Tag Archives: Twisted Pair Cables

If your company has a limited budget for network infrastructure, your team may be tempted to find numerous way to economize. Unfortunately, this may lead to buying CCA cabling in order 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.

Definition of CCA

CCA stands for copper coated aluminum. A CCA cable’s core is an inner aluminum conductor that is coated with copper. As a result, it weighs considerably less than solid copper cables.

A CCA cable can be made at a significantly reduced cost than the solid copper version. This gives a manufacturer an increased profit margin and a significant competitive edge over those companies who continue making solid copper cable.

CCA cables may look similar and are advertised to function just like standard CAT5e or CAT6 cabling, but they have serious flaws that could result in network issues, business continuity problems, and safety hazards as discussed below.

Non-Compliant

CCA twisted pair cables are non-compliant with UL and TIA standards, which require solid or stranded copper conductors. The National Electrical Code (NEC) also does not provide CCA cabling a valid safety listing. Thus, CCA cables cannot be installed legally if the facility requires CM, CMG, CMP, CMR, or CMX rated cables.

Inflexible

As CCA conductors are brittle and easily break, just transferring a faceplate or patch panel can result in failures. CCA wires have low tensile strength, and they are known to break from shearing or pulling, which can happen during packaging or delivery. Moreover, CCA cables have a very limited bend radius.

Oxidation

Aluminum begins oxidizing very rapidly when it is exposed to air. This oxidation and the resulting corrosion may lead to failed terminations inside the network infrastructure, resulting in connectivity issues.

Part 2 will continue discussing CCA cabling related issues and counterfeit copper cabling.

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 in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas. 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.

Cabling utilized for network infrastructure is a crucial aspect of networking, and it has grown in importance as new technologies are introduced, including virtualization, wireless access points, blade servers, network storage devices, etc.

Although wireless technology has greatly advanced, most of the existing computer networks are still using cables as the media for transferring data. Each standardized type of network cable is utilized for a specific purpose as discussed below.

Coaxial Cables

Patented in 1880 (yes, that long ago!), coaxial cable is most familiar as the cable that connects TV sets to their antennas and also as the standard for 10 Mbps Ethernet, which was common in the 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, networks utilized two coaxial cable types, thicknet, the 10BASE5 standard, or thinnet, the 10BASE2 standard. Composed of an inner copper wire surrounded by insulation and shielding, the stiff quality of these cables made them difficult to install and maintain.

Twisted Pair Cables

During the 1970s, Ethernet was developed at Xerox, which began collaborating with Intel and DEC for its standardization. The initial specifications, titled the Ethernet Blue Book or DIX from their three company initials, was published in 1980.

In the 1990s, twisted pair cables became the primary cabling standard of Ethernet, beginning at 10 Mbps with Category 3 or Cat3, which was followed by 100 Mbps Cat5 and Cat5e and up to 10 Gbps (10GBASE-T). Ranging up to eight wires wound together in pairs, this type of cabling is intended to minimize electromagnetic interference.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) are the two chief twisted pair cable types standardized by the industry. Due to lower manufacturing costs, modern Ethernet cables utilize UTP wiring. STP cabling is used by other types of networks like Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). Clearly the most common network cable type globally, UTP cable is utilized for both networking and for the traditional telephone (UTP-CAT1) cabling.

UTP-CAT5e or Cat5e has become the most common UTP cable as it replaced coaxial cable, which was unable to cope with the increasing demand for networks that were faster and more reliable.

Part 2 will cover Fiber Optics, USB Cables, and Crossover Cables.

Union Network Cabling

When  your 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

What can cabling that has not been installed properly do?

It can lead to a lot of negative outcomes such as paralyzed network performance, maintenance troubles and hidden costs. Network cabling can be  especially troublesome if it is installed by individuals without the proper knowledge and tools. When it comes to twisted pair cabling, there are many factors that you need to consider.

In the past, many companies installed different cable systems since twisted pair cabling was expensive. At present, full installation is still costly although a greater part of the expense is labor since raw cables is not pricey. Cable management is another concern. Use of ladder racks means additional cost but it reduces upkeep. Also be sure you label cables and to make use of color codes.

Unshielded twisted pairs are more practical in terms of usage. Magnetic fields are produced by low voltages that pass through your cables. This is a vital property of the communications cycle. And if you run unshielded cables along with electrical wires, the magnetic field can be interrupted. The communications becomes corrupted or noisy. You can expect that transmissions will not make it from one point to the other. Another possibility is that transmission rates will become slower. The cables should be perpendicular with electrical lines instead with the electric wires inside of shielded tubes at cross points.

Do not attempt to run cable alongside fixtures that create “noise”. Fluorescent lamps, motors and devices that generate electrical or magnetic interference will distort your cabling infrastructure. Install a data cable conduit that will create a buffer from these hazards. Also figure out the total distance of each cable. This is usually up to 100 meters. However, if cabling data rates reaches 10 to 40 GBPs, be attentive about distance restrictions related to the kind of cabling you plan to use. If you will run 10 GBPs for a maximum of 100 meters over twisted pair cabling, it is best to use Category 6 cabling.

Be aware of local codes.

This is important for safety concerns. In many areas, using PVC-covered cables is not allowed in air-handling spaces. When PVC burns, there is toxic emission that may prove dangerous to firefighters and other safety personnel who will try to navigate the location during emergencies. Failure to follow rules can lead to fines and forced replacement of cabling infrastructure. Contractors must be mindful of these regulatory standards.