Does it make sense to upgrade my ethernet cables? - eviltoast

So I self host some stuff like jellyfin, ssh server for borg backup etc. over lan(Asus RT-AX53U router).

And just noticed that i still use cat5 and cat5e cables.

Does it make sense to upgrade to newer cat8 cables?

  • nattekrant@feddit.nl
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    1 year ago

    First and foremost, the user that adviced you to look at the connection speed is 100% right. If you establish a gigabit link with a gigabit device, it makes no sense to upgrade other than future proofing.

    There’s no point in going beyond Cat 6a. Keep in mind that the length of the cable is a big factor as well. For 1/2.5GbE, Cat 5e is plenty (for at least 100m). If you plan on going to 5/10GbE now or in the near future, Cat 6a will get you there with ease (for at least 100m). In both cases, keep the cable as close to the required length as possible + a 30cm/1ft service loop (slack) on each end. That will cause no more signal degradation then necessary and make for a clean install.

  • qjammer@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    What you should be asking is whether the cables qre the bottleneck in your network or not.

    Is there any link that is not negotiating 1Gbps? Do you have devices that could push 10Gbps but the cable is not allowing it? If not, then there’s no need to upgrade them.

    Unless, of course, if you want to do it just for fun, which is also a legitimate reason 😄