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Using Cat5/6 cabling for multiple purposes

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docrob

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Hi,
Sorry if this is a bit straightforward but looks like you guys will hopefully know the answers.

Basically I have a Cat 6 cable in place and i'd like to use it as a LAN cable to a network hard drive but i wondered whether i could just use 6 wires for networking and that would leave me with 2 wires which i could use for an audio intercom.

Is it possible to have a functioning network cable if only 6 out of the 8 wires are connected to the RJ45 terminal. If so which wires do i neeed to use and in which position.

The NAS device and my setup will support gigabit speeds and ideally would like to have this speed but appreciate maybe using less than 8 wires would limit speeds, but don't know if this is actually the case. In fatc i'd be happy with 100BaseT speeds. Any comments on this would also be appreciated.

I have read that you don't need all 8 wires connected to have functioning networking but am not sure if that is the case when using cat6 cable. Is there any difference if i say had cat5 cable instead.

The final setup will just have the cat6 cable plugged into NAS at one end (via RJ45) and then plugged into router at another (via RJ45). I will then access NAS via windows XP.

Hope i've explained things ok.

Thanks alot,

Rob
 
You don't even need 6, you only need four.
Pin 1 and 2 are the TX pins, Pins 3 and 6 are the RX pins. The rest are unused, so a single Cat(x) cable will support 2 fully separate links if you wire it that way.
 
If it's gigabit, you need all 8 lines. 100MB and down use only 4 lines.
 
My mistake, didn't realize that, if you're willing to limit yourself to 100BT you're fine, but for a NAS I'd recommend trying to get it working at 1gig, just run another line. I've done a few network installs before and this is the main reason we always run an extra line or two, cable is cheap if you're already doing a run 1 more wire doesn't add much to the otherall cost.
 
Thanks smanches and Sceadwian.

I'll be fine at 100MB speeds. The NAS is only used as a automated nightly backup unit and for occasional ftp access.

So if i'm correct I can just use 4 of the 8 lines (Pin 1, 2, 3 and 6). I just connect these via the RJ45 connectors and that will allow me normal access to NAS except it'll only be at 100MB speeds.

Sceadwian, appreciate yor comments about running extra cables. Hindsight is a great thing. Too late now for me though. ;)

Thanks again guys! :)
 
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