A rat damaged the Ethernet connection.
A rat damaged the Ethernet connection.
Hey everyone, I noticed some damage to the router cable recently—about half of it was chewed. I’m wondering why I’m still seeing full speeds despite that. I just got a new cable and am still using it, so it’s not like it’s broken.
It's a bit confusing. Gigabit Ethernet supports both directions. All eight wires handle sending and receiving. You can achieve 100mbps using just two pairs (four wires), though my understanding is limited. I'm uncertain if that means two pairs are also bi-directional or if it's half-duplex. Someone should clarify the details.
100 meg focuses mainly on orange and green pairs. Gigabit covers all pairs, though it might not be perfect. In some cases you can manage with two 100 meg connections per cat or a single line for DSL, POTS, fax, etc. PoE options vary by type and can appear in unused pairs, making it possible to have power without data or vice versa. Sometimes data and power share the same pair, especially with higher power or gigabit PoE setups. Overall, the essential pairs are still functional and within acceptable limits. It’s interesting how adaptable things can be.
Rat understands his complex connections! By the way, is that the standard flat Ethernet cable?
He's left, kid. They used a flat cable because it's simpler to run cleanly.