TLDR: Tested ethernet connection in new house and only looks like 3 wire pairs working... Expecting 4, I think. Not sure to make of it?
Detailed:
I'm building a house, and have requested for the sparky to install 2 Ethernet cables (and wall sockets) both going from study to lounge room. Idea is to have the modem in the study, then a cable or two into the lounge room for TV / HTPC / Apple TV etc.
Now, work has been done, house is a few weeks from hand over. I went to have a look around today, and was able to borrow a "FLUKE networks MicroScanner Pro" device from work to test the connections. Connected a little loop back thing in the lounge room end, and the scanner in the other.
Assuming I used it correctly, the "wiremap" only came back with 6 "wires" connecting through... I'm assuming this means 3 pairs. When testing the 2 patch cables that I am using, I get the full wiremap - "12345678", which suggest patch cables are OK.
Did a bit of research and this (3 pairs) does not make much sense... Most standards are either 2 pairs (10/100 Mbit), or 4 pairs (1000 Mbit). 3 Pairs is a bit of no man's land?
I checked our "selections summary" documentation, and the parts selected were "Cat 5E Socket (RJ45)", with no mention of the actual cabling to be used.
So what have I got? Have I tested incorrectly? What kind of cabling would only use 3 pairs? Would a sparky ever not install standard Cat 5E or Cat 6 in 2015?
Photos below
![Image](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/956788/ARSE/EthernetTest1.jpg)
![Image](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/956788/ARSE/EthernetTest2.jpg)