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Data Cabling, Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling, Washington DC

New Standards for Cabling and Category 8 Update

20 May 2017

Data Cabling, Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling, Washington DC The selection of proper cabling has become more crucial and also more complicated, but the process can be made easier by knowing about the choices available and updates regarding the development of Category 8 (CAT 8).

There are several organizations that determine the standards for cabling, such as the ISO (International Organization for Standardization), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association), and CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization). However, our discussion will primarily focus on ISO/IEC and TIA.

As its standard calls for 10Gb/s rates of transmission, 10GBASE-T cabling is the fastest in the market. Unable to support 10Gb/s, Category 5e does not receive 10GBASE-T standard recognition. In addition, advisories by the TIA and ISO/IEC and TIA state that new class E/category 6 cabling should not be installed to support 10GBASE T. As a result, the cabling options for new installations that meet the 10GBASE-T standards for carrying data up to 100 meters are only found in the class EA/CAT 6A, class F/CAT 7, or class FA/CAT 7A.

Regarding data centers that are newly built, ISO, along with other standards organizations, have determined that CAT 6A should be the minimum grade. The task force overseeing IEEE 802.3 40GBASE-T have drafted the baseline objectives for the future 40 Gb/s standard, which is well beyond the capabilities of CAT 6A.

Cabling of a higher category traditionally matches and surpasses the electrical and mechanical standards of what preceded it. In addition, it is backwards compatible. Although TIA calls for cabling systems to perform at CAT 6A minimum, it will not be adopting CAT 7 or 7A as determined by ISO/IEC. TIA is naming its next class of cabling, Category 8, to differentiate it from ISO/IEC standards for CAT 7 and CAT 7A.

Interestingly, the proposed performance for CAT 8 will not be meeting or exceeding CAT 7A standards for up to 1 GHz. For example, regarding parameters for internal crosstalk, CAT 7A is superior to CAT 8 by more than 20 decibels.

Union Network Cabling

When work requires a unionized cabling group, call on Progressive Office Inc. for your commercial Cat5e/6/6a and fiber cabling projects. Specializing in cabling for data, voice, security and even the latest WiFi and LiFi solutions. Phone: (202) 462-4290

Cabling Issues

11 Apr 2013

Stu Kushner

data cabling,,DC One of the most important things about cabling is to purchase cable not just for what you’re using now but for what you may run in the future. A rule of thumb is to install the highest-grade cable that your budget allows.

The standard is Ethernet. That means there are two basic types of cables to use: copper Ethernet and fiber optic Ethernet. Copper Ethernet cabling is generally used to connect the data center equipment to the end-user, while fiber optic cabling is used to network the infrastructure and to

Choosing between Cat5e and Cat6 at your Office

24 Apr 2009

Stu Kushner

Trends

The trend is towards higher speeds, of course. Offices have faster computers, faster Internet and more demanding applications. But does this translate into a need for Cat6 cable?

Category 5e and Cat6 Cable

Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: cables are still limited to a maximum of 100m (328 ft) in length. Each Cat 5e cable can carry up to 100mb/sec of data.

Cat 6 cable carries 1gb/sec of data and therefore has 10 times the data capacity of Cat 5e.

The Decision Considerations

Cat 6 will not make your Internet speeds faster. Even at fiber speeds, the Internet still only runs at a fraction of Cat 5 speeds. Cat 6 will also not make VOIP phones were better because VOIP uses only 60-90k per phone line. So, VOIP is a very unlikely reason for using Cat6 cabling

The only reason for using Cat 6 is because you are pushing a lot of data over your cable. This is true when you are running applications off of a server as in the case of a virtual PC environment where applications do not reside on the local desktop system. It is also true when you have applications that have very large data files as in CAD/CAM and other demanding graphic design systems.

A secondary, yet important, consideration is cost. Cat 6 cable is twice as expensive as Cat 5e and it also r

equires Cat 6 jacks, inserts, patch panels and switches. This can add considerably to the overall cost of a project. Any Cat 5 component will slow the connection down to 100mb.

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