| ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic
Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards
that specify "categories" (the singular is commonly referred
to as "CAT") of twisted pair
cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms
of the data rates that they can sustain. The specifications
describe the cable material as well as the types of connectors
and junction blocks to be used in order to conform to a category.
These categories are:
CAT 5 is currently under consideration to be incorporated
into the Gigabit Ethernet specification for
short distance wiring. While longer connections using Gigabit
Ethernet use optical fiber, the goal is to leverage
the CAT 5 twisted-pair wiring most organizations already have
in place for connections out to the desktop.
The two most popular specifications are CAT 3 and CAT 5.
While the two cables may look identical, CAT 3 is tested to
a lower set of specifications and can cause transmission errors
if pushed to faster speeds. CAT 3 cabling is near-end crosstalk-certified
for only a 16 MHz signal, while CAT 5 cable must pass a 100
MHz test.
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