Patch cables explained
Patch cables explained
Speed and bandwidth; there is the difference
The Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat 7 and Cat8 cable categories differ in the speed at which data is transferred. And they differ in bandwidth, so the amount of data that can be processed at the same time. Compare it to a highway: all lanes are 100 km/h, but it does matter whether it is a 2-lane or 5-lane highway. With network cables, the bandwidth is equal to the number of lanes: the higher the bandwidth, the more data can be transferred at the same time.
For smaller home networks
Cat5e cables can reach speeds of up to 1000 Mbit/s, have a bandwidth of 100 MHz and support gigabit networks. This cable has been used in the past for smaller home networks. If you are installing a new network, it is better to opt for a Cat6 cable. This cable can process more data at the same time. Let's compare it again with a highway: Cat5e has 2 lanes and Cat6 has 4
The standard for home networking
Cat6 cables can reach speeds of up to 1000Mbit/s - that's 1 Gigabit per second, have a bandwidth of 250MHz and support gigabit networks. These cables are the standard for home networks in 2023.
For intensive home use and small companies
Cat6a cables can reach speeds of up to 10,000 Mbit/s, have a bandwidth of 500 MHz and support 10 gigabit networks. You choose these cables for intensively used home networks. For example, if you watch Full HD movies online, play online computer games or work at home and regularly have online team meetings in your agenda.
Cat6a is also the most commonly used cable for medium-sized company networks where people upload and download a lot at the same time.
For large companies and IT networks
Cat7 cables can reach speeds of up to 10,000 Mbit/s, have a bandwidth of 600 MHz and support 10 gigabit networks. These cables are mainly used for larger corporate and IT networks. Do many people work on the network at the same time - such as customer service, sales, purchasing and the IT department? Then the network has to work hard to process all data without interference. With a Cat7 cable this is not a problem.
For industrial use
Cat8 cables can reach speeds of up to 20,000 Mbit/s, have a bandwidth of 2000 MHz and support 25 gigabit networks. Also these cables are mainly used for larger corporate and IT networks where many people work on the network at the same time - such as customer service, sales, purchasing and the IT department.
Cat 8 is not designed for home use.
Comparison table patch cables
Comment
Enhanced features with the best pricing for home and business networking
A good budget option for new network builds with a bandwidth that can handle most small to medium-sized businesses
A good budget option for long network builds with a bandwidth that can handle most small to medium-sized businesses
The cable is very stiff due to the extra shielding, making it difficult to bend and fish. Recommended for new builds.
Expensive and should only be considered in-network environments where speed is very important.
Patch cables explained
Nowadays, network cables are provided with a shield designation.
This designation shows how the cable is constructed with regard to the shield. For example, a cable can be provided with common shielding (all wire pairs at the same time) and possibly additional shielding per wire pair. These shields are indicated by letters and abbreviations.
Common shield designation:
U = Unshielded: no common shielding
F = Foil: shielding by means of aluminum foil around all pairs of wires
S = Braid: braided metal shielding around all pairs of wires
Designation per individual wire pair:
UTP = Unshielded: no shielding per individual wire pair
FTP = Foil: each wire pair is shielded with aluminum foil
This in turn creates different cable variants with combined designations such as:
U/UTP = no shielding at all
F/UTP = common aluminum foil shield on all pairs, but no shield per pair
S/FTP = common metal braid shielding around all pairs of wires, with each pair individually shielded with aluminum foil
Patch cables explained
What is LSZH and how is it different from PVC?
LSZH and PVC are abbreviations that are used for the material used for cable sheaths.
LSZH = Low Smoke Zero Halogen
PVC = Polyvinyl Chloride
When the cable with the PVC sheath comes into contact with fire, more smoke is produced and gases are released. This is mainly due to the halogens in the cable jacket.
The LSZH designation is used for cables constructed from materials without halogens, such as thermoplastic.
LSZH internet cables therefore produce much less smoke and do not emit any gases. As a result, a halogen-free cable is better for human health and the environment.
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