Ping / RJ45 question

[Cheese]

Hi all,

Some of you are good with networks, I am not.

My question is about RJ45 connectors and Cat5/6 cables.

Today I was told on an online conference that when using a ping command, only 2 contacts out of 8 would be used. But printing a document with a network printer would require 6 contacts/strings.

To me this is hogwash, as it would in fact invalidate all ping tests, at least when testing the connection of a network printer.

Can someone enlighten me ?

 

[vacuum_tubes]

He's talking rubbish.

The number of pins used is determined by the ethernet standard used and does not change with the protocol going over it. Essentially the ethernet standard defines the physical connectivity.

It's complicated but ethernet in basic terms

Ethernet (10) & Fast Ethernet (100) = 2x pairs or 4 pins
Gigabit Ethernet (1000) = 4 pairs or 8 pins

 

[backtovinyl]

Complete nonsense. Of the 8 pins, only 4 are in use - pins 1,2,3 and 6 if I remember correctly making up TX + and - and RX + and -

Ping is a utility that operates at Layer 3 of the OSI model as it uses the ICMP protocol to establish a basic connectivity test to the target system. It is the same group of wires that are used for all ethernet connections. Whoever was presenting the conference had a fundamental misunderstanding of how ethernet works!

 

[Cheese]

Of the 8 pins, only 4 are in use

I thought 8 in case of Gigabit ? Not that this should be relevant here.

Whoever was presenting the conference had a fundamental misunderstanding of how ethernet works!

I giftwrapped my question at first, but now that I have the answer (another source confirms what you both are saying), I will not be ashamed to rectify things in saying that I just caught my boss lying in order to cover his incompetence in resolving a network problem we had today. Hurts a little.

 

[Tony L]

There’s a good article on cable specs here; cat 5, 5e, 6, 6e, 7, 8 etc.

Ethernet Cables Explained: categories, types, CAT 5, 5e, 6, 6e, 7 » Electronics Notes

Discover the different types of Ethernet cables, their pinouts, and how to use them for your network: Cat 5, 5e, and Cat 6, 6a, 7, 8.

www.electronics-notes.com

 

[Cheese]

There’s a good article on cable specs here; cat 5, 5e, 6, 6e, 7, 8 etc.

Ethernet Cables Explained: categories, types, CAT 5, 5e, 6, 6e, 7 » Electronics Notes

Discover the different types of Ethernet cables, their pinouts, and how to use them for your network: Cat 5, 5e, and Cat 6, 6a, 7, 8.

www.electronics-notes.com

Very useful, thanks.

 

[davidsrsb]

I thought 8 in case of Gigabit ? Not that this should be relevant here.

Correct, all 8 pins are used at 1000 Mb/s and 4 for 100 Mb/s links.

Understanding Ethernet Wiring – Practical Networking .net

We’ll start off with a disambiguation of all the Ethernet Wiring terminology. Then we'll answer: Why do we need Crossover Cables? What exactly is Twisted Pair? How is a bit transmitted across the wire? Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a look at the standard for Gigabit Ethernet.

www.practicalnetworking.net

My home is wired 1000 Mb/s