How much attenuation will I suffer if cat 6 cable exceeds 100m

[Cidolfus]

Supposing my cable is 150 metres. 50 metres more than the recommended length, how much signal strength would I lose if I'm on a 100Mb LAN?

Also, how can I circumvent this problem, supposing I can't change the length of the cable. Meaning to say, if I can't change that 150m cable, what are my other options to consider, to try to improve lessen the attenuation.

I've read about this Long Reach Ethernet switches, will those help?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Whether a 150M cable will work depends on the quality of the cable, how the cable is run (inside metal conduit, next to AC lines or RF sources), and your network ports on each side. Just try it! My experience is that if you have good quality cable and it is not near RF sources you will be fine.

 

[Cidolfus]

But is there a general rule of thumb, under normal circumstances, to what degree the speed will be affected? (E.g., I have a 100mbps network, but running my cable over 150m causes it to be effectively 50mbps) Does it work this way?

And if so, will LRE switches help?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

There is no general rule of thumb when you push the envelope

However, it it does not work at 100Mbps it will slow down to 10Mbps.

I have no experience with LRE switches.

 

[Cidolfus]

How does it work then? What kind of effect do I get with a longer than standard cable? No connectivity? Intermittent connectivity? Or do the packets get corrupted?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

As I said before, if you push it too far the speed will drop from 100Mbps to 10Mbps, then to nothing. The Ethernet and IP protocols will eliminate corrupt packets.

 

[Cidolfus]

Best answer selected by Cidolfus.

 

[Cidolfus]

Thanks!

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Good luck!