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802.11ac Wave 2 - Cat5e Cable can support speed up to 10G?

Wei Kwong Ong
Level 1
Level 1

Hi all the experts,

 

I have roughly read about Cisco 802.11ac Wave 2 whitepaper (http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/enterprise-networks/catalyst-multigigabit-switching/transform-workspace-cisco-catalyst.pdf). 

Due to the 11ac Wifi speed will jump to 6.8 Gigabit, hence, the network cable must be able to support higher than 1 Gigabit. 

Refer to Table 1 in the whitepaper, Cat5e cable is able to support up to 10G. I am not an expert on cables, is there any cable expert can justify it?

 

Thanks!

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lperera03
Level 1
Level 1

With NBASE-T technology, cat5e will be able to support the faster speeds along with some of the newer Cisco switches that will be available that supports the NBASE-T technology.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/catalyst-multigigabit-switching/index.html?CAMPAIGN=Enterprise+&COUNTRY_SITE=us&POSITION=sl&REFERRING_SITE=cisco&CREATIVE=homepage+spotlight?keycode=000669573

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17 Replies 17

I was also looking at this:

http://blogs.cisco.com/enterprise/introducing-cisco-catalyst-multigigabit-technology-to-future-proof-your-network-for-802-11ac-wave-2

 

What I am thinking. We have field upgradable APs like 3702 that support AC wave2 when available. This is 1G uplink at the moment. There isn´t anything saying if this will be supported on current platforms. Will 2.5 , 5 and 10gig be supported on any of the current APs in the portfolio ?

Thats a great point .. Let me find out. 

"Satisfaction does not come from knowing the solution, it comes from knowing why." - Rosalind Franklin
___________________________________________________________

And so we are now two years later and has this point already been clarified ?

I am lucky not to have bought into the "3700 with future Wave2 module". I am sure they can make a Wave2 module, but the problem remains that the 3700 only has one Gigabit port (which is not mgig capable, as it was released before mgig existed). The only solution is that the Wave2 module would have an mgig port onboard, and i am not sure that will ever happen (or is even possible regarding the power connections back to the main motherboard ?). The PoE would need to be kept on the original interface, so it would require a second cable to the AP for mgig, rendering the advantage of mgig (preventing a second cable) futile.

Well from what I know as of right now, it would be new hardware to support mGIG, just like on the switching platform.  Yes it can run on older cat5 cable, but doesn't mean you will get 10gig.  The module might be mGIG for wave 2 AC, but don't quote me on that.  

-Scott

-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

I don't think 3702's are going to support mGIG over CAT5e or CAT6 since it's a hardware change. I'm guessing the wave 2 AC APs will have hardware support for mGIG and it will then of course require you to upgrade your switches to the newly announced lines supporting mGIG. 

lperera03
Level 1
Level 1

With NBASE-T technology, cat5e will be able to support the faster speeds along with some of the newer Cisco switches that will be available that supports the NBASE-T technology.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/catalyst-multigigabit-switching/index.html?CAMPAIGN=Enterprise+&COUNTRY_SITE=us&POSITION=sl&REFERRING_SITE=cisco&CREATIVE=homepage+spotlight?keycode=000669573

I wonder if this means New APs to support this aswell ? 3702 can take the wave2 module when it arrives. But what about the uplink ?

 

We have seen in the past that software upgrade unleased ethernet speeds before. For example the PIX had 10mbps and could be software upgraded to 10/100 FD. I wonder if this is the case here.

Does anyone know ?

The port itself would need to be mGIG, that being said, it would be a decision from Cisco if the wave 2 module would have an mGIG port or not. Until they get closer to the newer modules or access points, that's when they would start releasing that info to the public.  Again, I was told that it's new hardware and not a software upgrade. Switches that have mGIG would have a new part number, meaning that switches you have now would need to be replaced for mGIG support. 

-Scott

-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

There was a video that went up on the Cisco YouTube channel from TechWise in the past couple of days introducing the mGIG switch line. Definitely new SKUs and I'm sure there will be APs that support mGIG before too long. I'm hoping to be able to stick with gigE for wireless for at least a few more years. 

With mgig supported and developed by Cisco I would not be suprised that Cisco would release/announce a new wave2 access point with mgig uplink port

So does it mean we just need to change to Cisco newer switch which support multi Gigabit, it would make the Cat5e cable have faster data transfer speed?

It is a new part number for the switch but the other device needs to support mGIG also. 

-Scott

-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

So you mean both end devices must support mGIG right? For example, one end is multigigabit switch, and another end is a 802.11ac Wave 2 AP?

pieterheijnen
Level 1
Level 1

I dont want rely on 10G performance over cat5e cabling. I don''t konw the modulation techniques used by the ngbase-t mgig system but know that 10G base-t standard is at 500Mhz. Even at cat6 (250Mhz) 100 meter is not feasable. There is a nice Cisco whitepaper from Panduit on that:  http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-4900-series-switches/white_paper_c11-609513.pdf

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