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Ethernet cables: UTP vs. STP

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phitsc:
After buying a new central switch for my home network I noticed that a smaller gigabit switch in one of our rooms connected with only 100 Mbps. Because I had a similar problem recently where my laptop (which we now used for like 10 years!) connected with 1 Gbps to the central switch without problems, our brand new laptop did so only with 100 Mbps. While re-crimping the respective ethernet outlet fixed that problem, doing the same with the other ethernet outlet did not have the desired effect. As it turned out, the problem was the cable connecting the outlet with the switch! It was an UTP (unshielded twister pair) cable. After replacing it with an STP (shielded twister pair) cable, the switch connected with 1 Gbps.

I was also testing my internet speed recently and was very annoyed that I only ever got like a maximum of 100 Mbps down instead of the 125 Mbps which I pay my service provider for (not that I would notice the difference if I wouldn't measure it ;) ). I complained to the service provider and was informed that my modem was working flawlessly and that my signal was optimal. I was instructed to take measurements directly at the modem, which I did and voilà: 125 Mbps. Because of personal paranoia I have another router sitting in between my service providers modem (it's actually a router itself) and my home network. My service providers modem was connected to my router with an UTP cable!

Interestingly, I did not find any reference on the internet stating that UTP cables would only work up to 100 Mbps.

Ath:
It's to do with the Category of the cable.
CAT 5 is qualified for 100 MBit/s
CAT 5e for 1 GBit/s
CAT 6 for up to 10 GBit/s and requires better signal to noise ratios (10 GBit/s not over the full 100 meters)
CAT 7 for up to 40 GBit/s with even better signal to noise ratios and less crosstalk, using shielded pairs within the cable

More info here: http://www.xmultiple.com/xwebsite-forum24.htm
And Wikipedia on CAT 5/5e: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

Stoic Joker:
Interestingly, I did not find any reference on the internet stating that UTP cables would only work up to 100 Mbps.
-phitsc (April 27, 2015, 02:28 PM)
--- End quote ---

Nor will you, STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) is just normal Ethernet cable with an extra layer of RF shielding for high (RF)noise environments. It has nothing to do with the speed of the media, outside of ensuring it isn't hampered by external environmental conditions.

phitsc:
It's to do with the Category of the cable.
CAT 5 is qualified for 100 MBit/s
CAT 5e for 1 GBit/s
CAT 6 for up to 10 GBit/s and requires better signal to noise ratios (10 GBit/s not over the full 100 meters)
CAT 7 for up to 40 GBit/s with even better signal to noise ratios and less crosstalk, using shielded pairs within the cable

More info here: http://www.xmultiple.com/xwebsite-forum24.htm
And Wikipedia on CAT 5/5e: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable
-Ath (April 27, 2015, 02:43 PM)
--- End quote ---

One of the two cables has Cat 5E printed on it.

Ok, just checked the other one. It was indeed only a CAT 5 cable. When I wired our house I made sure to put in only CAT 6 to make it future proof. I should have been more careful with the patch cables as it turns out :-[.

phitsc:
Anyway, thanks guys for pointing out that my problem was not actually UTP vs. STP, but CAT 5 vs. CAT 6.

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