; 28 February 2013, 15:50.
      Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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        #13
        LAN cable recommendations wanted

        Could have bought an Xsan for less than that!

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          #14
          Originally posted by stek View Post
          Could have bought an Xsan for less than that!
          Not interested in Apple file systems, or actually anything to do with Apple.

          I wanted something with a Windows file system, bags of space, reliable for 24/7 use, and easily expandable, and QNAP was recommended by a couple of knowledgeable colleagues.
          Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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            #15
            Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
            £2700 - Sounds a lot, but will give me peace of mind and the convenience of disks shared over the network.
            .. not including VAT - I forgot to ask about that!

            I've just ordered the kit - £3240 including VAT.

            Should be worth it though - Among other things, the lady said it came with an HDMI interface that one can link directly to the TV
            Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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              #16
              Quick tip.

              Buy 1 more disk than you need, so you have an immediate replacement.

              I had one of my 4 disks fail and is currently back for RMA, while I walk on egg shells waiing for another disk to fail and screw the raid array.

              Its backed up every night at 3 but still that is just hassle.

              Replacement arriving Wedneday, could have been earlier but no one in when they called, as they didn't tell me they'd sent it!!!

              Prompt replacement from Scan. None of the usual texts though. So now having to wait til Wed.
              Never has a man been heard to say on his death bed that he wishes he'd spent more time in the office.

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                #17
                Fibre

                Only noobs and poor people use copper.
                Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

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                  #18
                  Originally posted by vetran View Post
                  Fibre

                  Only noobs and poor people use copper.
                  I'd love to use fibre, but have no idea what to buy or where to plug it in, or even if my PCs would support it!

                  (Any ideas or links welcome)
                  Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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                    #19
                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    I'd love to use fibre, but have no idea what to buy or where to plug it in, or even if my PCs would support it!

                    (Any ideas or links welcome)
                    Is fibre really faster than Cat6? I thought that even Cat5e could reach 100Gbps.
                    McCoy: "Medical men are trained in logic."
                    Spock: "Trained? Judging from you, I would have guessed it was trial and error."

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