shielded patch cable supplied with CM600 modem

[Bytecode]

After inspecting a particular patch cable I have connected to my PC, that cable was due for replacement. I decided to check all the other cables on my home network while I was at it.  I noticed the CAT5e supplied with the CM600 modem has STP printed on the cable.

Stretching the shield from wiggling a cable can couple the signal to the shield and to the other pairs. The drain can become an AM antenna leading to a bad situation. 

After hunting down the instructions saved in the box it says "Use the cable provided with the package"  

I know the Ethernet standard has provided both UTP and STP for decades. Real life experiences have seen shielded cables can potentially provide worse performance. Not only on increase in crosstalk, but electrical noise coupled to the shielding.

Twisted pairs should be sufficient for improving elctromagnetic compatibility. Alexander Graham Bell figured that out long ago.

It would be interesting to hear an explanation why Netgear supplied a shielded CAT5e cable for a consumer modem.   

[FURRYe38 · Accepted solution]

I don't know the actual mfr is of the cables I bought. Back then and up to a while ago, I had ordered my cables from deepsurplus.com. Since I had worked at a tech company which we were building out a test lab, they had me get cables from there. I kept using them over the years. Also some may have come from monoprice.com as well.

Looking at one of my cables now, it's a TIA/EIA-568-B cert. This was one from deepsurplus. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIA/EIA-568

https://community.fs.com/blog/should-we-use-cat6-or-cat6a-for-10gbase-t.html

Your url link is malformed. Doesn't work. 

[FURRYe38]

Cables are cheaply made and and mostly used for inbox shipping needs. Most of the time they work. Sometimes they don't. You don't have to use the cable. Shieled cable is preferred sometimes while near the modem and sometimes modems are located near wifi routers and other devices. Keeping the communications between the modem and router is important to maintain good connections and performances. 

You don't have to use shielded if you don't want to. I recommend using all CAT6 or above cable. Has best performanced for 1G netowworknig needs. 

[Bytecode]

Nobody is really checking on these manufactured items. Once a manufacturer receives certification... whether UL, CSA, whomever, there's too many cables to be tracked.

For the average consumer, I can't see an advantage of shielded LAN including even cost which is such a small scale installation when we're talking about a home. Consumer's aren't running a home network resembling say, a Verizon data center which is where one typically sees shielded Ethernet over twisted pair cabling installed.

As for Cat6 and Cat6a, attention paid to what is being sold online makes a matter of difference. Cat6 once had a market failure and since there are already so many Cat6 products stored everywhere, if the 802.3xx-xxxx Standard, or speed in Mbits/s aren't paid attention to, it would be wise to wait until one understood what they're looking to buy.  Cat 6a cables can be manufacturered to meet two different usages - LAN and  Autombobile / IoT.  In some cases, someone possibly could be sold single pair cabling if they aren't careful about what is being sold. 

[FURRYe38]

Of course not. Cables are cheap and since probably mostly "frabrique en chine", quality and cost is low. 

However there maybe some interferences between the modem and wifi router that can be shielded by using a sheilded cable. Nothing wrong in using one either. If it works it can be used. 

I've been using CAT6 for 10+years now. ZERO issues. I've long since got ride of 5e and 5 cabling on my network. I put in CAT6A heavy in wall cabling in a new home addition in future proofing for 10Gb when and if that ever comes to the consumer market on a rational cost. CAT6A is mostly larger size cabling for in wall configurations. CAT6 can do tp up 10Gb speeds however at only 55 meters and can be shielded or not sheilded. CAT6A and above are 10Gb rated and are all sheilded. They’re also capable of maintaining higher transmission speeds over longer cable lengths. Cat 6a cables are always shielded, and their sheathing, which is thick enough to completely eliminate crosstalk, makes for a much denser, less flexible cable than Cat 6. 

[Bytecode]

@FURRYe38 

Since you've been using CAT6 for 10+ years, would you mind if I asked what manufacturer(s) you might remember who make CAT6 patch cables that have a transmission speed of 5000 Mbit/s ?

Two variants of CAT6: 

- 1000 Mbit/s CAT6,   and

- 5000 Mbit/s CAT6 

I'm looking for at least one manufacturer who provide the latter.  

Per Wikipedia article Ethernet over twisted pair, the 1000 Mbit/s CAT6 is listed as market failure. The TIA/EIA 854 (2001) Standard is listed obsolete.    

One business I was just talking to in their technical support (chat) said the CAT6 they sell meets Standard TIA/EIA 854 (2001) at the 1000 Mbit/s speed. So these still do exist in the market           

[FURRYe38 · Accepted solution]

I don't know the actual mfr is of the cables I bought. Back then and up to a while ago, I had ordered my cables from deepsurplus.com. Since I had worked at a tech company which we were building out a test lab, they had me get cables from there. I kept using them over the years. Also some may have come from monoprice.com as well.

Looking at one of my cables now, it's a TIA/EIA-568-B cert. This was one from deepsurplus. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIA/EIA-568

https://community.fs.com/blog/should-we-use-cat6-or-cat6a-for-10gbase-t.html

Your url link is malformed. Doesn't work. 

[Bytecode]

Thanks. Perfect.

FS is just what I was looking for. It's not easy to find a business that has quality cables.  

googling "TIA patch cord CAT6" or something similar doesn't return companies like this 

FS gives you data sheets on each patch cable and also the Fluke test report which is an added bonus to know what you're buying.   

The "Fabrique de Chine" cables are the ones I'm trying to avoid where you can't tell what you're buying on a lot of sites.

Sorry about the Wikipedia article I referenced (the link that was broken).  It didn't matter anyway. That had to do with Ethernet TP-PHY - twisted pair based Ethernet Physical transport layers of the OSI model

[FURRYe38]

Good Luck.