How to Configure Wi-Fi Access Point (Linksys)

Linksys Access Point : -When you planning to buy the Linksys access point for extend your existing wireless network, probably you have to know about how configure this device. may be other network devices you know the how to configure the IP address but there  there is no DHCP server, its mean when you connect in your PC it will not generated IP because its don't have any default IP address, therefore we can show you how to configure you Linksys Access Point step by step...

• In your existing Router you should enable the DHCP Server.
• You need to connect it in your existing switch (Cisco, Dlink .etc) and plug in power of access point.
• Download the IP scanner and install in your PC.
• Check your computer IP address, it should be on DHCP enable.
• Now start the IP scanner and you will find the Linksys Access point in the list, its mean the your Access control adopted the IP address. 
•  Now go to the Internet explorer and put the Access point unique IP address in address bar.
• And you can configure it which desire IP you need to configure on Access point. 

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Revolution of 5 Generation Wi-Fi Standard (802.11ac)

802.11ac is the next generation for wireless networks and manufacturers are now deploying equipment with this new technology and marketing the heck out of it. Now the question is when should you look at deploying it and what do you benefit from these new wireless solutions ?

If you have recently deployed an 802.11n network I wouldn’t worry about it. You still have lots of life left in your investment and unlike previous generations of wireless networks this one is ok to mix in with your current 802.11n wireless network. That means you can buy an 11ac AP here and there over time and replace or supplement your existing wireless network with these new APs. There are lots of things to consider though when deciding how to deploy this new technology but for right now we are going to focus on what does AC offer versus N wireless.

There are the mostly four factor revolution to use the 802.11ac.

• Speed
• Rang 
• Capacity 
• Compatibility 

Speed 

The first big gain we get with 802.11ac wireless is faster speeds. Faster speeds mean more bandwidth for everyone involved because the faster I can get you the data you requested the faster I can get to the next guy in line who is trying to get to his Vine video of the day. With 802.11ac the first generation of APs is going to provide up to 1.3Gbps of bandwidth. This is about 3x the bandwidth we can currently get from an 802.11n AP with dual radios today. The speeds of course are all dependent on optimal variables like, client device capability, distance from the AP, RF quality, etc… So suffice it to say that 802.11ac is like replacing your family sedan with a Ferrari!

Range

The first point to make is the 802.11ac standard lives entirely in the 5GHz spectrum. While some more modern routers broadcast 802.11n in 5GHz as well as 2.4GHz they remain relatively rare.  

Consequently, the 5GHz spectrum tends to be 'quiet', meaning much less interference from neighbourhood Wi-Fi. This more than counters the fact that, in lab conditions, 5GHz signals do not actually broadcast as far as 2.4GHz signals. 5GHz is also necessary to support the faster speeds of wireless ac. 

The second key factor is 802.11ac makes ‘beamforming’ a core part of its spec. Rather than throw out wireless signal equally in all directions, WiFi with beamforming detects where devices are and intensifies the signal in their direction(s). 

This technology has been around in proprietary form (it made a huge impact in the D-Link DIR-645), but now it will be inside every 802.11ac router and every 802.11ac device. 

The combination of these two technologies is profound. This was most clearly seen with the Linksys EA6500 which hit speeds of 30.2MBps (241.6Mbit) when connecting to a device just two metres away, but still performed at 22.7MBps (181.6Mbit) when 13 metres away with two solid walls in the way. By contrast Linksys’ own EA4500 (identical except being limited to 802.11n) managed 10.6MBps (84.8Mbit) dropping to 2.31MBps (18.48Mbit) under the same conditions. 

The real world result is 802.11ac not only enables you to enjoy the fastest 100Mbit (and beyond) fibre optic broadband speeds all over the house, but to enjoy it along with multiple streams of Full HD content, super low latency gaming and blazing fast home networking all at the same time. 

Capacity 

The next big gain 802.11ac provides us is better client capacity. With 802.11n wireless we recommended no more than 30-40 clients to an AP for optimal performance. This isn’t because of limitations in the access point hardware but rather limitations based on bandwidth. RF is a shared medium and there isn’t an unlimited amount of airtime or bandwidth. Because wireless clients are sharing the bandwidth on an AP each is only going to get a slice of the total amount of bandwidth offered by it. For instance, a dual radio 802.11n AP that provides 450Mbps to 50 clients is going to net each client about 9Mbps in total bandwidth. When you factor in overhead, spectrum interference, etc… the actual total bandwidth to the client will be much less. If my client count is less on the AP each client will have more bandwidth allocated to them. 25 clients on the same 802.11n AP will net 18Mbps per client which is much better than 9Mbps. With 802.11ac we have a lot more bandwidth to distribute and better methods of doing it so the client count can be much higher on an 802.11ac access point than on 802.11n.

Compatibility

The first thing to get out of the way is - like past Wi-Fi standards - 802.11ac is backwards compatible with 802.11b, g and n. This means you can buy an 802.11ac-equipped device and it will work just fine with your existing router. Similarly you can upgrade to an 802.11ac router and it will work happily with all your existing devices. That said you will need both an 802.11ac router and an 802.11ac device to enjoy the standard’s biggest benefits. And those begin with…

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Free Five Faster FTP Clients

If you work corporate or open internet environment you should be require the FTP server to secure your data, first of all we should know "What is FTP Server ? " and why we've require to implement it.

What is FTP Server ?

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol." FTP powers one of the fundamental Internet functions and is the prescribed method for the transfer of files between computers. It is also the easiest and most secure way to exchange files over the Internet

Why is require for business environment ?

Setting up an FTP server becomes necessary for businesses that manage their own network and need to establish a file transfer connection to facilitate the exchange of documents between company employees. It is also needed by web hosting companies that empower their clients to upload websites to the hosting servers they are managing. Also, the installation of an FTP server application is a good solution if you're a person who needs to share a large number of files over the Internet.

Where we get FTP Client 

Most computer operating systems already come with an FTP client; however, it is not user-friendly.  Start up a command prompt window, type "ftp" and then press “enter.”  Chances are you will be greeted by an "ftp>" prompt. Unless you are well-versed with using command lines and enjoy typing, there are much easier ways to FTP.

FTP Explorer is an FTP client application.  It is designed to make FTP simple and hassle-free. Most people agree it is much easier to use than a command line FTP client. 

  or and access from anywhere or modify do your date you need FTP client 

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol." FTP powers one of the fundamental Internet functions and is the prescribed method for the transfer of files between computers. It is also the easiest and most secure way to exchange files over the Internet

Five Best FTP Clients

WinSCP (Windows)

WinSCP, Windows Secure Copy, is a free, open-source FTP client. Supporting both SFTP and SCP protocols (upshot: secure transfers), WinSCP is fast and lightweight while still supporting advanced features like remote text editing. When you open a plain text file, WinSCP can open the file in your text editor of choice. Every time you save the file, it transparently saves and uploads the changes to the remote server. Added bonus: a portable version is available. WinSCP's synchronized browsing feature is also worth a look.

Transmit (Mac OS X)

Transmit is a shareware ($30) FTP client packed to the brim with innovative features. It covers all of the usual suspects, including remote file editing and folder sync, and it's also got tons of Mac-centric features like a Dashboard widget, .Mac syncing of your favorites (bookmarked FTP servers), and droplets for quick drag-and-drop uploading to favorite locations, inline previews, and Automat or support. Transmit can even do server-to-server transfers from one server's tab to another's. Despite its $30 price tag, Transmit has even got some Windows users version

FireFTP (All Platforms with Firefox)

FireFTP is a Firefox extension that integrates a powerful FTP client directly into our favorite browser. FireFTP isn't the most feature-rich client of the bunch, but if all you need is a simple FTP client for the occasional upload or download, FireFTP is more than up for the job. Even better: You don't have to install a separate program for FTP, since it all runs from the warm and fuzzy comfort of the 'fox. If you're running Portable on your thumb drive, you can take FireFTP with you wherever you go.P

FileZilla (All Platforms)

FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP client for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Due to its price tag (or lack thereof), cross-platform support, and ease of use, FileZilla is a go-to option for many users new to FTP. Users stick around because FileZilla is a fast, full-featured (it also has remote file editing), and reliable FTP client in constant development. There's even a portable version you can toss on your thumb drive to use FileZilla on the go. Finally, if you're a Windows user you can even use FileZilla to build your own home FTP server.

Cyberduck (Mac OS X)

Cyberduck is a free, open-source FTP client for Mac OS X with support for most of the usual suspects in transfer protocols in addition to WebDAV and Amazon S3. It also supports Quick Look, Growl, and remote editing with your text editor of choice. Mac users who aren't happy with FileZilla and don't want to shell out any cash for Transmit can flock to the duck for full-featured FTP and then some.

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How to test Internet Speed through Command Prompt

Anybody who wants to test their connection speed can easily do so from a speed test web site — but that isn’t very geeky. Here’s how to do a test from the terminal prompt instead.

(Note: If you are using Windows, you’ll want to either have Cygwin installed, or have a copy of curl or wget installed. On the Mac you can use curl, but if you prefer wget, you’ll need to install that.)

Testing Internet Connection Speed with Curl

This is pretty simple. Just copy and paste the following command:

curl -o /dev/null http://speedtest.sea01.softlayer.com/downloads/test100.zip

The first thing to point out is that we’re using a test file from Softlayer, but if your connection is really fast, you might want to use a larger file from Thinkbroadband to properly test. Secondly, that -o switch is the lower case form of the letter O. It’s not a zero, and if you omit it, your terminal will turn into crazyville since curl will try to output to the screen — it’s also important because we’re outputting the file to /dev/null, which means it’ll basically be automatically deleted.

Testing Internet Connection Speed with Wget

If you prefer using wget, or that is what you have installed, the switch is the same. That is a capital letter “o” and it sends the output straight to null, so you don’t have any files to delete.

wget -O /dev/null http://speedtest.sea01.softlayer.com/downloads/test100.zip

This file is only 100 MB, so if you have a really fast connection, this isn’t going to work very well, and you’ll want to find a bigger file to download from the site linked above.

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What is a DMZ ?

In computer networking, DMZ is a firewall configuration for securing local area networks (LANs).

In a DMZ configuration, most computers on the LAN run behind a firewall connected to a public network like the Internet. One or more computers also run outside the firewall, in the DMZ. Those computers on the outside intercept traffic and broker requests for the rest of the LAN, adding an extra layer of protection for computers behind the firewall.

Traditional DMZs allow computers behind the firewall to initiate requests outbound to the DMZ. Computers in the DMZ in turn respond, forward or re-issue requests out to the Internet or other public network, as proxy servers do. (Many DMZ implementations, in fact, simply utilize a proxy server or servers as the computers within the DMZ.) The LAN firewall, though, prevents computers in the DMZ from initiating inbound requests.

DMZ is a commonly-touted feature of home broadband routers. However, in most instances these features are not true DMZs. Broadband routers often implement a DMZ simply through additional firewall rules, meaning that incoming requests reach the firewall directly. In a true DMZ, incoming requests must first pass through a DMZ computer before reaching the firewall.

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Dropping Internet Connection in Linksys Router (WAG160N)

Last couple of month we are facing the problem of frequently dropping internet connection, and after the reset internet line from ISP we don’t get any change of situation, I asked to the ISP help desk but they doesn’t successfully resolve the issues.

Dropping connectivity is not good impact to business as well users, and after lots of goggling finally i got the solution of  dropping connection, I try to degrade the my Linksys Router (WAG160N), and its un-believable after degrade my problem is resolve. Now Internet connection is working perfectly and no more dropping .

So if you are also getting the problem of dropping Internet connection then try to degrade the router firmware.

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How to use Qos (Quality of Service) on Router

Quality of Service (QoS) is a feature of routers and switches which prioritizes traffic so that more important traffic can pass first. The result is a performance improvement for critical network traffic. QoS equipment is useful with VoIP phones or in LANs with high volumes of local traffic.

SETTING UP QOS 

The QoS settings can be found under Applications & Gaming -> QoS.

There are many ways to assign priority to your VOIP system.  I just used the IP address as shown below.  192.168.1.10 is the LAN private IP of the Asterisk system.

With the priority of the Asterisk box set to high, we should be all set.  It turns out that unless you cap the bandwidth, you will still have QoS problems.  Enter around 85% of your up and down bandwidth in the Uplink and Downlink boxes.  Capping the bandwidth is required to keep the latency low.  Otherwise, your bandwidth is filled up with large packets and the priority settings are not effective for VOIP traffic.  See http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Quality_of_Service for more information.

With the above settings, VOIP calls are now clear even with other concurrent activities.

UPDATE:

Several people have reported being able to install dd-wrt on v6 WRT54 routers and the QoS configuration is the same.

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How to Get Better Wireless Signal

Like all sufficiently advanced technologies, Wi-Fi can feel like magic. But Wi-Fi isn’t magic – its radio waves. A variety of things can interfere with these radio waves, making your wireless connection weaker and more unreliable.

The main keys to improving your wireless network’s signal are positioning your router properly — taking obstructions into account — and reducing interference from other wireless networks and household appliances.

Wireless Router Positioning

Your wireless router’s positioning can greatly affect your coverage area and the strength of your signal. Follow these quick tips to position your router for the best signal.

• Place the router in the middle of your house. If you place the router in a room off to the side of your house, you won’t get as strong a signal on the other side of your house.
• Position the router’s antenna vertically, so that the antenna is standing straight up. Many antennas can be adjusted and lie horizontally, but standing straight up is generally the ideal position.
• Elevate your router away from floors. You’ll get better reception if the router is on a desk, not on the floor.

You should also pay attention to the kinds of materials the router is near. For example, placing the router on a metal desk or up against a metal wall will cause problems. Signals can travel through a wood desk easily, but metal will obstruct the signals.

Other types of obstructions can also cause problems. For example, if there’s a metal filing cabinet between your computer and the router, you may not receive a wireless signal. The same applies to other types of dense objects.

Interference From Other Wireless Networks

Interference from other wireless networks in the area can cause issues with your wireless signal. To determine whether interference is occurring, you can use an app like Wi-FiAnalyzer for Android. It will show you the wireless channels nearby networks are using and recommend the ideal network for you to use — one that isn’t being used by as many networks. This app will also allow you to walk around the area and see where you get the best signal and where the signal is weakest – you can do this with any other device, too.

If multiple wireless networks are competing for the same channel, this can cause problems. To fix this, you can change the wireless channel in your router’s web interface. You can do this even if you don’t have access to a wireless-analyzing app – change the signal to a different channel and then see if your wireless connection improves.

Interference From Household Appliances

A variety of household appliances can cause wireless interference, including cordless phones, baby monitors, and microwave ovens. Depending on the positioning of your wireless router, your networked device, and the appliance, you may even have the wireless network cut out when the microwave or cordless phone is in use.

Problems with cordless phones can be solved by replacing your phones with phones that operate on a different frequency, such as 900 MHz or 1.9 GHz. Cordless phones using the 2.4 Ghz frequency will interfere with wireless networks.

Problems with microwaves can often by solved by positioning the your devices such that the microwave isn’t between your router and the device. it’s also possible that a new microwave will help, if the new microwave has better shielding.

Other devices can also cause problems. For example, older Bluetooth devices can interfere with nearby Wi-Fi signals, although newer Bluetooth devices don’t.

Repeaters, Antennas, and Reflectors

If you need to cover a large area with a wireless signal and your router just isn’t cutting it, you can buy a wireless repeater or range extender. These devices repeat the wireless signal, extending its area. You don’t even need special devices for this – if you have some old routers around, you can use multiple routers to extend your Wi-Fi network.

Depending on your router, you may be able to attach an improved antenna that gives your signal additional range. You can also try building a Wi-Fi reflector that reflects the signal in a specific direction.

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Speed Up Your Internet with Google Public DNS

Are you looking for a faster way to browse the Internet and have pages load faster? If so, you might be interested in trying out Google Public DNS, here we will take a look at adding it to your router or home computer.

DNS (Domain Name System) translates an IP address to an easy to remember hostname. If you use your ISPs DNS settings by default, it may not be the fastest way to get to your favourite sites. We have previously recommended the service OpenDNS as speeds are usually faster than your ISP and it offers several other cool options. Google has recently launched a free public DNS service, and we’ll take a look at setting it up on your PC or router.

Add Google DNS to a Window Computer

To add Google Public DNS to your Windows 7 machine, right-click on Network and choose Properties.

Alternatively, you can enter Network and Sharing Center into the search box in the Start Menu.

The Network and Sharing Center opens and you’ll want to click on Change adapter settings which is located on the right side of the screen.

Now right-click on Local Area Connection and select Properties. If you have a wireless connection, right-click on Wireless Network Connection and click Properties.

The Local Area Connection Properties screen opens and you’ll want to highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

The Internet Protocol Version 4 Properties window comes up. If you already have DNS settings listed, make sure to copy or write them down in case you want to switch back. Select Use the following DNS server addresses and type in the following for Preferred and Alternate DNS server:

Note: According to Google you can interchange the Primary and secondary address, but don’t use the same number for both.

Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8

Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

Click Ok and then close out of the remaining windows and reboot your system, then you’ll want to test out the settings. Basically browse around to your bookmarked sites and make sure they display properly.

Add Google DNS to Your Router

In this example we are using a Belkin Wireless Router. Each router varies but the principle is the same. Go into your router configuration settings by typing the Router IP into your browser. Mostly in Home Router it will 192.168.1.1..otherwise if you want to check how to get this IP Address then Go to Network Place Properties and Double Click the "Local Area Network" Click the "Support" tab and there you will find "Default" in the default column IP Address is you Router IP address, 

Open you Browser and put the 192.168.1.1 IP and press Enter, Put the Username & password, Go to the WAN Configuration and find the DNS setting 

Now enter in the primary and secondary DNS addresses and apply changes. Again according to Google you can interchange the Primary and secondary address, but don’t use the same number for both. We set ours up as the following:

Primary:  8.8.8.8

Secondary: 8.8.4.4

After you apply the DNS changes your router may need to restart, where in the case of a Belkin it is a 40 second reboot. After the router reboots, go through and test the settings to verify they work.

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Five Mostly Used VPN Apps

Many businesses depend upon the ability to access their servers and documents from multiple locations. To enable that, many take advantage of the Virtual Private Network (VPN). When proposing this to end users, it is very often met with fear and uncertainty. It is change and people don't like change. To make that easier for end users, selecting the right VPN client is key. Some VPN servers (such as Sonicwall and Fortinet) require you use their own proprietary clients. But other VPNs allow the use of third party clients. As for the third-party clients, there are quite a lot of them out there. Some are free, some are cheap, some are worth your time, and some are not. I have gathered together five of the clients I believe to be worth looking into. Each client may or may not meet your VPN needs – that will depend upon the server you are running. But each client offers plenty of features and each offers different levels of user-friendliness.

OpenVPN Client

OpenVPN Client is a full-featured SSL VPN client that seamlessly integrates into an OpenVPN server. This client is as simple to use as any VPN Client and makes connecting to the OpenVPN server a snap. OpenVPN Client is free and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. For Windows, this client is compatible with all versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. Of course, you will have to have a working OpenVPN server to connect to. Fortunately, that server is incredibly easy to set up.

Gadmin VPN Client

Gadmin VPN Client is another means to connect to the OpenVPN server. This tool is part of the Gadmin Tools suite of administration tools (you can even install a Gadmin VPN Server GUI to help you easily set up an OpenVPN server).

This particular client tool is available only for the Linux platform, but offers tons of options for configuration. Of course, because of the amount of available options, Gadmin VPN Client isn't the best tool for users who are less familiar with how VPNs work.

Shrew Soft VPN Client

Shrew Soft VPN Client is an easy to use client for IPSec Remote Access VPN servers. This client is available for Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000 (both 32 and 64-bit flavors) as well as the Linux platform.

This client was originally developed to connect to open source servers such as FreeSWAN and OpenSWAN, but now can connect to VPNs by Cisco, Juniper, Checkpoint, Fortinet, Netgear, Linksys, Zywall and many others. Shew Soft VPN Client is free.

VPN X Client

VPN X Client is one of two VPN clients on the list that has a price attached. That price depends upon the license type and how many licenses you need (check out the Pricing page and check outthis comparison matrix.) The VPN X Client will only connect to the VPN X Server. You will find the VPN X Server quite easy to set up and secure enough for small to medium sized businesses.

Viscosity VPN Client

Viscosity VPN Client is a cross-platform client (Windows and Macs) that makes connecting to an OpenVPN server a breeze and will only cost you $9.00 USD.

Viscosity is used in Fortune 500 companies, continuously monitors your OpenVPN connection, fully integrates with OS X's advanced DNS system, can work with AppleScript and Batch/Vbs scripts, and offers Smartcar/token (PKCS#11) support, multiple connections, proxy integration, IPv6, and more.

Bottom line

Having a VPN doesn't mean you have to use a client your end users can't grasp or will put you and your IT budget out of business. These five clients work with different VPN servers and offer different levels of complexity and costs. If you're looking for a new VPN client, or replacing your VPN architecture all together, give these clients a look to see if one of them will fill a hole in your IT infrastructure. 

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How to Reconize Network Cable Category

Cables are commonly used to carry communication signals within LAN. There are three common types of cable media that can be used to connect devices to a network and they are coaxial cable, twisted-pair cable, and fiber-optic cable.

• Coaxial cable

Coaxial cable looks similar to the cable used to carry TV signal. A solid-core copper wire runs down the middle of the cable. Around that solid-core copper wire is a layer of insulation, and covering that insulation is braided wire and metal foil, which shields against electromagnetic interference. A final layer of insulation covers the braided wire.

There are two types of coaxial cabling: thinnet and thicknet. Thinnet is a flexible coaxial cable about ¼ inches thick. Thinnet is used for short-distance. Thinnet connects directly to a workstation’s network adapter card using a British Naval Connector (BNC). The maximum length of thinnet is 185 meters. Thicknet coaxial is thicker cable than thinnet. Thicknet cable is about ½ inch thick and can support data transfer over longer distances than thinnet. Thicknet has a maximum cable length of 500 meters and usually is used as a backbone to connect several smaller thinnet-based networks.

The bandwidth for coaxial cable is 10 mbps (mega bits per second).

• Twisted Pair Cable

Twisted-pair cable is the most common type of cabling you can see in todays LAN networks. A pair of wires forms a circuit that can transmit data. The pairs are twisted to provide protection against crosstalk, the noise generated by adjacent pairs. When a wire is carrying a current, the current creates a magnetic field around the wire. This field can interfere with signals on nearby wires. To eliminate this, pairs of wires carry signals in opposite directions, so that the two magnetic fields also occur in opposite directions and cancel each other out. This process is known as cancellation. Two Types of Twisted Pairs are Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) and Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP).

Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable is the most common networking media. Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) consists of four pairs of thin, copper wires covered in color-coded plastic insulation that are twisted together. The wire pairs are then covered with a plastic outer jacket. The connector used on a UTP cable is called a Registered Jack 45 (RJ-45) connector. UTP cables are of small diameter and it doesn’t need grounding.  Since there is no shielding for UTP cabling, it relies only on the cancellation to avoid noise. 

UTP cabling has different categories. Each category of UTP cabling was designed for a specific type of communication or transfer rate. The most popular categories in use today is 5, 5e and 6, which can reach transfer rates of over 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps).

• Optical Fiber Cabling

Optical Fiber cables use optical fibers that carry digital data signals in the form of modulated pulses of light. An optical fiber consists of an extremely thin cylinder of glass, called the core, surrounded by a concentric layer of glass, known as the cladding. There are two fibers per cable—one to transmit and one to receive. The core also can be an optical-quality clear plastic, and the cladding can be made up of gel that reflects signals back into the fiber to reduce signal loss. There are two types of fiber optic cable: Single Mode Fibre (SMF) and Multi Mode Fibre (MMF). 1. Single Mode Fibre (SMF) uses a single ray of light to carry transmission over long distances. 2. Multi Mode Fibre (MMF) uses multiple rays of light simultaneously with each ray of light running at a different reflection angle to carry the transmission over short distances.

Category Of Cables 

Almost anyone who has connected to the Internet through a broadband connection (like cable or DSL) has used an Ethernet cable to do it. You have connected your PC’s network interface card (NIC) to your cable modem, DSL modem, or home router with an Ethernet cable.  Because of the commonality of this, if I say “use an Ethernet cable” you have a picture of a cable in your mind. However, you should know that there is more than one type of Ethernet cable.

• Category 1 (CAT 1, Level 1)

Category 1 cabling (CAT1), one of five grades of UTP cabling described in the EIA/TIA-586 standard, is used for telephone communications and is not suitable for transmitting data.

Analog voice (POTS) Basic Rate Interface in ISDN, Doorbell wiring

Maximum Rate of Data: Up to 1Mbps (1 MHz)

• Category 2 (CAT 2, Level 2)

Category 2 cables, also known as Cat 2, or Level 2, is a grade of unshielded twisted pair cabling designed for telephone and data communications. The maximum frequency suitable for transmission over Cat 2 cable is 4 MHz, and the maximum bandwidth is 4Mbit/s. Cat 2 cable contains 4 pair of wires, or eight wires total. Though not an official category standard established by TIA/EIA, Category 2 has become the de facto name given to Level 2 cables originally defined by Anixter International, the distributor. Mainly used in the IBM cabling system for Token Ring networks.

Maximum Rate of Data: Up to 4Mbps (4 MHz)

• Category 3 (CAT 3)

Cat 3 cable is an unshielded twisted pair cable (UTP). UTP is used in scenarios where electromagnetic interference is of little concern; the wire architecture shields the individual wires from crosstalk. In using UTP, network architecture spending can remain low while offering sufficient reliability for short- to mid-range signal transmission.

Voice Transmission Cat 3 cables are prominently used as telephone wiring, as it works especially well for voice transmission. Cat 3 is capable of supporting frequencies up to 16 MHz; this is more than sufficient for telephone calls.

This category was widely used among computer network administrators in the 1990s.

• Category 4 (CAT 4)

Cat 4 was mainly used in token ring networks and the cable consists of four unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wires, with a data rate of 16 Mbit/s, and performance of up to 20 MHz.

• Category 5 (CAT 5 )

CAT5 (also, CAT 5) is an Ethernet network cable standard defined by the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (commonly known as EIA/TIA). CAT5 is the fifth generation of twisted pair Ethernet technology and the most popular of all twisted pair cables in use today.

CAT5 cable contains four pairs of copper wire. It supports Fast Ethernet speeds (up to 100 Mbps). As with all other types of twisted pair EIA/TIA cabling, CAT5 cable runs are limited to a maximum recommended run length of 100m (328 feet).

• Category 5 (CAT 5e)

This category is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that prevents interference between one unshielded twisted pair to another twisted pair running in parallel within the same cable (Far End Crosstalk - FEXT).
As network and telecommunication applications become more complex, increased data transport is required to accommodate fast data transfer speeds. CAT 5 is typically used in Local Area Networks (LAN) and premise cabling. Category 5e cabling is an enhanced version of CAT 5 cabling. The main difference between CAT 5 and CAT 5e cabling is the specifications. The amended specifications provide full-duplex Fast Ethernet cabling. CAT 5e uses better insulation to improve attenuation and crosstalk performance. An additional plastic rib has been placed in the center of CAT 5e cabling to reduce crosstalk. A twist internal to the jack prevents untwisting and crosstalk to other wire pairs. Some of the benefits of CAT 5e interconnect include:

• Speed: can carry speeds up to 100 Mb/second, will expand to 10 Gigabits/second in the future.
• Bandwidth: greater bandwidth than CAT 3, 4
• Distance: Cables support distances up to 50 ft
• Price: CAT 5e cabling is much cheaper than fiber and coax cable
• Reliable: the most implemented and proven standards
• Size, weight and flexibility: smaller connectors allow for high port density, the cable is lightweight, and the jacket is flexible hp CAT 5e networking and telecommunications connectivity cables
• Better noise immunity: twisted pair cabling and balanced transmission provide less noise

• Category 6 (CAT 6)

Short for Category 6, Cat-6 network cabling is used as the cabling infrastructure for 10BASE-T (Ethernet), 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet),1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet, or GbE) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet, or 10 GbE) networks. The Cat 6 standard provides performance of up to 250MHz (500 MHz for the newer Cat 6a standard) and can be used up to a maximum length of 100 meters (55 meters for 10GBASE-T networks).

The Cat 6 standard was first released in 2002 as part of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 document specification.  Cat 6 is backward compatible with the Cat 3, Cat 5 and Cat 5e cable standards, and as with Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling, Cat 6 cables consist of four unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of copper wire terminated by RJ45connectors. 

In addition to its support for higher performance than the Cat 5 specification, the Cat 6 standard also includes more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. While Cat 6 is expected to supersede both Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling in the future, all three types of cables continue to be popular for use in network installations.

Category 6 cables are by definition a twisted pair, 100 Ohm cable which has transmission parameters specified up to 250 MHz, Category 6 cable is also a recognized cable in addition to those specified in 4.2.2 of ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2.

• Category 6e (CAT 6e)

Category 6E cables also exceed TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 Category 6 and ISO/IEC 11801 Class E performance requirements by substantial margins on all parameters. The AMP NETCONNECT Category 6 System complies with all of the performance requirements for current and proposed applications such as Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-Tx), 10 and 100BASE-Tx, token ring, 155 Mbps ATM, 100 Mbps TP-PMD, ISDN, analog and digital video, and analog and digital voice

• Category 7 (CAT 7)

Category 7 cable (Cat 7), (ISO/IEC 11801:2002 category 7/class F), is a cable standard for Ethernet and other interconnect technologies that can be made to be backwards compatible with traditional Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet cable. Cat 7 features even more strict specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Cat 6. To achieve this, shielding has been added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole.

The Cat 7 cable standard has been created to allow 10 Gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper cabling (also, 10-Gbit/s Ethernet now is typically run on Cat 6a). The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards. Cat 7 can be terminated either with 8P8C compatible GG45 electrical connectors which incorporate the 8P8C standard or with TERA connectors. When combined with GG45 or TERA connectors, Cat 7 cable is rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz.

Category 7a (or Augmented Category 7) operates at frequencies up to 1000 MHz, suitable for multiple applications in a single cable including 40 Gigabit Ethernet, 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and CATV (862 MHz). Simulation results have shown that 40 Gigabit Ethernet is possible at 50 meters and 100 Gigabit Ethernet is possible at 15 meters. Mohsen Kavehrad and researchers at Pennsylvania State University believe that either 32 nm or 22 nm circuits will allow for 100 Gigabit Ethernet at 100 meters.
 This cable type is a standard for Ethernet and other interconnect technologies, that are backward compatible with traditional Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet cables. As it has more strict specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Cat 6 and Cat 5e, its cables and the wires, within are completely shielded. the cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs and supports up to 600Mhz.

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