RJ45 on Cat6 LAN wire, can anyone help me?

**attyallanlatras** · February 15th, 2015 08:16 PM

Just recently, I bought Cat6 LAN wire about 25 feet in length and have it divided into 4. Since I am not familiar with how to crimp RJ45 connectors, I had it done at a computer shop in SM...The connection is fine - internet, and my 2 WD My Book Live...My computer has a Gigabit LAN port, the 2 WD My Book Live are also Gigabit capable, and I have a CISCO Gigabit switch...My computer and the 2 WD My Book Live are connected to the CISCO Gigabit switch and for internet connection, the switch is connected to an Asus Router (10/100 fast ethernet),....my concern is the transfer rate from my PC to the WD My Book Live which I do not feel any improvement prior to install the Gigabit switch....

Then recently, I read in the net that the "CAT5e RJ45 is not appropriate for CAT6 use (you can force it, but may compromise the higher speeds)." I now suspect that I am in this situation as I am sure the RJ45 connector used was for CAT5e and not for CAT 6....

Where can I buy or ask someone to crimp the appreciate RJ45 for my CAT6 LAN cable? Or is it really true that there are RJ45 for CAT6 different from the RJ45 for CAT5e?

**aioshin** · February 15th, 2015 09:11 PM

Please check the router or switches, should be Full Duplex Mode, then the speed should be 1GBps, not 100MBps. Sometimes, auto mode will not work, so you have to manually set the desired speed.

For Rj45, please buy the branded, not the cheap one, and on crimping, make sure that it is equally crimped... cheap crimping tools sometimes are not equal on its crimping teeth, so crimping result is faulty.

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Please check the router or switches, should be Full Duplex Mode, then the speed should be 1GBps, not 100MBps. Sometimes, auto mode will not work, so you have to manually set the desired speed.

For Rj45, please buy the branded, not the cheap one, and on crimping, make sure that it is equally crimped... cheap crimping tools sometimes are not equal on its crimping teeth, so crimping result is faulty.

**12vdc** · February 15th, 2015 10:10 PM

AFAIK only difference bet CAT5 and CAT6 is the outer shielding of the latter, former has none. You could have the shielding soldered, the RJ45 connector of CAT6 has a metal body.

**oj88** · February 15th, 2015 11:07 PM

The CAT6 standard can be deployed in shielded and unshielded configurations. CAT6 is not sensitive to the type of RJ45 plugs you use, rather, it is VERY sensitive with the cable used, the RJ45 jack, and if it is properly punched/terminated.

OP, what is the transfer rate you're getting between your PC and the WD NAS? Just a reality check... There seems to be a lot of chatter on some forums about the abysmal transfer speeds from these boxes. Having a gigabit connection does not guarantee fast transfers. There are other bottlenecks that must be factored in; Your PC's HDD I/O, the WD's internal I/O and/or HDD speed, etc.

**box_type** · February 16th, 2015 03:17 PM

afaik rj45s don't have cat5e nor cat6 specifications, only LAN cables has these, your problem could be in the (asus)router/switch (with a 10/100 speed and all the other equipments have 1 gb speeds)....have you ever heard of the saying "your network is as slow as the slowest link (which in this case is your switch/router) in your network"?

**benchman** · February 16th, 2015 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by box_type

afaik rj45s don't have cat5e nor cat6 specifications, only LAN cables has these, your problem could be in the (asus)router/switch (with a 10/100 speed and all the other equipments have 1 gb speeds)....have you ever heard of the saying "your network is as slow as the slowest link (which in this case is your switch/router) in your network"?

+1
bottleneck, it's the router.

**12vdc** · February 16th, 2015 10:52 PM

Giga lan i worked with are using shielded so are the rj45 connectors, most are vulcanized. TS may just run a test to check the bandwidth.. If RFC2544 test is possible, the better.

**oj88** · February 16th, 2015 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by box_type

afaik rj45s don't have cat5e nor cat6 specifications, only LAN cables has these, your problem could be in the (asus)router/switch (with a 10/100 speed and all the other equipments have 1 gb speeds)....have you ever heard of the saying "your network is as slow as the slowest link (which in this case is your switch/router) in your network"?

Sorry, no. As I mentioned, the cable and RJ45 jacks do matter if they're under-rated for the CAT6 specification.

Originally Posted by benchman

+1
bottleneck, it's the router.

The OP mentioned that both his desktop and NAS boxes are connected to a gigabit switch. It's a switch; It doesn't matter if there's a 10mbps device connected to any of the ports, it will provide gigabit throughput to two client devices that have gigabit ports.

**attyallanlatras** · February 17th, 2015 09:48 AM

Sir,

How do I check the transfer rate or speed of my gigabit devices (PC and the NAS boxes)?

I also read somewhere that I should manually change the setting under the Devise Manager for the Network Adapters under "Speed and Duplex" from Auto Negotiation to 1.0 GBPS Full Duplex....Before I should do that I want to get proper and expert advise first. I am afraid that if I will do that my router 10/100 may not act properly...

Thanks in advance...

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Sir,

How do I check the transfer rate or speed of my gigabit devices (PC and the NAS boxes)?

I also read somewhere that I should manually change the setting under the Devise Manager for the Network Adapters under "Speed and Duplex" from Auto Negotiation to 1.0 GBPS Full Duplex....Before I should do that I want to get proper and expert advise first. I am afraid that if I will do that my router 10/100 may not act properly...

Thanks in advance...

**12vdc** · February 17th, 2015 10:33 AM

SOHO giga network devices usually have LED speed indicator that allows you to see the speed theyre operating. Just leave it as is, speed:auto duplex:auto and you should be fine. If youre unsure with the speed, you could always force it to operate at 1G. A simple FTP could gauge throughput, while a ping command could give you the latency. Also, there are lots of free network monitoring tools out there..