Two connections on single UTP cable?

I wonder...
since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the first floor and so far
only one PC is there. But, soon there will be two PC's and it's really hard
to lead another UTP up there, so i wonder, if it would be ok if i connect
this one UTP so that i connect all four pairs to two outputs on my switch
and up there on two PC's...

THX

In message <gIYXe.315$(E-Mail Removed)>, SleeperMan
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>I wonder...
>since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
>wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
>Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the first floor and so far
>only one PC is there. But, soon there will be two PC's and it's really hard
>to lead another UTP up there, so i wonder, if it would be ok if i connect
>this one UTP so that i connect all four pairs to two outputs on my switch
>and up there on two PC's...

It's an idea that gets proposed again and again. The consensus is that
it's possible but crosstalk between the two circuits will limit the
effective bandwidth. So if you can put up with a slow network then it's
worth a try.


--
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:40:18 +0200, "SleeperMan"
<(E-Mail Removed)> scrawled:

>I wonder...
>since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
>wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...

Yes. You can buy 'splitters' from quite a few online networking
equipment suppliers that plug in to each end of a cat5 and split the
spare pairs for you. If you are making this yourself then just split
the pairs behind the plate at each end and wire to 2 seperate jacks
(if you have a plate at each end).

For the record, I would advise against it but it does work fine and I
haven't suffered any problems with some of my more temporary
connections on the home network, even considering defy the laws of
physics in that they actually work!
--
Stuart @ SJW Electrical

Please Reply to group

"SleeperMan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:gIYXe.315$(E-Mail Removed):

> I wonder...
> since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other
> two are not, i wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP
> cable... Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the
> first floor and so far only one PC is there. But, soon there
> will be two PC's and it's really hard to lead another UTP up
> there, so i wonder, if it would be ok if i connect this one UTP
> so that i connect all four pairs to two outputs on my switch and
> up there on two PC's...
>
The 'standard' solution would be to install a hub or switch at the
remote end so that more than several PCs can share the cable.

It is possible to split the pairs as you have suggested. The
downside is that the next generation of wired Ethernet (Gigabit)
requires all four pairs per link, so you would have a non-standard
setup that wouldn't support such an upgrade.

Your call.

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:07:04 GMT, McSpreader <(E-Mail Removed)>
scrawled:

>It is possible to split the pairs as you have suggested. The
>downside is that the next generation of wired Ethernet (Gigabit)
>requires all four pairs per link, so you would have a non-standard
>setup that wouldn't support such an upgrade.
>
I wouldn't really call that a downside as my wired home network will
quite happily run on 10Mbps which is the previous generation of cat5.
I'm sure it would quite happily work on many previous versions before
that so the availability of gigabit speeds on a home network are a
long way of being neccesary.
--
Stuart @ SJW Electrical

Please Reply to group

SleeperMan wrote:

> since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
> wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
> Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the first floor and so far
> only one PC is there. But, soon there will be two PC's and it's really hard
> to lead another UTP up there, so i wonder, if it would be ok if i connect
> this one UTP so that i connect all four pairs to two outputs on my switch
> and up there on two PC's...

A better solution, without drawing more wires, is to add a cheap
minihub/switch upstairs.

Lurch wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:40:18 +0200, "SleeperMan"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> scrawled:
>
>
>>I wonder...
>>since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
>>wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
>
>
> Yes. You can buy 'splitters' from quite a few online networking
> equipment suppliers that plug in to each end of a cat5 and split the
> spare pairs for you. If you are making this yourself then just split
> the pairs behind the plate at each end and wire to 2 seperate jacks
> (if you have a plate at each end).

eg
http://www.netshop.co.uk/productcate...tegoryid=52065

But don't expect to run gigabit ethernet over it, as iirc this uses all
the pairs for one connection.

>
> For the record, I would advise against it but it does work fine and I
> haven't suffered any problems with some of my more temporary
> connections on the home network, even considering defy the laws of
> physics in that they actually work!


--
Please use the corrected version of the address below for replies.
Replies to the header address will be junked, as will mail from
various domains listed at www.scottsonline.org.uk
Mike Scott Harlow Essex England.(unet -a-t- scottsonline.org.uk)

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Bernard Peek <(E-Mail Removed)>
writes
>In message <gIYXe.315$(E-Mail Removed)>, SleeperMan
><(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>>I wonder...
>>since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are not, i
>>wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
>>Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the first floor and so far
>>only one PC is there. But, soon there will be two PC's and it's really hard
>>to lead another UTP up there, so i wonder, if it would be ok if i connect
>>this one UTP so that i connect all four pairs to two outputs on my switch
>>and up there on two PC's...
>
>It's an idea that gets proposed again and again. The consensus is that
>it's possible but crosstalk between the two circuits will limit the
>effective bandwidth. So if you can put up with a slow network then it's
>worth a try.
>
>
Bernard et al, go to http://rswww.com and enter the part number
289-8051. Explain how they get away with selling that stuff as 'exceeds
cat5 spec' if 'crosstalk' is a problem. Just because there's a consensus
it doesn''t mean it's right.

To the OP, you can buy 'cable economisers' that make the job of
splitting the cable easy and they run at fast Ethernet speeds with no
problems, but you will need one at each end. They won't work with
Gigabit Ethernet because it uses four pairs.
When you need more than two machines on the network on the 1st floor,
buy a switch (it might work out almost as cheap to buy a small switch
instead of the cable economisers, something for you to research)
--
Clint Sharp

SleeperMan wrote:
> I wonder...
> since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two are
> not, i wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
> Situation is that i have only one UTP lead up on the first floor and
> so far only one PC is there. But, soon there will be two PC's and
> it's really hard to lead another UTP up there, so i wonder, if it
> would be ok if i connect this one UTP so that i connect all four
> pairs to two outputs on my switch and up there on two PC's...
>
> THX

Thanks to all for replies. Point is that i already have one switch
downstairs and only one UTP up. Curently i have 1024/256 ADSL and two PC's,
then there will be 3 PC's. I would need this mostly for internet purposes,
not so much for local network. Giganet is at this point not in my thoughts
for some time, so, this is also not a problem.

So, in short, you suggest i try and split two pairs, try out and see. At the
end, i could still add a second switch upstairs, right?, but, i guess that
if i could get so much as 512 kbit for upper PC's, i'd be quite happy.

Mike Scott wrote:
> Lurch wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:40:18 +0200, "SleeperMan"
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> scrawled:
>>
>>
>>> I wonder...
>>> since on UTP cable only two pairs are actually used and other two
>>> are not, i wonder...can i lead two connections via one UTP cable...
>>
>>
>> Yes. You can buy 'splitters' from quite a few online networking
>> equipment suppliers that plug in to each end of a cat5 and split the
>> spare pairs for you. If you are making this yourself then just split
>> the pairs behind the plate at each end and wire to 2 seperate jacks
>> (if you have a plate at each end).
>
> eg
> http://www.netshop.co.uk/productcate...tegoryid=52065
>
hm...
why do i have this feeling that these "economizers" are nothing more than
dividers - like i want to do...? They don't have extra power input, so they
can't have any electronics inside...