I have a quick question. I know in cat 5 cables, only 4 of the 8 are used for actually sending and receiving data. What are the other 4 used for? Also, are all 8 cables used in cat 6 cable, or still only the 4 cables, but they are just able to operate at 250 MHz. Thanks

http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutor...

I have searched, and didn't find anything. I actually already read a couple articles on that website before I posted. And the link you gave does not answer my question.

I know in cat 5 cables, only 4 of the 8 are used for actually sending and receiving data. What are the other 4 used for?. The other 4 are not used. Also, are all 8 cables used in cat 6 cable, or still only the 4 cables, but they are just able to operate at 250 MHz. It depends on whether you're going to be running at 10/100 or 1000 Mbps. You misunderstand. The number of wires used has nothing to do with which category of wire you're using. It has to do with the bandwidth that will be carried on it. 1000 Mbps uses all 8 wires. 10/100 uses only 4.

"Category 5 cable (CAT5) is a data transmission cable for computer networks running at 10 or 100 Mbps. It has 8 wires, twisted together to form 4 pairs" http://www.cat5ecables.co.uk & http://www.cat6cables.co.uk

CAT5e cables are manufactured with 4 pairs, however in data transmission environments only 2 pairs are used (4 conductors). For computer networking purposes, the other pairs are not used at all, but they can be used in other environments (such as security cameras) for PoE (Power over Ethernet), or telephone applications. However, if the CAT5e cable is being used for Gigabit ethernet, then all 4 pairs are used. CAT6 cable runs at a higher bandwidth as it has a different twist rate along the conductors. All 4 pairs are used for data transmission which is why when you connect devices together you should use crossover leads, in CAT5e cables only 2 pairs are crossed over, but a true CAT6 crossover cable will have all 4 pairs crossed. Linzi Hughes Technical Sales Manager KSM Limited, http://www.madaboutcable.com

CAT6 cable runs at a higher bandwidth as it has a different twist rate along the conductors. Not correct. Cat5e is also capable of running at 1000 Mbps, just like Cat6. The difference between the two is the frequency they operate at: 5e = 100 Mhz 6 = 250 Mhz The term "bandwidth" is a measure of the amount of data that can pass through any one point in a network in one second. All 4 pairs are used for data transmission Again, not correct. If you're running at 1000 Mbps and using Cat5e cable, then all 4 pairs in the cable will be used. Conversely, if you're using Cat6 cable and running at 10/100 Mbps, only 2 pairs will be in use.