Ethernet Cabling Guide

[justin one]

Why would I want to make my own cables?

The two main advantages to doing your own cables are:
-Buying cable in bulk saves you money in the long run
-You can get the exact size and color that you need.

Tools & Supplies

To make your own ethernet cables, you will need the following:
-Cable (Cat5, Cat5e, or Cat6)
-RJ45 modular plugs
-Crimping tool

Optionally, you can also use:
-RJ45 relief boots
-Cable stripper & cutter (most crimpers will do this)
-Punchdown tool (for doing wall jacks and patch panels)
-Cable tester

What cable should I use?

Most cables found in use today are Cat5e, though for your home network any will work fine depending on your personal preferences and what you're willing to spend. Cat5 is capable of performance up to 100Mhz and is starting to be phased out. Cat5e is also capable of up to 100Mhz performance but the wires are twisted tighter to reduce the possibility of crosstalk. Cat6 boosts the performance up to 250Mhz along with better insulation. It might be important to note that there are plans to standardize Cat6 for A/V use while HDMI is phased out. Just something to consider if you're planning on running in-wall cables.

Where do I get it?

I personally use Monoprice for pretty much everything regarding cables, ethernet or otherwise. You can get 1,000 feet of bulk Cat5e for $79.85 in a color of your choice. The same is available for Cat6 at $105.24.

-RJ45 modular plugs
-RJ45 relief boots



I will be using this toolkit though it should be noted that this isn't necessary. If all you want to do is make cables you can buy a single crimping tool which will do the job.

Cable tester

Lets get started.

1. Cut the cable to the length you need. It's always better to cut off a little extra, just in case you mess up on a connector or find out you estimated short. You will need two connectors and two relief boots should you choose to use them.



2. Strip roughly 1" off the end of the cable (you can always do more if you need to). Your cable might have a strand of fiber inside like mine does. We won't need it so we'll cut it off.



3. Untwist and flatten the wires. You can do this with your fingers or a tool, just make sure not to crack the casing.




 

[justin one]

4. Now it's time to choose a wiring order. There are a few different standards used today that go by the name T568A and T568B. Officially, T568A is the legal standard in America and Europe, but T568B is still widely used due to tradition. I will be using T568B, you can use whichever you like. The wiring must be the same on each end so remember which you use for future reference.

There are eight wires in the cable:
-White and green (WG)
-Green (G)
-White and orange (WO)
-Orange (O)
-White and blue (WBl)
-Blue (Bl)
-White and brown (WBr)
-Brown (Br)





5. After you've got the wires in the correct order, snip the excess and only leave about ½" left. Part of the cable sleeving will go into the connector so you don't have to worry about it being too short. Having the cable sleeving go into the connector will ensure that the wires won't be exposed and go bad for whatever reason.

6. Slide the wires into the connector with the tab facing the ground. You should be able to see the wires slide into their slot and check if they're in the correct one.



7. Crimp the connector and repeat the process once more on the other end of the cable. You're finished! To test the cable either use a network cable tester or connect an internet device to it.

[Christian]

Nice guide. Wish this was here when i started out :)

[Dim]

CHEERS!

This actually helps a lot.

[LimeDk]

nice guide Justin One

[dharmadrummer]

T568B is more commonly used so when making your own straight-through cables you should use that.

[Dr3nz4r]

Very nice tutorial. I also like that you've amde two posts in order to display every single picture correctly (because of the 4 pics limit).

Also you've made your tutorial understandable for almost everyone.. good job bro!

[justin one]

Very nice tutorial. I also like that you've amde two posts in order to display every single picture correctly (because of the 4 pics limit). Also you've made your tutorial understandable for almost everyone.. good job bro!

Yeah the four post rule was a bit annoying. I had nine pictures but decided to leave one out so I wouldn't have to make a separate post just for one picture. Hopefully the forum will be out of beta soon and a lot of the issues can be corrected.

[NinjaEwok]

Nice tutorial, very helpful.

[A93nt47]

I bought a 500ft reel of Cat5e forever ago and used maybe 200 feet of it making cable for friends/family. Besides wiring a house, what use do you guys find for this much cord on a regular basis? I find nowadays most products come with cable. I have tons and tons of wrapped 2ft etc. cords just sitting around.

Definitely nice guide though for sure.

[TechBlitZ]

Wow, amazing guide, so clear!

[jarreddean]

Love your work would you beable to do a guide forin wall connectors

[JupiteL]

Nice guide, i learned it 2 years ago in class 1 but now i forgot lol.. by the way, any idea about fiber optic cable? does it do the same like ethernet cable?

[W4RL0K]

Nice and clear guide, wish i had something like this when I was fabricating my cables. Will be definitely using this next time.

[Alaninit]

Same here wish I saw this a few month ago when I was doing round the house. did find one on the tube at the end that helped me though. but very nice work thanks

[Guest]

Very nice tutorial. I would also be interested in a in-wall connector guide if you don't mind.

I've said this a few times - check your local laws before doing your own in wall cabling. Here in Australia, legally all your wiring must be done by an electrician including network cable. This is because there are specifications as to how it needs to be run inside wall cavities: how close it can be to other cables or flammable materials ect as well as not moving other cables such as mains or even light fittings near flammable material. If your insurance agency find out that you have done DIY cabling and it is illegal in your location, they will brush their hands of any and all responsibility leaving you broke.

If you want to risk your house for a couple of hundred in savings on a sparky, be my guest.

[ErwinS]

Good Job! Very in depth and the Images are a big plus.

[ajo518]

Any ideas why some of the cables i made would not work with gigabit. Both devices are capable and work when i switch out the cable. It works with 100. Any ideas

[Meep]

Nice guide, and to be adding when you got all the wires unstraight and curly just flatten it by using a screwdriver or a pen below them and push the wires over the pen/screwdriver with your thumb. Then do a grinding movement to get the wires straight. Poor explanation i'l try to add an video of it. Having nice straight wires before cutting and inserting to connector ease the work.

This helps with "skew" rating if you were to take an proper LAN tester to measure the cable, normaly its too expensive for private use. Remember using it once when doing the practice exam on telecom. Skew rating is basicly showing delay between the slowest and fastest reciving pair of wires. Normaly its really hard to obtain approved skew rating doing it manualy, mostly why i prefer using fabricated one's.

[Emkryan]

Did this last week in my Networking class. Sucks that I can learn this stuff for free on the internet

[bcredeur97]

this is so awesome. its so easy i cant believe many do not do this. the ony slightly hard part to remember is the cable order, once you get past that its pretty easy ;) by the way is the cable order the same for all cables (Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6A, Cat 7, etc.)??

[ionbasa]

One thing though which I would like to point out is that you forgot to mention the boot has to get slid down the cable before crimping on the 8P8C connector.

[Blade of Grass]

this is so awesome. its so easy i cant believe many do not do this. the ony slightly hard part to remember is the cable order, once you get past that its pretty easy ;) by the way is the cable order the same for all cables (Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6A, Cat 7, etc.)??

Yeah, until you get different strand cables (cat3 has 2 pairs).

[bcredeur97]

Yeah, until you get different strand cables (cat3 has 2 pairs).

who uses CAT 3 any more?

[Undieing_Lust]

Very Clear and helpfull guide! Well done mate.