Thinking of upgrading to cat6 data cabling? This will explain if you can work with both your old and new cabling together

1. Do Cat6 cables work with Cat5?
Whenclientsare upgradingtheirtechnologyandconsequentlytheirnetworkinfrastructurewe are
commonlyaskeddoCat6 cablesworkwithCat5? This howeverdependsonwhetherthe questions
are withregardsto a physical ortechnical situation.
Physicallyall Cat5e,Cat6, andCat6a elementswill fitintothe othercablinghardware
What makes up a data cabling linkand infrastructure?
The overall linkof a computercablinglinkconsistsof the following
1. A patch panel thatishousedwithinthe datacablingcabinet
2. The actual computercablingfromthe cabinetto the userhardware
o PC's
o Telephones
o Wifi
o Printers
o AudioVisual
1. The computercablingmodulesatthe userend(where the cablingterminates).
2. Computercablingpatchleadsat the userand cabinetend
o The cablesthat connect from the modulestothe PC's,Telephonesetc.
o The cablesthat connectfrom the patch panel tothe data switch/router
Therefore,regardlessif youhave anyof those elementsinCat5e,Cat6or Cat6a, theywill all have the
same terminationpanelsandoutlets asstandard.Thisstandardisreferredtoas an RJ45.
Furthermore,elementsof Cat7and Cat8 cablingcan work withthe lowercategories,buttheyhave
additional terminalsintheirconnectorsthatdon'tmatch withCat5e,Cat6, andCat6a for the overall
solution
Data Cablingand its rating at the weakestpoint
The problemisthat inany computercablingnetwork,the overallperformance of the datacabling
systemisonlyas goodas itsweakestpart.Therefore,if there isaCat5 elementanywhere inthe
infrastructure,the overall systemwill be ratedasCat5.
Therefore,lookingatthe overall computercablinglinkelements,youcanhave the followingasan
example
 Cat6 PatchPanels
 The infrastructure of Cat6 Cable
 Cat6 Modules
 Cat5e Patch Leads

2. In thisscenario,the overall linkwouldworkandfittogether.However,the overall linkratingwould
onlybe Cat5e, eventhough75% of the componentsare Cat6 cable and connectors.Furthermore,
the same wouldapplyinany combinationof mixingthose elementsbetweenCat5e andCat6. It
wouldalwaysbe ratedinthe lowercategory.Inaddition,thisisthe same formixingCat5e,Cat6,
Cat6a, Cat7, and Cat8. It alwaysreducestoits weakestcomponent
Where do we commonly see thissituation?
The most commonsituation where thisisseenisexactlyasinthe exampleabove.A clientwill install
a highergrade overall cablingsystem(i.eCat6a) andtheneitherunknowinglybuyalessergrade
patch lead(i.e Cat6) or buya lowercategorypatchleadto save money.Therefore, instantlyreducing
the highergrade and highercostoverall cablingnetworktoaloweralternative
The opposite canalsooccur where clientsbuyCat6patch leadstouse on theirCat5e network,which
isan unnecessarycost,as itdoesn'timprove the overall performance
Unfortunately,itisalsoat timesseenwhereinstallationsare undertaken,where the panelsand
modulesare Cat6. Thisisbecause theycan be seenbythe client.However,the installerhasused
Cat5e cable to linkitall together,savingthe costonthe cable withoutthe clients'knowledge.Unless
the clientknowswhatto lookforit ishard to tell whatisa Cat5e and whatis a Cat6 cable froma
quicklook.
What is the difference betweenthe differentcomputercablingcategories?
The overall choice of IT cablinginfrastructure will dependon
 Connectionspeedrequirements(1gigabit,10 gigabit)
 Existinginfrastructure
 Buildingconstructionandspace (Cat6arequiresalargeramountof trunkingandspace to
install,forexample)
 Budget/ Cost
In the firstinstance,the decisionshouldbe basedonthe connectionrequirementsyourequire.
There isno pointinhaving10 gigabitconnectionrequirementsforyourPC's,andtheninstalling
Cat5e,as itwill neverwork.The otherelementsthencome intoplace todesignandimplementthe
correct systemtomatch the buildingandbudget

3. Summary: Do cat6 cables work with cat5
In summary,the answerstothe questionare
1. Yes Cat5 and Cat6 will worktogether(aswell asCat6a,Cat7, etc)
2. However,theywon'tworktothe expectedstandard,asthe highergrade elementsare
alwaysreducedtothe lowerelements
We are alwayshappyto advise andtake a lookat existingdatacablinginstallationswhenconsidering
an upgrade.We can thenoutline whatcan be retainedandwhatisrequiredtoupgrade.Therefore,
combiningthe designintoanoverall proposalandquotation
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
NMCablingisa technologyandstructuredcablingintegratorworkingthroughoutthe United
Kingdom.
We have createda comprehensive KnowledgeCentre forourindustrywhichcanbe viewed
at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/