Structured Cabling
FAQ Category 6 Cabling
What is the general difference between category 5e and category 6?
The general difference between Category 5e and Category 6 is in the transmission performance and extension of the available bandwidth from 100 MHz for Category 5e to 200 MHz for Category 6. This includes better insertion loss, near end crosstalk (NEXT), return loss and equal level far end crosstalk (ELFEXT). These improvements provide a higher signal-to-noise ratio, allowing higher reliability for current applications and higher data rates for future applications. The additional performance parameters provide a sort of "forgiveness factor" for things that happen within a cabling infrastructure over its lifetime assuring that bandwidth remains available for applications. Please note that the bandwidth referred to above is the bandwidth to achieve a positive signal to noise ratio between insertion loss and power sum near end crosstalk (PSACR is greater than 0). Cat 6 cabling performance is specified to 250 MHz, or 25 percent beyond the 0 dB PSACR frequency of 200 MHz.
What does category 6 do for my current network vs. category 5e?
Because of its improved transmission performance and superior immunity from external noise, systems operating over Category 6 cabling will have fewer errors vs. Category 5e for current applications. This means fewer re-transmissions of lost or corrupted data packets under certain conditions, which translates into higher reliability for Category 6 networks compared to Category 5e networks.
Why do I need all the bandwidth of category 6? As far as I know, there is no application today that requires 200 MHz of bandwidth.
Bandwidth precedes data rates just as highways come before traffic. Doubling the bandwidth is like adding twice the number of lanes on a highway. The trends of the past and the predictions for the future indicate that data rates have been doubling every 18 months. Current applications running at 1 Gb/s are really pushing the limits of Category 5e cabling. As streaming media applications such as video and multi-media become commonplace, the demands for faster data rates will increase and spawn new applications that will benefit from the higher bandwidth offered by Category 6. This is exactly what happened in the early ’90s when the higher bandwidth of Category 5 cabling compared to Category 3 caused most local area network (LAN) applications to choose the better media to allow simpler, cost effective, higher speed LAN applications, such as 100BASE-TX. It is also important to note that cabling infrastructure is generally considered a 10 year investment as opposed to two or three years for electronics. Work has already started on 10G BASE-T, and Category 5e cabling is not being considered. With additional throughput requirements right around the corner, it makes sense to plan ahead. Note: Bandwidth is defined as the highest frequency up to which positive power sum ACR (attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio) is greater than zero
For more info contact TRC cabling division at 416.398.4448
