Can two USB to Ethernet adapters be used as a USB2 extension?

30
2014-06
  • user2534

    I want to use RJ45 type of cables to make a 10m USB2 extension. Is it possible using two USB to Ethernet adapters (even without drivers so they act as USB to RJ45 adapters, not as Ethernet ports). If not, I only found USB1 to RJ45/CAT5 and very (compared to HDMI equivalents) expensive USB2 to RJ45/CAT5.

    Here's a list of those cables by one manufacturer: http://www.lindy.co.uk/usb-firewire/usb-converters-extenders/

    • Answers
  • spuder

    Physical Considerations
    An Ethernet cable has 8 wires
    A Usb cable has 4 wires.

    Ethernet cables can support up to 25 watts with 802.3 Power over Ethernet
    USB supports a maximum of 10 watts.

    Example
    Take this product from newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2970S53111

    It supports Cat 5e over ethernet for up to 50M (150 feet).

    It would be possible to splice a cable in two and run two usb

    In my work I have seen two network connections running over 1 cable (because cat 5 only needs 4 wires). I have also seen hdmi over a network cable (using all 8 wires)

    Reasons it might not work
    Usb devices are more susceptible to voltage irregularities than network devices are.
    The cross over might cause too much interference.

    If you have not run the network cable yet, I would highly recommend doing it right, and getting siamese cat5e

    http://www.churchvideo.co.uk/misc/howto-two-network-connections-on-a-single-cat5-cable_139.html

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043JPM8O

  • BraveNewCurrency

    Can two USB to Ethernet adapters be used as a USB extension cable?

    A USB ethernet adapter could mean one of two things:

    1) a smart dongle that lets you plug in and get networking packets (like on the side of your laptop)

    2) a dumb dongle that just passes thru USB

    If one USB to RJ45 adapter is used as emitter and the other as receiver, what would be the signal's maximum range (meters) and intensity (mA) ?

    If you have 2 smart dongles, you could use something like USBIP to have a "remote USB" between two computers to share a USB peripheral from one computer to another. Cables are limited to 185 meters, mainly because of possible collisions (computers talk so fast that the speed of light starts to matter.)

    If you have 2 dumb dongles, it acts like a USB extension cable. The distance will depend on the dongle, but could be longer in theory because only one side is talking at a time. With longer cable lengths, it might only work with some devices because of unexpected latency.


    • Related Question

    ethernet - Can Cat6 UTP stranded cable fit regular Cat6 Jacks?
  • Howard May

    I have some stranded Cat6 UTP cable and want to use it to wire an Ethernet connection to a faceplate in a wall. Normally you use Solid rather than Stranded cable for this and I am concerned that the Jacks in the faceplate won't take the stranded cable or the connecting tools won't work properly.

    Will it work? Or do I need to get special Jacks? Or is this just a big No No?

    If I can't do this then could I just put RJ45 connectors on the end and use inline connectors?


    • Related Answers
  • Russell Heilling

    If the faceplate has punch-down contacts requiring a Krone tool you will need to use solid cable. Stranded cable won't stay in place in this type of connector block.

  • Brad Gilbert

    I think you can use some punch-down jacks that have a piece of plastic that holds the wires in place, but I'm fairly certain it won't work as well as solid cable.

    I'm not sure about using CAT6 cable in the plug, but I haven't had any problems with stranded CAT5e cable in a plug.