Local networks and structured cabling

For an ordinary office category five is enough: it gives a gigabit and costs less. Category six makes sense on long runs, where ten gigabits is planned and in the server room. The installation cost differs little, so on new sites people usually go straight to six.

For portable devices it is enough. But fixed workstations, server hardware, cameras and printers get both stability and speed from copper cabling. Saving on the cabling looks like a good decision right up to the day the complaints about dropped connections start.

They prove that the installed line meets the declared category on every parameter rather than merely passing data somehow. A year later, when unexplained faults appear, that paperwork is the only way to clear the cabling of suspicion.