{"id":11143,"date":"2025-09-15T11:21:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/?p=11143"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:31:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:31:02","slug":"network-technology-switches-and-cabling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/","title":{"rendered":"Network technology - switches and cabling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Netzwerk-Kabel\" >Network cable<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Abschirmung\" >shielding<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Klassifizierung_CAT\" >Classification (CAT)<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Glasfaser_vs_Kupfer\" >Fiber optics vs. copper<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Preisfrage\" >Price question<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Hub_vs_Switch\" >Hub vs. switch<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Hub\" >Stroke<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Switch\" >Switch<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Ports\" >ports<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Switches_%E2%80%93_unmanaged\" >Switches - (un)managed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Hersteller_von_Switches\" >Manufacturer of switches<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Cisco\" >Cisco<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/#Ubiquiti\" >Ubiquity<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>\n<p>Switches and cabling play a central role in network technology. The differences and selection criteria to be considered are discussed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Netzwerk-Kabel\"><\/span>Network cable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Abschirmung\"><\/span>shielding<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Network cables are designed as 4-pair twisted single cables with a common copper braid to shield external interference fields (S\/FTP - <em><strong>S<\/strong>creened <strong>F<\/strong>oiled <strong>T<\/strong>wisted <strong>P<\/strong>air<\/em>). The twisting eliminates internally occurring interference fields.<br>Cables with individual wire pairs additionally shielded with braiding are referred to as S\/STP cables (<em><strong>S<\/strong>creened <strong>S<\/strong>hielded <strong>T<\/strong>wisted<strong> P<\/strong>air<\/em>). <br>For FTP cables (<em><em><strong>F<\/strong>oiled <strong>T<\/strong>wisted <strong>P<\/strong>air<\/em><\/em>), an aluminum-coated foil is used instead of a copper braid.<br>A so-called drain wire serves as a ground wire in all variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UTP cables (<em><strong>U<\/strong>nshielded <strong>T<\/strong>wisted <strong>P<\/strong>air<\/em>), which do not have any shielding and therefore do not have a two-wire connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Klassifizierung_CAT\"><\/span>Classification (CAT)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The categories CAT1 to CAT6(A) are not covered, as they no longer meet today's bandwidth requirements if 10 Gbit\/s Ethernet or higher is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From CAT7, the wire pairs are individually shielded. They meet the requirements of <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IEEE_802.3an\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IEEE 802.3an<\/a>can be used up to 600 MHz, CAT7A up to 1,000 MHz and data rates of up to 10 Gbit\/s in 10GBASE-T applications.<br>The maximum cable length is 100 m at the nominal transmission speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The highest data rate is currently achieved by CAT8.2 category cables, which have a bandwidth of 2 Gbit\/s and a data rate of 40 Gbit\/s for 25 GBASE-T and 40 GBASE-T applications.<br>With 40GBASE-T, the cable length is limited to 30m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Glasfaser_vs_Kupfer\"><\/span>Fiber optics vs. copper<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The performance of copper cables, especially CAT8, is now comparable to fiber optics. Nevertheless, there is a difference that can only be realized with copper, namely PoE (<em><strong>P<\/strong>ower <strong>o<\/strong>ver <strong>E<\/strong>thernet<\/em>), the power supply for consumers such as cameras via the Ethernet cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If PoE is not required, the trend is towards fiber optics, although the handling, such as the assembly of the plug connections, is far more complex and special tools are required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Preisfrage\"><\/span>Price question<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The price difference between CAT7(A) and CAT8(.1\/.2) is marginal with 10%. You can calculate around 10 euros for 3m CAT7 and around 11 euros for CAT8.1.<br>However, it is important to remember that the infrastructure, such as switches, must also meet the classification requirements if they are not to be the bottleneck in the data flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hub_vs_Switch\"><\/span>Hub vs. switch<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hubs and switches are used to distribute the incoming data stream, e.g. from the router, via available port connections to end devices such as computers, printers, scanners, cameras or other network devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hub\"><\/span>Stroke<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The hub distributes the incoming data stream evenly across all ports. Connected subscribers receive the data stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Switch\"><\/span>Switch<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A switch analyzes the header of the received data stream. The recognized MAC address defines the target device. If the MAC address is not recognized, it sends the data packet to all ports. As soon as the relevant target device responds, it transmits its MAC address, which the switch then enters into its CAM (<em><strong>C<\/strong>ontent <strong>A<\/strong>dressable <strong>M<\/strong>emory<\/em>), also SAT table (<em><strong>S<\/strong>ource-<strong>A<\/strong>dress-<strong>T<\/strong>able<\/em>) is entered. This means that packets can be forwarded immediately to the correct destination address using the MAC address.<br>The direct assignment via MAC address avoids collisions of data packets and enables full-duplex communication, which optimizes data throughput.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Switches can also create virtual LANs (<em>VLAN<\/em>) and distribute data traffic to different logical networks and thus process them separately from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ports\"><\/span>ports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The number of ports is variable, from 4, 8, 16, 24 up to 48 ports, everything is available on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should therefore first make a note of all devices that are to be connected to a switch via LAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For end devices to be supplied via PoE, the power consumption must be taken into account. This is because the sum of all PoE ports determines the required total power of the switch's power supply - and therefore also the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 16-port switch, for example, may provide 12 non-PoE ports and 4 PoE ports. It is therefore important to check how many PoE ports are actually available - and with what power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In view of the usually growing network infrastructure, a certain reserve in the number of ports and PoE ports should be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Switches_%E2%80%93_unmanaged\"><\/span>Switches - (un)managed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many manufacturers share the market. From my point of view, it is always advisable to choose a manufacturer that is active in the business sector and therefore has sound experience in this market segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A distinction must be made between so-called <em>managed<\/em> and <em>unmanaged<\/em> Switches. Only <em>managed<\/em> Switches are configurable. Even if configurability is rarely important for the individual user at the beginning, as is usually the case in life, the demand increases over time and the need for a configuration option becomes foreseeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The simplicity of the configuration decreases with increasing professionalism and the associated increase in administrative complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, a switch always \"works\" in its basic factory configuration. This means that - for the time being - no configuration effort is required, albeit optional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this respect, you can now rely on <em>managed<\/em> switches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hersteller_von_Switches\"><\/span>Manufacturer of switches<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In my opinion, the agony of choice is reduced to two manufacturers. Anyone with an affinity for Cisco will choose Cisco without question. Anyone who is not yet biased, does not have an endless budget at their disposal and is not a business professional when it comes to networking will learn to appreciate Ubiquiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What both manufacturers have in common is that, as a rule, larger switches (in some cases from 8 or 16 ports) provide uplink ports (SFP\/SFP+ with 16 Gbit\/s or Enhanced Quad-Small Form-factor Pluggable with 40 Gbit\/s (QSFP+)) by means of fiber optic connections, usually 2 or 4.<br>QSFP-DD (Double Density) supports up to 56 GBit\/s and 400 Gbit\/s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The maximum cable length for uplink ports according to the above standards is 550 m (multimode) or 10 km (singlemode LX), or 40 km (singlemode EX) and 80 km (singlemode ZX), depending on the fiber type. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CWDM and DWDM modules even enable distances of up to 80 or 120 km, provided that the corresponding transmission power and reception sensitivity are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cisco\"><\/span>Cisco<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The most renowned manufacturer is probably Cisco. Non-professional users are often put off by the administration, which covers almost all possibilities and is therefore very complex. In the professional environment, Cisco is indispensable and a quasi-standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SG and CBS (<em>Cisco Business Switch<\/em>) serve private users such as small to medium-sized businesses, Cisco Catalyst is aimed at industrial users and Cisco Nexus at network structures that require high scalability and corresponding performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ubiquiti\"><\/span>Ubiquity<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ubiquiti is a manufacturer originally active in the professional sector, not only of switches but also WLAN and radio relay components, which offers a consumer range with professional technology from the business sector at affordable prices.<br>It is also characterized by 24\/7 online RealTime support, which can be called up from the controller GUI and can also be connected remotely. Session logs are recorded and made available by email at the end of the session. This means that the steps can still be traced in detail afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UniFi and Edge are the divisions offered by Ubiquiti for the consumer and enterprise market. Both lines have the advantage of comprehensive, network-wide visualization and central, dedicated management via UniFi CloudKey Controller or UniFi DreamMachine (UDM), especially in conjunction with the UniFi Camera System (UniFi Protect) or UniFi DreamRouter (UDR).<br>All Pro or Enterprise variants support extended Layer 3 functions, such as VLAN.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>Switches and cabling play a central role in network technology. The differences and selection criteria to be observed are discussed below. Network cables Shielding Network cables are designed as 4-pair twisted single cables with a common copper braid to shield external interference fields (S\/FTP - Screened Foiled Twisted Pair). The twisting eliminates internally occurring interference fields.cables with individually additionally braided...&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/blog\/2025\/09\/15\/netzwerktechnik-switches-und-verkabelung\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More \"<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Network technology - switches and cabling<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2553],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netzwerk-technik"],"modified_by":"Achim Goerner","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csiag.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}