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Why Your Company Should Avoid CCA Cabling – Part 2

30 Oct 2018

Cat6 Office Cabling Dallas TX Pittsburgh PA As discussed in Part 1, companies that have a limited budget for network infrastructure may end up buying copper clad aluminum (CCA) cabling to save money. Although marketed as a sufficient substitute for solid copper cabling, CCA cables are far from being the right answer for trimming budgets. Part 2 will continue discussing CCA cabling related issues and counterfeit copper cabling.

Shortened Cable Runs

As lengthier CCA cable runs approach the 100-meter maximum, there will be a decrease of signal strength in comparison to solid copper CAT5e cabling. Reduced signal strength can result in data loss because increased packets of data must be retransmitted.

Unsuitable for Power Over Ethernet (PoE)

Since CCA wires have a higher DC resistance (about 55% greater) than solid copper, its conductors may need to be 60% larger than solid copper to compensate. Without resistance compensation, the drop in voltage will be greater for any channel length.

Longer cable runs of 65 meters or more will surpass TIA’s channel DCR requirements, limiting the available voltage for the device. In addition, higher resistance will result in a faster buildup of radiant heat, which may damage the device.

How to Identify CCA Cabling

CCA wire is also much more brittle than solid copper wire. Identifying CCA is easy because all you need to find is the silver color of the tip of the conductor. Another way is scraping away the thin copper surface of the conductor to reveal the aluminum.

CCA cables also weigh much less than solid copper cables. Go to the CCCA website for the CableCheck™ mobile app (http://cccassoc.org/news/free-apps/), which provides the approximate correct box weights to help detect CCA conductors being used to fraudulently substitute for solid copper conductors.

When a CCA cable is labeled as a Category 5e, 6 or 6A cable or CMP or CMR rated, it is counterfeit cable. It will also be non-compliant with industry performance standards and will pose a hazard by being unable to pass UL fire safety testing.

Progressive Office Cabling

Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking solutions on behalf of our clients. Efficiently working together, Progressive teams get cabling installed and operating as fast as possible while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.

Gradual Phase Out of CAT5e Cabling in Office Buildings

13 Mar 2017

Stu Kushner

Class E (CAT6), Network Cabling, DC After their Milan working group meeting in 2015 regarding cabling standards, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), together known as the ISO/IEC, made the announcement that Category 5e (CAT5e) cabling will be considered obsolete for new installations in commercial and industrial buildings.

Setting the first international standard for cabling more than 20 years ago, ISO/IEC continually works on the development, maintenance, and promotion of technology and communications technical standards. A major change for the cabling of office buildings is now being implemented worldwide, raising the minimum horizontal cabling requirement from Class D (CAT5e) to Class E (CAT6), along with recommendations for installing Class EA (CAT6a) or faster cabling. Essentially, this will result in making CAT6 the minimum requirement for installations in new office building installations.

Providing a maximum performance of 100 MHz over computer networks, CAT5e has been utilized in structured cabling for both Ethernet and IP communications. Considered adequate for fast Ethernet and gigabit Ethernet, CAT5e has the additional capability of carry video and telephony signals. The original ISO/IEC 11801 standard now has cabling classes that were added for enabling the support of up to 10 gigabits a second, such as CAT6, CAT6A, CAT7 and CAT7A.

CAT5 is not capable of matching the speed of data that CAT6 or CAT7 cabling can deliver. CAT6 has a maximum performance of 250 MHz, while CAT7 has a maximum performance of 600 MHz, enabling ultra-fast Ethernet. In addition, CAT7 features better durability and a longer service life than either CAT5 or CAT6 cabling.

More than 20 years have passed since ISO/IEC 11801 made its debut as an international standard, and it has led the way for the reliable implementation of data and voice cabling globally. However, CAT5e is now in the process of being phased out. Superior classes of cabling are being installed at new office buildings. Wireless LAN infrastructure is upgrading at a rapid pace, along with its speed, to keep up with the growing number of smartphones, laptops, and tablets. These demands have forced the gradual replacement of CAT5e with newer cabling that will meet current and future user expectations for fast and efficient data capability.

Union Network Cabling

When union work requires a unionized cabling group, contact Union Network Cabling for your commercial Cat5e/6/6a and fiber cabling projects. They specialize and excel in cabling for data, voice, security, and even the latest WiFi and LiFi solutions. Phone: (202) 462-4290

Are you Ready for 2gb Internet?

13 Jun 2015

Stu Kushner

Your city might be poised for a dramatic increase in Internet speed into your office. Right now, you might have DSL Internet running on Cat5e cable at speeds of up to 25 - 30mb. But 2gb Internet is coming. New high-speed fiber optic networks are being built that will bring 2gb Internet to your office's network. It's coming.

So, are you ready for it?

The answer to that question lies primarily in the cabling that exists in your office. Most offices in the US have Cat5e cabling. Cat5e is not even fully capable of handling 1gb speeds and will likely create speed issues at the desktop as users demand more bandwidth from advanced online and desktop applications. Cat5 cable is even slower. So, you will first need to figure out what kind of cable you have. The best way to do this is to look at the cable. Go to you wall closet or server room and look behind the patch panel. The patch panel looks like this.

And behind the panel is a bundle of cables. These cables have writing on them that describe the type of cable.That might look like this.

You should be able to see printed right on the cable the words "CATEGORY 5" or "CATEGORY 5E". If it says, "CATEGORY 6" or "CATEGORY 6A" than you are fine. Otherwise, you have cable that will not fully support 2gb Internet speeds into your office. Cat6/6A cabling is designed for 2gb and higher throughputs of data.

But getting ready for 2gb Internet is not just about the cable. You need the right cable and you also need the Cat6 compatible connectors, patch panels and a faster switch too. So, now you have a big decision to make.

The Big Decision

What should you do? Recabling an office is a big deal. It's disruptive and it's expensive. But, wait. Is it really such a big expense and does it need to be disruptive? The cost of installing Cat6 cabling in an office is about $175 - $250 per drop. Each computer will need one drop. And you might have a few printers on your network too. So, the cost is about the same as a cheap computer monitor. And the boost in productivity will go on for many years to come.

Will it be disruptive? We can install new cabling in parallel to your existing network at night and on weekends. The switch-over is a weekend job too. Then we finish up by pulling out all of the old cable. That's called demolition. It might get a little dusty. But our team will do it's best to keep things as tidy as possible.

So, are you ready for 1gb Internet? If the service is available and you want a free on-site survey, contact us. We will be happy to come by and look at your office and prepare a Proposal for you at no charge and no obligation. If you aren't sure about the availability of 1gb Internet, contact us and we will find out for you.

Patch Cables and Twisted Pair Cabling

21 Mar 2015

Stu Kushner

The patch cable is used to link up two network devices. This type of cabling is usually a Cat6 or a Cat5e cable tha Cat5e ,Cat6/6a Cabling,patch cables t connects personal computers to the wall plate or provides the short interconnects among the switches, routers and the patch panels in the wall closet or Server Room. These make use of stranded wires instead of solid to increase flexibility. It also lessens the risk of cracking when you unplug the cable. There is also a variety of Ethernet patch called the crossover cable. It is used to hook up two PCs together and sometimes to interconnect switches.

Ethernet Systems

Ethernet systems ensure adaptable and economical methods of conveying voice, data, and multimedia over integrated networks. In fact, Ethernet patch cords have become very common. These wall to wall cables gave rise to the growth of generic and structured cabling systems. Today, these are used practically for all networking components regardless of industry or application. However, there are concerns that you need to consider. Whereas modular attributes and profusion of patch cables denote absolute universal use, there are differences that can reduce interchangeability. Some of the disparities originate from various wiring configurations of cable conductors and connector pins.

Twister Pair Cables

For this type of cabling, two conductors are coiled to prevent electromagnetic interference (commonly known as EMI) that comes from external (usually electrical) sources. One example is the electromagnetic radiation caused by uncovered twisted pair cables or UTP as well as cross talk produced by adjacent electrical wires. The process of shielding generates a conductive barrier to lessen these electromagnetic waves. It also creates a conduit for conduction so that currents and data can traverse freely. Shielding can be applied on individual pairs or as a group of pairs.

Twisted conductor pairs form a secure circuit. The voltages carry the same magnitude or amplitude. However, one is positive while the other is negative. Incidentally, crosstalk takes place if the electromagnetic field turns out a signal that is too big or strong and intereferes with a nearby pair. The sound is like a fusion of the two fields by means of a swap of the energy between them. Certain components of these signals are passed on to each other during this exchange of energy.

As a result, here is an ensuing increase in the level of “noise”. External sources of EMI and RFI create signal interference in a similar manner. These cause distortion of the signals that go to your office and communications equipment.

Overall, these are the things that you should take into account with regards to twisted and patch cabling.

Please feel free to contact us if you need help with your office cabling project!

Structured Cabling,,Office Cabling.connectors

Important Facts About Cabling Infrastructure

23 Jan 2015

Stu Kushner

Network cabling that has not been installed properly may result in various communications issues. Even minor problems such as a connector that has not been terminated properly can prevent Power over Ethernet from performing well.

Wiring Standards

See to it that you use appropriate wiring patterns which are T568a and T568b. Refrain from bringing together T568a and T568b in the same cable. And always use premium quality Cat6 or Cat5e cables. We prefer solid over stranded wire.

Handling Cat5/Cat5e Cabling

19 Nov 2014

Stu Kushner

cat 5e,Network cabling, cables, Atlanta GA Information Technology specialists have to choose the kind of cable to utilize for their networks. Cat5 has been one of the main choices for decades. This is because Cat5 supports 10/100 Ethernet which includes Fast Ethernet. In recent years, Cat5e has become the dominant choice for new cabling projects. And Cat5e cable is also backwards compatible. Your computers, phone and other network devices will work on Cat5e cable.

One handling issue is the electrical interference