CAT5e

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 Question by doug L posted 20 Jun 2003
 CAT5e
I've purchased 1000' of CAT5e to wire my house. Do I need to stay with CAT5e components or will CAT5 work? Components such as patch panel, RJ45 ends, etc.

Thanks,
Doug
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 Answer by Dmitri Abaimov posted 22 Jun 2003
Dear Doug,

Most likelly, just about anything that bears CAT5 label these days is already CAT5E - compliant. The CAT5E specs were approved back in November 1999, and they are already very much adopted by manufacturers. This is obviously not to say that you cannot come across a lesser quality part or an older part that was laying on a shelf since 1998, but the probability is low. Buy from a respectable source, and you will be fine.
Anyway, the sole reson for CAT5E spec was to ensure that Gigabit Ethernet will work over CAT5, so, if you plan to use only 100BASE-TX, you'll be fine no matter what.

Sincerely,
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD

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