Talk:Category 6 cable

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Intermixed cable fallacy?

I've recently completed a job with a contractor that forcefully asserted that Cat 5e and Cat 6 cabling cannot be intermixed. This went against my belief, however, I've known this guy for years and he has ne'er led me astray on purpose. Whats the deal?

Both the situation and the assertion you cite are vague, so allow me to hypothesize a few installations that intermix these cable types and describe the probable results:

• A facility in which backbone, horizontal, and patch cables randomly use either cat-5e or cat-6 cables, but each individual channel is exclusively one cable type end-to-end. This would result in a facility in which any individual channel could be certified to either cat-6 or cat-5e performance requirements. Very suitable for gigabit ethernet, but only the cat-6 runs would be able to support 10GBASE-T (or other communications systems designed for cat-6). The end result is a system in which only a subset of work areas support advanced communication standards.
• A facility in which every channel contains a random mix of cat-5e and cat-6 cables. A very poor idea. In all likelihood, these channels could be certified to cat-5e performance standards (although with the increased cost of the cat-6 components), but it is possible that small impedance mismatches, NVP differences, skin effect variances or other differences between the properties of the cables could cause the channel to fail cat-5e certification. I consider this rather unlikely, but certainly I would not expect any of these channels to pass cat-6 performance testing, so one is left with a higher cost, higher risk, cable system that delivers no benefit over pure cat-5e.

Bottom line: they *can* be intermixed, but doing so increases the risk of certification troubles and delivers no performance benefit. Thus, any justification for mixing them should be based on other factors, like logistics (cable availability, colors, etc), financial, etc., and with a full understanding of the risks.

dpotter 23:44, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What maximum bandwidth is supported?

I'm pretty sure the bandwidth is 550 mhz not 250 mhz. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.92.160.28 (talk • contribs).

Although some cable manufacturers may provide (or claim to provide) cables capable of transmitting very high-frequency signals, the Cat 6 specification (TIA/EIA-568.B.2-1) specifies transmission requirements only within the range of 1MHz-250MHz. dpotter 20:16, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What is "horizontal cable length"?

65.27.174.174 00:06, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

It's the length of a horizontal cable. The term "horizontal cable" typically refers to the cabling between a horizontal cross-connect and a telecommunication outlet. An example of this would be an unshielded twisted pair cable that runs from an RJ45 termination panel in a wiring closet to an RJ45 jack in a wall plate. dpotter 05:30, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

So, the "horizontal cable length" is the length of the "permanently installed" cable, from the wall jack at one end to the wall jack or patch panel at the other end, typically hidden away inside walls, ceiling, or under the floor. Once you've cut the cable, its length doesn't change, no matter if the cable goes up, down, horizontal, or in a big circle. The "cords" are the visible length, typically one cord plugged into the wall jack and a PC, the other cord plugged between the patch panel and a router.

Could someone confirm that a cable that runs, say, 60 feet straight up then a couple of feet to the West has a "horizontal cable length" of 62 feet, and clarify this in the article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.70.89.241 (talk • contribs).

You've got the right idea, and your first paragraph above is correct. Horizontal cables are defined by their place in the architecture, not the distance they traverse parallel to the ground. The example in your second paragraph is also correct, although unusual/unrealistic - in a commercial premises, horizontal cables would almost never traverse a 60-foot vertical climb. That would typically indicate a 4-5 story building, and a typical cable system architecture would have a cross-connect installed on each floor, with backbone cabling (not horizontal cabling) interconnecting the cross-connects. See Structured cabling for more information.

I'll add a link to the article as you suggested. dpotter 14:29, 10 August 2006 (UTC)