Flat or round Ethernet cables?

JJ_Young

Bronze Level Poster
Hi

I have been using an old router as a network switch for the past few years and changing it over to a TP-Link TL-SG1005D and looking to upgrade my Ethernet cables.

I currently have a round cat6 coming from my router downstairs to the switch in the hall upstairs (I've just pinned the wire around the skirting and up the staircase) and noticed one of my ethernet cables from the switch to my PC has frayed so need to replace it, I was looking online for cat6 cables and seen you can get flat ethernet cables and wondered if they were any good or if I should stick to the round ones?

I need to put an ethernet cable into 2 other rooms from the switch and these flat ones would save me the hassle of pinning them to the wall as I could just run them under the carpet for the short 4 Meters they would be going to the tvs/sky box on the rooms.

Whats your thoughts on them, are they just as good and would running them under the carpet be ok/safe?

Ta
JJ
 
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Tony1044

Prolific Poster
Ethernet is low voltage so no problems with electrical safety.

If the cable is rated CAT6 then there should be no discernie difference. And over 4m or so I'd say you'd struggle to notice any difference in performance anyway unless the cable is damaged in some way.

Ultimately, whether flat or round, each pair of cables is twisted and that is easily achievable whether flat or round.

Why CAT6 though? These are generally much more expensive that CAT5/5E for no performance increase in a home environment.

If you can get flat CAT5 then I'd look at that.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I have no experience of flat Ethernet cables at all but my initial concern would be crosstalk, though as Tony1044 says, a 4m length shouldn't be a problem either way. In a round cable the pairs are twisted deliberately in a very particular way to reduce (or eliminate) induction from one pair to another (induction causes crosstalk). For such a short length flat Cat6 (or 5/5e as Tony 1044 says) should be fine. If you want to be sure get the detailed specs for both flat and round and check the crosstalk values in particular.
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
I had the same concerns and I still would over a longer distance and at full CAT6 speeds but having done a quick google on them, it looks as though the same pairs are twisted in the same way as in round cables.

It also looks as though, in shielded flat CAT6, the individual pairs are shielded...if that's really the case, it may actually be a better choice than round cable.

Flat CAT6.jpg

Round CAT6.jpg

Edit: I just noticed that despite the site I got that flat CAT6 image from saying it was CAT6, it's got CAT7 written on it in the picture...

Unshielded CAT6:

Unshielded flat CAT6.jpg
 
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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Nice find Tony1044, but in a round cable not only are the individual pairs twisted by they are also twisted together - all to reduce crosstalk - and this doesn't seem to happen in the flat ones. I'd certainly want shielded twisted pairs in either a flat or round cable.
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
Nice find Tony1044, but in a round cable not only are the individual pairs twisted by they are also twisted together - all to reduce crosstalk - and this doesn't seem to happen in the flat ones. I'd certainly want shielded twisted pairs in either a flat or round cable.

That additional twist wouldn't make any difference to crosstalk - if anything it'd increase the likelihood of crosstalk due to the proximity of cables with mixed signals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair

In theory, each pair should be electrically balanced, and the noise and crosstalk generated in them cancels itself out.

By winding all the cores around one another, you are going to amplify the overall crosstalk.

By laying them side-by-side, you will get minimal crosstalk between adjacent pairs, but not across all pairs.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
That additional twist wouldn't make any difference to crosstalk - if anything it'd increase the likelihood of crosstalk due to the proximity of cables with mixed signals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair

In theory, each pair should be electrically balanced, and the noise and crosstalk generated in them cancels itself out.

By winding all the cores around one another, you are going to amplify the overall crosstalk.

By laying them side-by-side, you will get minimal crosstalk between adjacent pairs, but not across all pairs.

Interesting, thanks. It was always my understanding that the twist in each pair was to reduce inductive crosstalk and the twist of the multiple pairs was to help reduce capacitive crosstalk. Still you live and learn. :)
 
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