USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 Gen 1 aka the kind that can do 5 gbps can only use cables up to 3m in length. Meanwhile Ethernet uses a similar twisted pair copper cable, but can do 10 gbps over 100m.
What gives, why is USB so limited in terms of cable length?
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Its actually super complicated so im going to do my best to ELI5 without getting too technical from what i know form basic system engineering.
At its simplest form Ethernet was built for long range and has decay protection built into it and all its parts along any give path. Its also made to handle multiple parts along a path. It takes a lot of processing power and extra parts and software and hardware reading that data to do it
USB was designed for end to end with short runs so it was simply never build with any long range decay protection in place or have its data constantly repeated though different devices to achieve the long range. ITs low processing power because there is no need to for backups and loss detection and systems that double check the data before passing it onto the next guy because by design there is no next guy so its lower power , short distance minimum complexity
You use the best tool for the job. You can use a wrench to hammer in a nail…but its not the most effective way and no one is out there trying to figure out how to make a wrench a better hammer because hammers exist. No one really focuses on long range USB data transfer because there are better tools for the job for that. ( i know some joker will link me to those hammer wrench things but you get the point)!
Best way i can explain it without getting more complicated is ethernet has a lot of working parts and routers and such things that help control data and power in smart way. So you send lower power signals further because you have a lot of tech that can figure it out on each end if things get lost and repair lost data on the fly.
USB is simpler and also higher power…with that higher power comes a problem of trying to regulate and control it . It gets more unstable the further it goes and more subject to decay
ethernet is designed for data and power was added on as something extra they found it can do.
USB was designed for data and power and over the years its focus shifted more to power with an aside of having high data transfer as well. It controlling hardware at the ends was never dsigned with keeping long range data intact so there is no decay protection
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