Where & When to Use Cat6 Shielded Cable

Where & When to Use Cat6 Shielded Cable?

Buying a high-performance cable is not the only requirement to establish an impeccable ethernet LAN network. If you are buying a good cable, you also need to know when and where to install it.

This theory also holds for the Cat6 Shielded cable. It is a 1000ft ethernet cable with up to 1 GBit/s data transfer rates over 100 meters. Shielded Cat6 cable also provides a 550 MHz bandwidth that makes it ideal for almost all high-speed ethernet applications.

Now, in this blog, we will be discussing exactly where and when you can use this cable. Because if you install it in spaces and applications it is not designed for, you will not be getting the most out of its capacity.

Without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Cat6 Shielded Cable The shielded Cat6 is any category 6 ethernet cable with a wire mesh or foil shielding underneath the cable jacket. The shielding is important for maintaining better signal quality and protecting the conductors from EMI and Crosstalk.

The Cat6 cable features 4 twisted pair conductors that are made from either bare copper or copper-clad aluminum. The bare copper cables are more popular because of their better resistance against interference. Bare copper or pure copper Cat6 cables are also known for relaying a stronger signal and keeping the signal integrity intact.

What are EMI and Crosstalk?

EMI or electromagnetic interference in an ethernet cable is the disturbance caused by the flow of signals in another cable near it. This interference is also known as radio frequency interference and it is a major problem in LAN networks that run multiple cables in parallel to each other.

Crosstalk is another, more common name for EMI which is also known as noise, external noise, and coupling.

Science of Shielding in Cat6 Cable Now the Cat6 shielded cable is designed with particular attention to this interference. It is designed to either reflect it or absorb it without allowing it to get in contact with the cable conductors.

When interfering signals from other cables in the network enter into the Cat6 shielded cable, the metal foil shield or wire mesh shield will either absorb it or reflect it. It could do both as well.

The shielding in the cable is sometimes a wire mesh or a metal foil. Also, note that both the foil and the wire mesh could also be integrated at the same time.

And these kinds of shielded Cat6 cables are the most efficient and also expensive.

Where Not to Use it?

Some people would just use the shielded Cat6 cable regardless of whether their LAN is crowded or not. See you cannot just install this cable anywhere you want. Because first, using it where you do not need it is a trivial expense.

Secondly, the shielded cable 1000ft is not as easy as the unshielded cable to install. And it will make it harder to install the cable.

So, use the shielded Cat6 cable when it is needed. And know when it is needed in the next part.

When and Where to Use it?

Well, it is simple. The shielded Cat6 cables are designed for crowded LAN networks. Meaning, that when you are setting up a new home or office network, you can use these cables. Because the performance requirements in the modern day have grown quite significantly and you must use efficient cables.

This cable is also installed in spaces that are old and have a lot of cables running parallel to each other. For example in HVAC ducts, where a bunch of cables is run along the same line. Well in these spaces, you ought to use a shielded Cat6 cable. And even if you are using any other category of ethernet cables, you might want to use shielded.

Do you need Cat6 Shielded Cable?

As previously mentioned, it depends on the type of network you have. But the rule of the thumb is to count the number of cables that will be running along the same line. If it is more than three, you need the shielded cable 1000ft.

Another important factor to determine whether you need the CAt6 shielded cable is to measure the gap between each cable in your network. If individual cables are more than an inch apart, you don’t need the shielded Cat6. Use unshielded and you will be good.

How and Where to Buy? Buy from a store that offers you professional customer support. Because Ethernet Cables can be tricky to run, terminate, and install in general. So you might want to make sure that your supplier is offering you professional customer support that does not read out of user manuals.

And if you are offered a warranty, that would even be great.

How to buy it? Well, first, know your network and its requirements. How long a cable do you need, what color cable do you need, and how many connections will you be making?

Consider all these fairly easy factors, to be honest, and you will be able to buy the right shielded ethernet cable.

Conclusion Cat6 shielded cable is used in dense networks where EMI or crosstalk can cripple signal transmission. Also, the 1000ft shielded ethernet cable is not to be used in spaces where it is not necessary, otherwise, it is a redundant investment and will only make the installation difficult.

Thank You