Almost no matter where you go, we are connected to the internet in some way. Businesses, households, and even government structures all use the internet to perform daily tasks and activities in a seamless manner.
What many people don’t stop to think about is the quality of that connection. Though wireless is all the rage, and definitely convenient, it has severe limitations. That is where having an ethernet cable can wind up being a lifesaver.
What is an Ethernet Cable?
Before you grab an ethernet cable from RS, you need to know what it is and how it is used. Ethernet is a communication protocol that connects Wide Area Networks (WAN) or Local Area Networks (LAN). For residential, industrial, and business uses, ethernet cables can connect not only to switches and routers but devices like computers and printers.
That connection allows for an exchange of data but the more important thing is that the communication is uninterrupted. Whereas Wi-Fi’s signal can be disturbed, ethernet does not have the same issues. Moreover, it is far faster and more secure, especially when compared to Wi-Fi. Modern businesses make using ethernet cabling a must for nearly all applications.
Power Efficiency
Though speed is the name of the game (more on that later), don’t overlook the effect that ethernet cables can have on your electricity bills. Energy consumption of ethernet cables is lower than most other types and even the energy consumption of a Wi-Fi connection.
There are different ethernet cable varieties like Cat6, Cat6e, Cat7, and fiber optics. Ethernet protocol is also streamlined with power efficiency in mind. With reduced power consumption comes savings on that utility bill each month. When that ethernet link is idle, the devices (modems, hubs, etc.) are set to a low power mode to provide better overall power efficiency.
Speed
At the end of the day, the single biggest reason to use an ethernet cable is because of the improved data transfer speeds. Sure, there are other benefits but ethernet cabling allows data to go from the device to the switch and back far faster than a Wi-Fi connection would be able to.
Even better, ethernet cabling like Cat6 can perform transfers up to 1-Gigabit per second, which is the best out there. For businesses that do large-scale data transfers, having an ethernet connection can drastically reduce the timeline of those transfers. Even for home setups, using an ethernet connection can wind up paying major dividends from the standpoint of data transfer speed.
Better Data Transfer Quality
Again, the focus is on speed and that’s a great thing. But just as importantly, data transfer quality is better when using an ethernet connection. The biggest issue with Wi-Fi is that there are disturbances and distortions that can wind up reducing the overall quality of the data being transferred. Not only is the speed inferior, but you also have to deal with a plethora of electromagnetic noise. Ethernet cables have an extra layer of insulation, which keeps that noise at bay.
There is also the matter of data security. For industrial, commercial, healthcare, education, and military uses, data must be protected. In order to properly protect that information, an ethernet connection is a must. In order to access that data, an outsider user would need to physically connect to that device on the network. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, allows wireless connections to be potentially intercepted without the need to be near the physical device. For achieving superior data security, using an ethernet connection is a must and will provide better performance on the whole.
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