Because of how much bandwidth people want now, Category 5 is no longer useful. What's a category 6 cable? Even though the Category 6 standards are still just draughts, many companies are already selling a wide range of products that they say meet the draught proposals.
Because of how much bandwidth people want now, Category 5 is no longer useful. Category 5 Enhanced (5e) standards should have been approved in August and may be finalised at a committee meeting in November. They include new measurements that give 100BaseTX and ATM-155 traffic more room to move. Importantly, Category 5e standards make it possible to connect to Gigabit Ethernet in a reliable way. But many structured cabling suppliers say that Category 5e is just a stopgap until Category 6, which will support at least 200 MHz. The IEEE is asking for a 250-MHz Category 6 specification so that there is enough room for error. Even though the Category 6 standards are still just draughts, many companies are already selling a wide range of products that they say meet the draught proposals.
What's a category 6 cable? Cat-5, Cat-5e, and Cat-6 are the three types of cables. Cat-6 is the most advanced and has the best performance. Category 6 cable, like Cat 5 and Cat 5e, is usually made of four pairs of copper wires that are twisted together. However, because it has a longitudinal separator, it can do much more than other cables. This separator keeps the four pairs of twisted wires from talking to each other. This cuts down on crosstalk, speeds up data transfer, and gives Cat 6 cable twice the bandwidth of Cat 5! Cat 6 cable works well with 10 Gigabit Ethernet and can work at up to 250 MHz. Since technology and standards are always changing, Cat 6 is the best cable to choose if you want to make changes to your network in the future. Category 6 cable is not only safe for the future, but it also works with Cat 5 and Cat 5e cables already in place in older buildings.
Category 6 (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1) is a cable standard for Gigabit Ethernet and other network protocols that is compatible with the Category 5, Category 5e, and Category 3 cable standards. When it comes to crosstalk and system noise, Cat-6 has stricter requirements. The cable standard works with 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). It should also work with 10000BASE-T (10Gigabit Ethernet) standards. It works at speeds of up to 250 MHz.
The cable has four pairs of copper wires that have been twisted together, just like older copper cable standards. Cat-6 is sometimes made with 23 gauge wire, but this is not a requirement. The ANSI/TIA-568-B.2-1 specification says the cable can be made with 22 to 24 AWG gauge wire as long as it meets the testing standards. When Cat-6 is used as a patch cable, it usually ends in 8P8C connectors, which are often mistakenly called "RJ-45" connectors. Some Cat-6 cables are too big and may be hard to connect to 8P8C connectors without a special modular piece. This means that they don't meet the standards. If parts from different cable standards are mixed together, the signal path will only work as well as the lowest category. As with all cables defined by TIA/EIA-568-B, a Cat-6 horizontal cable can be no longer than 90 metres (295 feet). Depending on how long the cords are compared to the length of the horizontal cable, a full channel (horizontal cable plus cords on either end) can be up to 100 metres long.
Either the T568A scheme or the T568B scheme is used to end the cable. Both are straight through, so it doesn't matter which one is used (pin 1 to 1, pin 2 to 2, etc). Mixed cable types shouldn't be hooked up in series because the impedance of each pair is different, which would weaken the signal. If you want to connect two Ethernet units of the same type (like a PC to a PC or a hub to a hub), you should use a cross over cable. However, some modern hardware can automatically use either type of cable.
Return loss measures the ratio of the strength of the signal that is reflected to the strength of the signal that is sent. It is the hardest test to do over and over again with the same results. At Category 6 levels, the difference between a pass and a fail can be the amount that a test cord is bent. Connector makers are also having trouble with return loss because the RJ-45 system isn't up to the task. The last problem with ratifying Category 5e is the RJ-45 hardware. Category 6 is stuck with RJ-45 for backward compatibility, but the ISO's proposed Category 7 system will have a new connector that hasn't been decided on yet. Today, the return loss problem is the reason why manufacturers of Category 6 hardware, which is supposed to work with other kinds of hardware, only claim Category 6 performance if you use all of their parts in a channel link.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is working on a new specification for unshielded twisted pair cable systems that will set higher performance standards. Draft specification ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10 describes "Augmented Category 6" or "Category 6a" cable systems, which can work at frequencies up to 500 MHz and have a bandwidth of up to 10 Gbit/s. Crosstalk from other cables is limited by the new specification.
Augmented Category 6 says that both shielded and unshielded cables must work at a minimum frequency of 500 MHz. On a 4-connector channel, it can support future 10 Gb/s applications up to a distance of 100 metres.
