IT FAQ's
The questions below are based on those I have been asked, often many times. I hope you find the answers useful.
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Should I install Category 5e cabling?
The short answer is no.
Category 5e cabling, usually called Cat5, is only guaranteed to work at a maximum speed of 100 Megabits per second (100 Mbps). It is not designed to work at the 1 Gigabit per second (1 Gbps) speed that most modern devices can operate at. The Cat5e standard was introduced in 2001 so it’s now a very old standard.
The Category 6A cable (or Augmented Category 6) was first introduced in 2009 so it is now about 11 years old. Hardly a new standard then, even though I still hear people calling it the “new stuff”. A correctly installed Cat6A network should be capable of operating at up to 10 Gbps. That’s 100 times faster than a Cat5e network.
If you are going to have any network cabling installed at the very minimum it should be Cat6A. If you install Cat5e cabling you are probably wasting your money and building in problems that can never be solved.
See this Wiki article for more information.
Category 5e cabling, usually called Cat5, is only guaranteed to work at a maximum speed of 100 Megabits per second (100 Mbps). It is not designed to work at the 1 Gigabit per second (1 Gbps) speed that most modern devices can operate at. The Cat5e standard was introduced in 2001 so it’s now a very old standard.
The Category 6A cable (or Augmented Category 6) was first introduced in 2009 so it is now about 11 years old. Hardly a new standard then, even though I still hear people calling it the “new stuff”. A correctly installed Cat6A network should be capable of operating at up to 10 Gbps. That’s 100 times faster than a Cat5e network.
If you are going to have any network cabling installed at the very minimum it should be Cat6A. If you install Cat5e cabling you are probably wasting your money and building in problems that can never be solved.
See this Wiki article for more information.
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Wired or Wireless (Wi-Fi) network?
Nowadays it would be hard to operate without a wireless network due to devices like smartphones, tablets and the many slim laptops that have no Ethernet sockets built in.
However, given a choice between using a wired or wireless network I would recommend the wired version every single time.
A wired network will be:
Very fast - up to 10Gbps over 100 meters
Very reliable
Easy to troubleshoot
Extremely secure
Carry power to connected devices using Power over Ethernet (PoE)
A wireless network will be:
Much slower
Reasonably reliable if you use good quality AP’s and connect them with cables.
Difficult to troubleshoot
Not very secure to hopelessly insecure
No PoE
Don’t be fooled by the argument that a wireless network will be cheaper either as it simply isn’t true for many installations.
Before you install any type of network I recommend that you get impartial advice. In other words don’t ask the person who will be supplying or installing the network.
However, given a choice between using a wired or wireless network I would recommend the wired version every single time.
A wired network will be:
Very fast - up to 10Gbps over 100 meters
Very reliable
Easy to troubleshoot
Extremely secure
Carry power to connected devices using Power over Ethernet (PoE)
A wireless network will be:
Much slower
Reasonably reliable if you use good quality AP’s and connect them with cables.
Difficult to troubleshoot
Not very secure to hopelessly insecure
No PoE
Don’t be fooled by the argument that a wireless network will be cheaper either as it simply isn’t true for many installations.
Before you install any type of network I recommend that you get impartial advice. In other words don’t ask the person who will be supplying or installing the network.
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Should I Use UPnP?
This one is easy to answer.
NO.
If you search the web you will find people who claim that UPnP is not a security risk. They are wrong. Opening up ports is always going to be a security risk. Letting software do this automatically is just asking for trouble. I discovered exactly how UPnP can cause problems when testing a new VoIP phone. You can find the details in my blog.
All UPnP will be doing is opening up some ports so if a bit of kit needs it then find out what ports have to be opened and do this yourself. If you don’t know how to do this then you really shouldn’t be turning UPnP on as you won’t understand the problems this can and will cause. Get someone who can explain clearly to you why you should not be using UPnP and let them open the correct ports for you.
NO.
If you search the web you will find people who claim that UPnP is not a security risk. They are wrong. Opening up ports is always going to be a security risk. Letting software do this automatically is just asking for trouble. I discovered exactly how UPnP can cause problems when testing a new VoIP phone. You can find the details in my blog.
All UPnP will be doing is opening up some ports so if a bit of kit needs it then find out what ports have to be opened and do this yourself. If you don’t know how to do this then you really shouldn’t be turning UPnP on as you won’t understand the problems this can and will cause. Get someone who can explain clearly to you why you should not be using UPnP and let them open the correct ports for you.
IT Advice FAQ's