Category 6 Ethernet Cable Specifications

Cat 6 has to meet more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise than cat 5 and cat 5e.

Category 6 ethernet cable specifications.

The new 2ghz speed limit. If you re installing an ethernet network you ll need to make a decision about the type of cable to use for the permanent connections between network jacks. Finally category 8 is the new spec on the cable block. For copper based twisted pair networks the four standards that are in common use today are category 5 5e 6 and 6a.

Cat 6 cables technically support speeds up to 10gbps but only do so for up to 55 meters. Sometimes the category is updated with further clarification or testing standards e g. Cat 6 supports 10 gigabit ethernet only up to 164 feet of cable length. That speed comes with a price however as cat 6 cables are more expensive than cat 5 and cat 5e variants.

Ethernet cables are grouped into sequentially numbered categories cat based on different specifications. The cat6a doubles data transmission bandwidth from 250 to 500 mhz. Category 5 cable cat 5 is a twisted pair cable for computer networks since 2001 the variant commonly in use is the category 5e specification cat 5e the cable standard provides performance of up to 100 mhz and is suitable for most varieties of ethernet over twisted pair up to 1000base t gigabit ethernet. Cat8 cable or category 8 cable is an ethernet cable which differs greatly from the previous cables in that it supports a frequency of up to 2 ghz 2000 mhz and is limited to a 30 meter 2 connector channel while cat8 cable requires shielded cabling as well.

Most importantly cat8 ethernet patch cables can support a speed of 25 gbps or even 40 gbps. The new specification has limits on alien crosstalk in cabling systems. The cable standard specifies performance of up to 250 mhz compared to 100 mhz for cat 5 and cat 5e. The category 6a or cat6a cable is the latest iteration of gigabit ethernet cabling.

Category 6 cable cat 6 is a standardized twisted pair cable for ethernet and other network physical layers that is backward compatible with the category 5 5e and category 3 cable standards. Cat 5 is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video. The a stands for augmented and is a nod to cat6a s improved specifications compared with its predecessor the category 6 or cat6 cable. The category 6 augmented cable standard or cat 6a was created to further improve the performance of cat 6 ethernet cables using cat 6a enables 10 gigabit ethernet data rates over a single cable run up to 328 feet.

Draft specification ansi tia eia 568 b 2 10 specifies cable systems called augmented category 6 or more frequently as category 6a that operate at frequencies up to 500 mhz and will provide up to 10 gbit s bandwidth. Let s look at the technical and physical differences in ethernet cable categories to help us decide.