Category 6A Handbook

Category 6A Handbook The Latest Advancements in Category 6A Solutions Applications and Environments Driving Demand Industry-Leading Manufacturers WESCO Distribution, Inc. 200 E Lies Rd. Carol Stream, IL 60188

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Evolution of Category 6A

When the Category 6A standard was ratified in 2007, it was hailed as the future-proof solution to support 10GBase-T, a networking speed which, at the time of ratification, wasn’t yet available.

Ratification of the 6A standard opened the door for manufacturers to invest in research and development, engineers to identify applications, and the industry to identify opportunities and obstacles.

First Generation Cat 6A cables were designed to deliver performance; high bandwidth with minimal crosstalk. This resulted in robust cable designs with larger cable diameters, lots of fillers and challenging handling characteristics.

Apart from the physical aspects of the cable, the early active components, i.e., transceivers which supported 10GBase-T, required more power and created more heat than lower speed counterparts. So, the cable used more space, consumed more electricity, was harder to install, and created more heat which in turn required more power to cool — not an attractive ROI. This was a problematic combination, but the manufacturers were continuing to perfect their designs.

Since 6A’s introduction, manufacturers for cabling and chipsets for the active components have made tremendous strides in performance. A lot of effort has gone into reducing cable diameters, improving handleability and overcoming a new obstacle — Alien Crosstalk or ANEXT. Cable diameters have dropped by over 20% and range between 0.25" and 0.3", the power requirements of the chip sets are now in line with lower speed solutions and advanced digital signal processing techniques have improved transmission characteristics.

ANEXT or Alien Crosstalk was a more challenging problem for cable manufacturers — ANEXT refers to the interference generated

and Origins of Demand on one cable by another adjacent cable. This has always been an issue in cable designs, but became a bigger concern with the higher frequencies required to support 10GBase-T transmissions.

Each manufacturer offers several different cable construction options designed to either eliminate or reduce the effect of ANEXT. The most popular are: •

Unshielded UTP – U/UTP which is the most common approach, relying on a combination of optimizing pair twists and spacing within the jacket. This is the lowest cost and easiest to install variant.

•

Foil UTP – F/UTP starts with a UTP construction and then adds a complete foil shield between the cable pairs and the outer jacket. This is a more costly construction and harder to install, but eliminates all external noise issues and may be ideal for highly secure installations. These cables generally need shielded connectivity to insure there are no grounding issues.

Newer versions of F/UTP may apply only a partial foil shield to the cable pairs, resulting in a lighter weight and easier-to-handle cable with excellent ANEXT and internal crosstalk performance over standard connectivity.

Building Demand for Category 6A

When the Category 6A standard was released, it was, perhaps, ahead of its time. Although early adopters saved themselves from future cable replacement, only within the past few years have the real benefits been realized by the broader base of installations.

Today, more and more applications are requiring or substantially benefiting from 10gig cabling technology. The exploding demand for WiFi, HDBase-T, high-power PoE solutions, on-demand video conferencing, and environments that demand high availability and capacity, require the crosstalk performance, speed, and heat dissipation provided by 6A.

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Applications Driving Demand WiFi

The evolution of WiFi over the past 10 years has resulted in the increase of transmission rates from 600Mbps (802.11n) to 3.5Gbps (802.11ac). This evolution will take another step forward in late 2019 with the passage of 802.11ax, promising data rates near 10Gbps and offering higher capacity and support for multiple simultaneous users.

Aggregation over the wireless cabling infrastructure is on the rise. The Network must support more devices, running more applications over higher data rates. Today’s laptops, desktop, and digital displays will make up only a small part of tomorrow’s network environment as Smart Building technologies and IoT devices become more pervasive. AX will also support cellular offloading, driving even more demand on the Wifi network in support of mobile phones and tablets. Category 6A cabling is no longer future proofing your infrastructure; it is required to enable the wireless infrastructure for commercial spaces.

High-Power PoE

Category 6A is the ideal cabling solution for many PoE applications, because it is designed to support high power and high data rates simultaneously. High power presents a new concern to the network infrastructure designer, namely, what happens to the cable integrity under the increased heat load generated by the high power networks. As power levels increase, cables become hotter and cables that are deployed in tightly bundled configurations in plenum spaces may see a significant ambient temperature rise. If these increased temperatures exceed the manufacture’s temperature ratings, serious jacket degradation can occur, leading to decreased network performance or outright cable failure.

The 2017 NEC Handbook addresses these issues and sets guideline for proper cable specification, providing direction on how much power you can run on 4-pair cabling based on the wire gauge, bundle size, distance and temperature rating.

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for Category 6A Infrastructure HDBase-T

HDBase-T technology provides power and signal for high definition TV. In this way, it is similar to PoE applications. However, while it uses Ethernet infrastructure, it does not operate on the Ethernet protocol.

HDBase-T is one of the most demanding applications on the cabling infrastructure due to high data rates and power requirements approaching 100W. Category 6A’s ability to support high-power applications without degrading the cable or signal quality make it the ideal infrastructure for HDBase-T.

Future Applications

In 2007 the first iPhone was released, and the first iPad was three years away. Netflix had just introduced streaming services and YouTube was in its second year of business. The rest is history. The demand on our networks continues to expand with greater dependence on these devices, the applications they connect us to, and the resolution and richness of the media they play. The next wave of technologies will support the evolution of the workspace into a converged and connected network supporting IoT technologies and applications.

Category 6A cabling is the foundation for supporting high-demand applications today and preparing building infrastructures for the applications yet to come.

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Environments Driving Demand Enterprise Wireless

The TIA TSB-162-A standard recommends running 2 - Category 6A cables to experience the full benefit of current 802.11ac access points. While the demonstrated maximum speed for 802.11ac is approximately 3.5Gbps, enterprise solutions for the 802.11ax protocol are expected in 2019 with speeds approaching 10Gbps.

New construction demands 6A in the horizontal. For upgrades, whether you decide to wait for 802.11ax equipment or upgrade to better support 802.11ac now, Category 6A improves your capacity and supports next-generation wireless.

Benefits • Avoids rip and replace in new construction • Increased wireless capacity • Supports next-generation wireless technologies

K-12 Education

High-speed connectivity and rich digital experiences directly impact the quality of the learning experience. School districts are focused on maximizing classroom time, making each minute as meaningful as possible, and working within their limited budgets to produce the best possible academic results.

Category 6A cabling provides the speed students need to prevent valuable classroom minutes from being spent connecting, downloading and uploading.

Benefits • Supports blazing fast wireless connectivity • Delivers high speed Internet to computer labs • Provides rich, high-definition AV over HDBase-T • Increases valuable classroom minutes

Higher Education

While a student’s choice in their K-12 school is somewhat limited, higher education is a much more competitive market. Students notice the quality of campus WiFi, high-speed internet, and the digital experiences delivered by the universities they are considering. High-speed infrastructure also 5

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for Category 6A Infrastructure supports the efficiency of the faculty, staff, and advanced workstations.

Category 6A cabling helps higher-education facilities compete, operate efficiently, and provide a rich learning experience to the student body.

Benefits • Improves competitiveness with high-speed infrastructure • Provides rich, high-definition AV over HDBase-T • Supports blazing fast wireless connectivity • Delivers high-speed Internet to computer labs

Data Center

Category 6A cabling can be an economical choice for supporting 10GBase-T in the data center for top of rack, and end/middle of row deployments. Early impediments to 6A adoption have been relieved by innovations including chipsets that require less power and smaller diameter 6A cabling.

Category 6A now comes in varieties with an Outer Dimension (OD) as small as 0.25" compared to early 6A cables as large as 0.32". The smaller OD results in more airflow, tighter turn radius, and less space consumed by cabling.

Benefits • Cost effective and backward compatibility • New designs save space and improve airflow • Lower power, lower cost solution

Healthcare Facilities

According to TIA-1179-A, the minimum standard for backbone cabling in a healthcare facility is Category 6A. The high-power workstations, imaging transmission, the density of connected equipment, critical services, and wireless demand place unique stress on the healthcare facility’s infrastructure.

Category 6A is well-suited to deliver the speed and stability essential to modern healthcare facilities.

Benefits • Reliable transmission for network stability • High-capacity supports next generation WiFi • Meets the TIA-1179-A standard

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WESCO Proudly Supports Industry-Leading Manufacturers of Premium Cabling Solutions

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10GXS CAT6A Cables

Belden’s 10GXS Cables provide a simple design without compromising performance and quality, ensuring robust performance and reliable networks. This product addresses a critical market need for a smaller, high performance cable with a simple design for emerging wireless, security and other applications.

Features

• Saves up to 25% on space and weight • Superior performance for PoE applications up to 100W • Full 100m channel length without derating up to 60°C • EquiSpline™ ensures structural integrity and maintains distance between pairs • A smaller bend radius accommodates tighter spaces and workstations • Easy to remove barrier tape for faster installation • Uniform heat flow dissipation with EquiBlock™ Barrier Technology • Superior crosstalk isolation and EMI suppression 8

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LANmark™ UTP Cat 6A

Berk-Tek Category 6A options deliver extraordinary electrical performance, including support for robust PoE applications, while they protect your network from noise and heat. The entire LANmark™ UTP 6A line features advanced engineering and field-proven design.

LANmark-XTP Features • Crosstalk Prevention (XTP) shielding technology delivers superior alien (AXT) performance • No bonding or grounding needed; simple and efficient installation • Reduced outer diameter of 0.275” • Improved density and better operational airflow and cooling • Excellent choice for high bandwidth requirements, with superior PoE performance and ideal for HD video and 802.11ac wireless LANmark-10G2 Features • Reliably supports 10GBASE-T networks • Provides bandwidth required for multimedia, broadband video, analog video and other future applications • Balanced characteristics, improved overall cable performance and reduced transmission errors • Improved insertion loss for stronger signal to noise ratio 9

• Characterized to 750 MHz, 250 MHz greater than the standard

WESCO Proudly Supports Industry-Leading

SYSTIMAX® GigaSPEED® X10D

CommScope’s compact Category 6A copper solution delivers network line speeds up to at least 10 Gbps without requiring increased rack space and airflow. Using their innovative optimized material technology (OMT) platform, this high-performance twisted-pair cabling features a reduced core while still minimizing alien crosstalk.

GigaSPEED X10D offers the extra bandwidth networks need for future applications, including next-generation WLAN networks and in-building wireless requirements. It’s easy to deploy, backward compatible with 1G switches and covered by CommScope’s 25-year extended product warranty and applications assurance.

Features

• Reduced diameter UTP and shielded cables • Specially designed fin isolator; lightweight, flexible and easy to install • Robust construction overcomes noisy environments • Superior crosstalk performance, improved insertion loss performance and guaranteed channel performance

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Manufacturers of Premium Cabling Solutions

GenSPEED 10

With a revolutionary design developed to find the perfect blend of product performance and product size, the new GenSPEED® 10 Cat 6A cables feature a 0.250" overall diameter with enhanced performance and maneuverability.

Its innovative technology and reduced size are perfect for migrating to a Cat 6A infrastructure, allowing for improved cable management, installation, and handling, preparing your system for 10 Gigabit applications.

Features

• Up to 23% smaller and lighter than other Cat 6A cables • Smaller cable diameter allows for greater cable density, reducing cable management costs • 90°C (194°F) jacket rating • An industry leader in alien crosstalk mitigation • TRU-MARK® print legend contains footage markings from 1000' to 0' • UL Listed CMP-LP 0.6A with certified performance for high power PoE applications

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WESCO Proudly Supports Industry-Leading

TX6A™ 10Gig UTP with Vari-MaTriX

The TX6A™ 10Gig UTP copper cable with Vari-MaTriX Technology is a component of the TX6A™ 10Gig Copper Cabling System. Interoperable and backward compatible, this end-to-end system provides design flexibility to protect network investments well into the future.

Features

• Improved fill capacity & cable management • Vari-MaTriX tape minimizes the cable diameter and suppresses the effects of alien crosstalk • Delivers superior PSANEXT and PSAACRF suppression while retaining UTP EMI immunity and small outer dimension • Reduced required bend radius for efficient use of pathways and spaces • 105°C (221°F) jacket rating • UL Listed CMP-LP 0.7A • Easy cable identification markings reduce installation time and cable scrap

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Manufacturers of Premium Cabling Solutions

PowerWise 10G 4PPoE

PowerWise® 10G 4PPoE cables provide excellent performance and overall value for 4-Pair Power over Ethernet (4PPoE) applications requiring up to 100W of power and up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet performance. These cables are specifically designed to mitigate temperature build up, offer exceptional energy efficiency and ensure performance (up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet) over the lifetime of your system.

Features

• Non-conductive isolation wrap • Tested to 650 MHz • Tested in most severe temperature conditions in bundle of 100 cables • CableID® alphanumeric code printed every 2 feet • QuickCount® marking system in feet and meters • ColorTip® circuit identification system • Temperature cable rating: 90°C for CM • Color-coded box labels • UL LP listed

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Evolution of Category 6A

When the Category 6A standard was ratified in 2007, it was hailed as the future-proof solution to support 10GBase-T, a networking speed which, at the time of ratification, wasn’t yet available.

Ratification of the 6A standard opened the door for manufacturers to invest in research and development, engineers to identify applications, and the industry to identify opportunities and obstacles.

First Generation Cat 6A cables were designed to deliver performance; high bandwidth with minimal crosstalk. This resulted in robust cable designs with larger cable diameters, lots of fillers and challenging handling characteristics.

Apart from the physical aspects of the cable, the early active components, i.e., transceivers which supported 10GBase-T, required more power and created more heat than lower speed counterparts. So, the cable used more space, consumed more electricity, was harder to install, and created more heat which in turn required more power to cool — not an attractive ROI. This was a problematic combination, but the manufacturers were continuing to perfect their designs.

Since 6A’s introduction, manufacturers for cabling and chipsets for the active components have made tremendous strides in performance. A lot of effort has gone into reducing cable diameters, improving handleability and overcoming a new obstacle — Alien Crosstalk or ANEXT. Cable diameters have dropped by over 20% and range between 0.25" and 0.3", the power requirements of the chip sets are now in line with lower speed solutions and advanced digital signal processing techniques have improved transmission characteristics.

ANEXT or Alien Crosstalk was a more challenging problem for cable manufacturers — ANEXT refers to the interference generated

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Category 6A Handbook The Latest Advancements in Category 6A Solutions

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of data communications, security, electrical, industrial, maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) product, construction materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistic services. 2013 annual sales were approximately $7.5 billion. The company employs approximately 9,200 people, maintains relationships with over 18,000 suppliers, and serves over 65,000 active customers worldwide. Customers include commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers, and utilities. WESCO operates nine fully automated Distribution Centers and approximately 475 full-service Branches in North America and international markets, providing a local presence for customers and a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations. Š Copyright 2018 WESCO Distribution, Inc. All rights reserved. | 47036299995

Applications and Environments Driving Demand Industry-Leading Manufacturers