Data Integrity/length of Ethernet cabke

DoaM

I'm wondering if the OP is not giving us the full story. Is the 5m cable from her home router to the computer? Or is the company expecting her to connect the computer to her phone socket? In the latter case then cable length (RJ11 not RJ45 connections) may matter.

sophiejames

There is no story. As I said I have been asked if I have a router and if I was able to work within 5 metres of it. End of. It now turns out they don’t have work for me to do from home so they expect me to return to the office ....
Thanks for all the comments.

Takedap

sophiejames said:

There is no story. As I said I have been asked if I have a router and if I was able to work within 5 metres of it. End of. It now turns out they don’t have work for me to do from home so they expect me to return to the office ....
Thanks for all the comments.

Do they specifically mention about cables or could they mean a WiFi connection?

sophiejames

Here are the exact questions:

1. Do you have a broadband connection – requirement of plugging in an Ethernet cable (not wireless) that you are can utilise?
2. Do you have space for a PC and monitor which would be no more than 5 meters from your broadband hub?

DoaM

Being pedantic ... question 2 doesn't say that the Ethernet cable length must be 5m or less, it says that the computer etc. must be within 5m of the hub. You could be upstairs, directly above where the hub is located, and still be within 5m.

sophiejames

DoaM said:

Being pedantic ... question 2 doesn't say that the Ethernet cable length must be 5m or less, it says that the computer etc. must be within 5m of the hub. You could be upstairs, directly above where the hub is located, and still be within 5m.

Guess you’re right, however I was told they only supply 5 m cables but as mentioned earlier after me offering to re-arrange my living room in order to be within 5m, they have now told me they have no work I can do from home and as there’s no soft phones I have to return to the office 

Neil_Jones

sophiejames said:

DoaM said:

Being pedantic ... question 2 doesn't say that the Ethernet cable length must be 5m or less, it says that the computer etc. must be within 5m of the hub. You could be upstairs, directly above where the hub is located, and still be within 5m.

Guess you’re right, however I was told they only supply 5 m cables but as mentioned earlier after me offering to re-arrange my living room in order to be within 5m, they have now told me they have no work I can do from home and as there’s no soft phones I have to return to the office 

What you should have said (which may be too late now anyway but may come in useful next time you need to work from home) is just to say, yes, it is less than 5m away.  They will never know.  You could work in the shed at the bottom of the garden using a network cable that's buried in the ground at a length of 50m and a depth of 6m and your IT department will never know.

You could be connected to your router by Homeplug.  Which will almost certainly be more than 5m away, since that technology will have to follow the power cables, which are going to be more than 5m away.

There is nothing to stop you getting your own network cable to whatever length you need, never mind what IT supply or don't supply.  You can get them for peanuts pre-made to whatever length you need, and you don't need to tell IT.  As I've already said your network cables at work are almost certainly going to be more than 5m long as it is so the reasoning sounds like its more along the lines of backside covering than any legitimate "concern" from IT.

stragglebod

Question 2 doesn't actually require the PC and monitor that you're using to be within 5m. Just that you have space for them within 5m. I have space for a PC and monitor in my downstairs toilet, and also on top of the porch roof, both of which are within 5m of my hub, but that's not where I make my conference calls

LHW99

sophiejames said:

DoaM said:

Being pedantic ... question 2 doesn't say that the Ethernet cable length must be 5m or less, it says that the computer etc. must be within 5m of the hub. You could be upstairs, directly above where the hub is located, and still be within 5m.

Guess you’re right, however I was told they only supply 5 m cables but as mentioned earlier after me offering to re-arrange my living room in order to be within 5m, they have now told me they have no work I can do from home and as there’s no soft phones I have to return to the office 

Cynically I would say the questions are there because they already knew they couldn't give you work at home, and thought it would be easier to use odd conditions rather than be forced to admit it.