In-Depth Look at Stranded and Solid Ethernet Cable

As we know, Ethernet patch cable can be divided into unshielded and shielded Ethernet cable (also referred to as UTP and STP cable) according to whether it is to be shielded. Except that, the Ethernet patch cable can also be divided into into stranded and solid Ethernet cable that have different features and advantages. Since these two kinds of Ethernet patch cables are very commonly used, do you have a good knowledge of them? When designing your wired network, have you ever hesitated over making a decision about which one should be choose to deploy your network? In this paper, it will mainly make an in-depth study of the stranded and solid Ethernet cable and seek the most proper one for you to manage your cabling network.

Stranded and Solid Ethernet Cable Overview

The stranded Ethernet cable is made up of multiple smaller strands of wires which are twisted together to form a single conductor, typically used for patch cords/cables connecting workstations, from wallplate outlet to patch panel and from patch panels to individual workstations. While the solid Ethernet cable is just composed with the single solid strand of copper for each of the 8 conductors that is designed for permanent and semi-permanent installations in longer distance horizontal and backbone cable runs, PoE (power over Ethernet), and HD applications. To better understand the difference between the stranded and solid Ethernet cable, the following figure shows their internal structures.

Stranded and Solid Ethernet Cable Comparison

From the figure above, we can easily learn that the stranded Ethernet cable consists of multiple twisted strands of insulated bare copper conductors, but the solid Ethernet cable features solid insulated bare copper conductors. Why the strands of wires in the stranded Ethernet cable are designed to be twisted together? Compared to the non-twisted solid Ethernet cable, can the stranded Ethernet cable benefit from this special design?

In fact, the twisted feature of the stranded Ethernet cable is designed with the aim of protecting the cable from bending or damage, which provides high flexibility. For a given conductor length of the cable, the more times each strand is twisted around the central conductor, the higher the overall flexibility of the cable and the better the protection will be. Considering that the internal structure in each type of the stranded Ethernet cable are different, if you want to choose a highly flexible stranded Ethernet cable to make your cabling network, you’d better to choose a specified one to meet the detailed requirement of your network.

As for the solid Ethernet cable, what are its features and advantages, and when and where should or shouldn’t it be used for cabling network? In general, the conductor of this kind cable usually features the diameter varying from 22 and 24 AWG wire gauge. For instance, the solid Cat 6 Ethernet cable utilizes 23 AWG copper wires that is larger but more proper for the new and emerging fast Ethernet applications than the solid Cat 5e Ethernet cable with 24AWG wire gauge. As the solid Ethernet cable is easier to be broken if it is over-flexed, bent, or twisted beyond the cable recommended specifications, all the solid Ethernet cables should be seriously made with the minimum bend radius for performance standards and correctly installed to maximize the performance of the cable. Besides, it is not recommendable for daily connecting use due to its fragility, but suitable for permanent and semi-permanent applications.

Conclusion

With the diversity and popularity of the Ethernet patch cable for Ethernet network, there is no doubt that the copper transmission medium will support higher and higher data transmission rate and frequency. Like the two Ethernet patch cable mentioned above, the solid Ethernet cable is less flexible but cheaper than the stranded Ethernet cable, which also performs not so good as the latter one. If you want to make a permanent and semi-permanent cabling, then the solid Ethernet cable is a good choice for you that will save you a lot. But if your cabling network is deployed for daily use, then you are strongly suggest to choose the stranded Ethernet cable.

Cat 6a Shielded Cable vs. Cat 6a Unshielded Cable

As the need for high bandwidth and fast data transmission rate is on the rise, the deployment of 10G Ethernet network becomes much more common and popular than ever before. Cat 6a cabling, the most proper cabling infrastructure for deploying 10G Ethernet network, is designed under this trend and promptly acquiring popularity for offering the throughput that many users now demand. Do you also plan to deploy 10G Ethernet network with Cat 6a cabling? Since there are Cat 6a shielded cable and Cat 6a unshielded cable available on the market, which one would you like to choose for your 10G network cabling? Let’s study the knowledge of Cat 6a patch cable and compare these two kinds of Cat 6a patch cables, finding the most suitable one to ensure the performance of the 10G Ethernet network.

Cat 6a Patch Cable Overview

Cat 6a patch cable is an enhanced edition of Cat 6 patch cable as the letter “a”—“augmented” in its name implies. Unlike Cat 6 patch cable that only supports the 10G Ethernet network at lengths up to 55 meters, Cat 6a patch cable is more commonly used for 10 Gigabit application that has the ability to perform up to 500 MHz, allowing 10GBASE-T to be run for 100 meter distance. At present, Cat 6 patch cable can be simply divided into two types, Cat 6a shielded cable and Cat 6a unshielded cable, according to whether it is shielded, both of which have their own features and are suitable for different applications. To better know the different structures of these two kinds of patch cables, you can learn it from the following figure.

What should be noted is that the Cat 6a patch cable is the first cable category which standard includes alien crosstalk performance parameters for the higher frequencies utilized by 10GBASE-T. As we know, when the signal is unexpectedly transmitted from a patch cable to an adjacent one, the alien crosstalk may occur. As the Cat 6a patch cable is frequently used for 10GBASE-T network nowadays, the alien crosstalk performance parameters are incorporated into the TIA/EIA standard for Cat 6a patch cable.

Shielded or Unshielded?

The Cat 6a shielded cable is designed with a metallic tape barrier to mitigate alien crosstalk, while the Cat 6a unshielded cable just uses the space between the cores of adjacent cables and non-metallic fillers to overcome the same issue. There should be no denying that the Cat 6a shielded cable performs much better than the Cat 6a unshielded cable in dealing with the alien crosstalk. Except that, is there any difference between these two kinds of Cat 6a patch cables?

As for the Cat 6a unshielded cable, its diameter is generally bigger than the shielded one, because it should have additional space and fillers to block the alien crosstalk. Since the outside diameter of category patch cable can’t be larger than 0.354 inches as ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 standard stipulates, the Cat 6a unshielded cable is mostly designed to fall close to the maximum diameter permitted. The disadvantage is that the thicker patch cable should be supported by larger conduit and hanging devices which results in higher cost and bigger space for managing the cables. But if compared with the shielded one, the Cat 6a unshielded cable and its connective hardware (jacks and patch panels) is less expensive than the shielded counterparts. Besides, the Cat 6a unshielded cable is easier and faster to be terminated without shielding and prerequisite drain wire.

As for the Cat 6a shielded cable, its diameter is always smaller than 0.3 inches that supports smaller conduit and pathways with lower cost. But in fact, if you choose the Cat 6a shielded cable to deploy 10G Ethernet network, it will take you much more money for the high cost of Cat 6a shielded cable and its connective hardware. Meanwhile, it should be more difficult to be terminated as mentioned above. Then what are its advantages? On one hand, the Cat 6a shielded cable performs better in overcoming the alien crosstalk for its shielding feature. On the other hand, it also provides the added benefit of increased immunity from outside damage, noise and electronic interference to ensure the maximum performance of the data transmission on the cables.

Conclusion

Although the Cat 6a shielded cable and its connective hardware cost higher than the unshield one, it is the best choice for deploying 10G Ethernet network because the shielding provides exceptional protection from alien crosstalk, noise, damage. Except the performance factor, there are other factors like ease of installation and cost you should take into consideration when making the decision for Cat 6a cabling. Hope this paper would be helpful for you to deploy a smooth and stable 10G Ethernet network.

Shielded Ethernet Cable—a Good Choice for Deploying Network in High EMI Area

At present, the Ethernet patch cable can be simply divided into shielded Ethernet cable and unshielded Ethernet cable, both of which have their features and advantages. Considering that, is there any difficulty for you to decide which one should be selected for deploying your network? Are you familiar with the two kinds of Ethernet patch cables? Is there any advantage of the shielded Ethernet cable, compare to the traditional unshielded one? In fact, using the shielded Ethernet cable allows for a better performance of your network, especially in the application with high EMI, which will be mainly introduced in the following text.

What Is the Shielded Ethernet Cable?

Shielded Ethernet cable is an enhanced version of unshielded Ethernet cable, which features a shield inside usually made up of copper tape, a layer of conducting polymer or a copper or aluminum braid, with the aim of reducing the EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). Generally, there are several kinds of shielding like braided shield, screening and foil to be applied for each pair in the cable and all pairs together, which makes various shielded Ethernet cables available on the market and popularly used among users, for instance, STP (shielded twisted pair), SSTP (screened shielded twisted pair) and FTP (foil twisted pair) cables. To better know the internal structure of the shielded Ethernet cable, you can learn it from the following figure.

Why Shielded Ethernet Cable Is Used?

It is well known that EMI, also referred to as FRI (radio frequency interference), can be produced by an external source affecting an electrical circuit by electrostatic coupling, electromagnetic induction, or conduction when the data is transmitted in our network. If the EMI is very high in your network, the data transmission errors may occur. Then how to ensure your network performance?

In general, the external source can be made by natural sources like sun and thunder storms or man-made sources like vehicle ignition systems and cell phones, which would exist in our everyday life and cannot be avoided. Taking this into account, we can only turn to other solution to directly reduce or avoid the EMI for ensure the transmission quality of our network. At first, the Ethernet cable with unshielded feature is designed with twisted pairs inside the cable to reduce the EMI, which performs not very good and doesn’t meet our expectation. Fortunately, experts soon put forward another method to resolve the issue—the shielded Ethernet cable, as one of the most used solution to protect our network from EMI.

What Are the Differences Between Shielded and Unshielded Ethernet Cable?

First and foremost, the shielded Ethernet cable performs better than the unshielded Ethernet cable in reducing the EMI, which greatly ensures the the data transmission quality of the devices most commonly used in buildings, such as microwave equipment, HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) systems and radio transmitters. It also has the ability to decrease the interference generated from devices like power tools and vacuum cleaners. Moreover, using the shielded Ethernet cable can prevent the signals from passing through the outer coating and entering nearby wires by accident for its special shielded structure, hence the crosstalk in the network can be reduced or even avoided.

In contrast to the unshielded Ethernet cable, there are also some disadvantages for the shielded Ethernet cable that should be paid attention to when choosing the Ethernet patch cable. Firstly, choosing the shielded Ethernet cable to deploy your network will cost higher than the unshielded one. Because both the manufacturing cost of itself and its related device for network deployment are more expensive than that of the unshielded one. Secondly, due to its complicate, shielded feature, you should pay more time and money for the installation and maintenance. And it would be difficult to restored if it is damaged because the shielding is quite fragile and rigid. Thirdly, the shielded Ethernet cable is more thicker that makes itself not so flexible as the unshielded one. If you should deploy the network in narrow space, the shielded Ethernet cable has no advantage over the unshielded one.

Conclusion

The shielded Ethernet cable is really a cost effective solution for the applications where the EMI is very high, which can greatly improve your network performance and extend the life span of your equipment. Although it costs much higher than the unshielded one, is more difficult to install and maintain, and is not so flexible, it can perform better to reduce the EMI when put into use. Beside, the unshielded Ethernet cable is still recommended for you if the EMI around your network is not a risk.

In-Depth Study of Cat 5e, Cat 6 and Cat 6a Patch Panel

With the complication of your network, do you have the trouble that the patch cables deployed in your network are always in a mess? If yes, you are suggested to use the patch panel for better cabling management. Since the copper patch panel can be available at a less expensive cost than fiber patch panel but can also perform well in managing the cables in your network, it is a good choice for you to choose copper patch panel for deploying a neat, fast and secure network.

At present, there are three commonly used types of copper patch panels designed with different aims, Cat 5e, Cat 6 and Cat 6a patch panel, both of which have their own features and advantages. To better know these three kinds of copper patch panels, the following will mainly introduce their basic information, which may help you select one of the most suitable patch panel for deploying your network.

What Is the Cat 5e Patch Panel?

Cat 5e patch panel, always used for Fast Ethernet network, is made up of steel materials that is compliant with TIA/EIA 568 industry specification. For the advantage of steel materials, it can work well even in the most extreme conditions. Meanwhile, it is equipped with individual, fully modular printed circuit boards (PCBs) and a rear cable manager. In general, the Cat 5e patch panel is designed with 6-port and 8-port module grouping that may have 8, 12, 24 or 48 ports totally. With this high density design, it has the ability to greatly save the valuable rack space, maximize the performance of your network and keep up with the growing changes of your network.

What Is the Cat 6 Patch Panel?

To face the increasing demand of the network, Cat 6 patch panel is specially designed for 1 Gigabit Ethernet network, which has already meet or even exceeded the TIA/EIA 568 industry specification. As for its wiring configurations, the Cat 6 patch panel can be provided with both T-568A and T-568B wiring scheme on the market. Furthermore, it is always terminated with the standard 110 termination tools on the rear, allowing for quick installation. In contrast with Cat 5e patch panel, it can be also configured with 6-port or 8-port modules, but available with more ports, such as, 12, 24, 48, and 96 ports. All in all, this kind of patch panel supports easier cabling management and saves more data center rack space.

What Is the Cat 6a Patch Panel?

CAT6a patch panel is an advanced kind of copper patch panel, published with the aim of meeting the requirements of 10 Gigabit Ethernet network. For this purpose, it offers usable bandwidth beyond 250MHz and exceeds the TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 component, the permanent link and the channel level performance specifications. What should be noted is that it also can be backward compatible with lower level cabling systems. Compared with the previous two kinds of copper patch panel, this one has the enhanced front and rear labeling features for easy circuit identification. In addition, T568A and T568B wiring configurations are also available for this kind patch panel, which can be easily recognized by the color-coded wiring label.

Nowadays, there are various kinds of CAT6a patch panels with different amounts of ports, varying from 12 to 96 ports. Among these kinds of CAT6a patch panels, the patch panels with 24- and 48-port are very popular that provides the maximum strength and durability and eliminates panel flex during termination. Besides, there are port labeling areas and port numbering in these kinds of patch panels, which makes the circuit identification easier.

Conclusion

From this paper, it is easy to conclude that the Cat 5e patch panel is specially designed for Fast Ethernet network, while the Cat 6 patch panel is more suitable for 1 Gigabit Ethernet network. If you want to upgrade your network to 10 Gigabit Ethernet network, then the CAT6a patch panel must be a good choice for you. For better cabling management, choosing the most suitable patch panel is really important that can help you deploy a neat, fast and secure network and greatly ensure the performance of your network.

Cat6a Ethernet Cable—an Augmented Version of Cat6 Ethernet Cable

Due to the growing requirements of the network, the data transmission speed of the Ethernet network has constantly increased, from initially 100 megabits per second in Fast Ethernet network to 1 gigabit per second in Gigabit Ethernet network, even to 10 gigabits per second in 10 Gigabit Ethernet network nowadays. With the appearance and popularity of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet network, the performance of the Ethernet cable for the network connection was also needed to be improved, which brought a big challenge for the traditional Ethernet cable.

In order to face the challenge, the Cat6a Ethernet cable was published with the efforts of the experts, designed on the basis of the Cat6 Ethernet cable and specially used for 10 Gigabit Ethernet network connection. To better know about the Cat6a Ethernet cable, let’s compare the Cat6a Ethernet cable with the Cat6 Ethernet cable and find the advantages and disadvantages of the Cat6a Ethernet cable.

Cat6a Ethernet Cable Overview

Cat6a Ethernet cable, also referred to as Cat6a cable or Cat6a patch cable, is a standardized twisted pair cable, commonly used for 10 Gigabit application. It is easy to learn that the letter “a” in its name stands for “augmented”, hence the Cat6a Ethernet cable is an improved version of the Cat6 Ethernet cable, which greatly improves the alien crosstalk characteristics. Meanwhile, it is more thicker than Cat6 Ethernet cable, making itself more durable. When the Cat6 Ethernet cable is put into use, it has the ability to perform up to 500 MHz, allowing 10GBASE-T to be run for 100 meter distance. It is really an optimize cable solution for 10GBASE-T network.

Cat6a Ethernet Cable Advantages

As we all know, the Ethernet cable can be divided into two types. The one is shielded twisted pair (STP) and the other is unshielded twisted pair (UTP). Compared to the unshielded Ethernet cable, the shielded one always has one or more additional jackets surrounding the inner twisted wire pairs for insulation, protecting the Ethernet cable from electromagnetic interference (EMI). As for the Cat6a Ethernet cable and the Cat6 Ethernet cable, both of them can be shielded or unshielded. But if you purchase in the store, you’ll find that the Cat6a shielded Ethernet cable is more common while Cat6 Ethernet cable is always with unshielded feature.

The second advantage is that the Cat6a Ethernet cable can transmit 10G signals for a longer transmission distance. For the Cat6 Ethernet cable, it is more commonly used in the applications where the data transmission rate is 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps, with the distance up to 100 meters. But if the data transmission rate is increased to 10 Gbps, it can only support the transmission with the distance up to 55 meters. What’s worse, if it works in a high crosstalk environment, the maximum transmission distance can only be 33 meters. Considering that both the speed and the crosstalk have bad effects on the transmission distance of Cat6 Ethernet cable, Cat6a Ethernet cable has great improvements in these two aspects which can support the 10G Ethernet network with the distance over 100 meters, even if working in the application with high crosstalk.

Furthermore, the higher durability is also an important advantage of the Cat6a Ethernet cable. How to achieve this? As we know, when laying the cables on the trays, highly bending the cables will damage the wiring and influence network performance. As the Cat6 Ethernet cable is thinner than the Cat6a Ethernet cable, it is easier to be bent. Hence, the Cat6a Ethernet cable is much more durable than the Cat6 Ethernet cable for its bulkier structure when used for the network deployment.

Cat6a Ethernet Cable Disadvantages

After knowing the advantages of the Cat6a Ethernet cable, it is also necessary to talk about its disadvantages, providing a comprehensive knowledge for this kind of cable. The first disadvantage you should take into account is the cost issue. There is no denying that the cost of the Cat6a Ethernet cable is much higher than Cat6 Ethernet cable. Meanwhile, the cost of its matched connection components is another important issue that determines the whole connection cost. Except for the high cost issue, big diameter is another disadvantage for cabling. As the Cat6a Ethernet cable is thicker and heavier than the Cat6 Ethernet cable, the cable tray can not hold as many Cat6a Ethernet cables as the Cat6 Ethernet cables.

Conclusion

The Cat6a Ethernet cable is an improved version of the Cat6 Ethernet cable, which greatly improves the alien crosstalk characteristics, supports the 10G Ethernet network with longer transmission distance and higher performance, and has a much higher durability to avoid bending too much. On the other hand, it will be much more expensive and take up more space in the cable tray if you choose Cat6a Ethernet cable to deploy the network. Hence, you should consider all the factors before deploying the network.

28 AWG Copper Cable Solution

When designing the wired network, you may hesitate in making a decision about which kind of network patch cable should be chosen as there are more and more kinds of network patch cables published and available on the market day by day. In this paper, it will highly recommend you to choose a new kind of network patch cable, the 28 AWG (American wire gauge) copper cable, to deploy your wired network, which has the ability to reduce the cabling congestion. To get a deep understanding of this kind of network patch cable, the following will mainly introduce its basic information and analyze why it is so popular among users, which may help you make a better informed decision and avoid the costly network mistakes.

What Is the 28 AWG Copper Cable?

28 AWG copper cable is composed of eight 28 AWG copper conductors that has a much thinner diameter than that of the typical patch cable made up of 23 or 24 AWG copper conductors, aiming at reducing or easing the cabling congestion. For this purpose, it brings great benefits in cable manageability and aesthetics that quickly becomes a viable solution for users to deal with the cabling congestion issues in patch cable areas. To better acquire the structure of the 28 AWG copper cable, here offers a figure that shows the structural differences between the 28 AWG copper cable and the typical patch cable in external and internal aspects.

What should be paid attention to is that the 28 AWG cabling is still not in the TIA/IEEE standards for data communications, although it becomes more and more commonly used nowadays. However, since the 28 AWG copper cable offers several advantages as a desirable cable infrastructure solution, there is no doubt that it will be adopted into the standards sooner or later.

Why Is the 28 AWG Copper Cable So Popular?

With the fast development of the network, the high density cabling plays a much more important role in data centers than ever before to face the constantly growing requirement. Under this condition, the 28 AWG copper cable becomes more and more popularly used as an ideal cabling solution that makes a great contribution to ease the cabling congestion.

In fact, there are two main reasons that makes the 28 AWG copper cable so popular among users. The one reason is its smaller size. Compared to the typical patch cable, the 28 AWG copper cable has a much smaller diameter, thereby it can offer 50% less cordage. Moreover, the advantage of smaller size enables better air flow, less clutter in front of switches and patch panels. Another reason is that the 28 AWG copper cable has a higher flexibility that makes the cable management easier due to its reduced diameter.

Which Factors Should Be Considered?

While there are many benefits by using the 28 AWG copper cable, they are also some factors that you should consider if you choose this kind of network patch cable to deploy your network.

The first factor is the transmission distance. As we know, the more the heat is transmitted through the patch cables, the shorter the transmission distance will be. Since there is a reduced diameter in the 28 AWG copper cable, it would be more susceptible to intrinsic loss caused by the heat and adversely affect the transmission distance.

The second factor is the heat and resistance. Generally, the copper cable with smaller diameter has more resistance which would result in the increased heat. That’s to say, when the electricity passes through the resistance, the energy will be dissipated in the form of the increased heat that has an adverse effect on data transmission. You must ensure that there is not too much heat in the 28 AWG copper cable, or the data transmission will be failed.

The third factor is the connector that the 28 AWG copper cable requires. It should be specially designed to match with the 28 AWG copper cable that has smaller diameter. This ensures a proper crimp and strain relief so the assembly would work while in use.

Conclusion

From this paper, it can be concluded that the 28 AWG copper cable requires less cordage, allows for better air flow, less clutter in front of switches and patch panels, and better cable management. The 28 AWG copper cable is really an ideal solution to ease the cabling congestion issue, which is high recommended to deploy the high density network. In addition, before putting this kind of network patch cable into use, you’d better to take the three factors mentioned above into consideration.

Cat 7 Patch Cable—an Ideal Solution for Ethernet Cabling

When we talk about “future proofing” in electronic industry, we’ll find it difficult to define it as the technology and science changes so fast to meet the constantly growing needs. We used to regarded the cat 5e, cat 6 and cat 6a patch cable as “future proofing”, while cat 7 patch cable deserves the name in recent years and the real “future proofing” may be cat 8, cat 9 or even cat 10 patch cable in the near future. In this paper, it will mainly introduce the information of cat 7 patch cable—an ideal solution for Ethernet cabling in today’s electronic industry, which is worth the extra cost for the Ethernet network deployment.

Cat 7 Patch Cable Overview

Cat 7 patch cable is also referred to as category 7 patch cable, which was first published in 2002 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is also known as Class F cabling, used for the cabling infrastructure of 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet, or GbE) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet, or 10 GbE) networks. In comparison with the preceding patch cable like cat 5e, cat 6 and cat 6a patch cable, it has the ability to support the 10GBASE-T network at lengths up to 100 meters and operate at 600 MHz due to the fully shielded structure of its twisted wire pairs, which achieves a higher performance. In short, cat 7 patch cable is strongly recommended for Ethernet cabling as an ideal solution.

Is the Cat 7 Patch Cable Cost Effective?

As the twisted wire pairs of cat 7 patch cable is fully shielded, it is also called Screen Shielded Twisted Pair (SSTP) or Screened Foiled Twisted Pair (SFTP) wiring, which almost completely eliminates alien crosstalk while significantly improving noise resistance. But considering that the price of one device is always measured by its performance, there is no doubt that cat 7 patch cable is a more expensive solution for network deployment. Do you wondering whether it is worth the extra cost? Is there any significant difference in contrast to the preceding patch cable like cat 6 and cat 6a patch cable? Does it perform much higher? Let’s talk about this topic.

In general, the cat 6 patch cable is always used to support 1000BASE-T network that can also transmit 10G signals at 250 MHz with the lengths up to 55 meters. By contrast, the cat 6a patch cable is more commonly used for 10GBASE-T network, which is capable of transmitting the signals with a maximum length of 100 meters and operating at 500 MHz. As for the cat 7 patch cable, it is a better choice for 10GBASE-T network that operates at speeds of 10 Gb/s with 100 meters and transmits the frequencies up to 600 Mhz, as mentioned above. Except these data, it is also estimated that the cat 6 patch cable can only be used for ten years although it is relatively cheaper than cat 7 patch cable. But the cat 7 patch cable does have a 15-year lifecycle, which would greatly increase its overall return on investment (ROI).

Conclusion

After comparison and analysis, it is easy to learn that the cat 7 patch cable, an ideal solution for Ethernet network deployment, owns even more strict specifications for crosstalk and system noise for its individual wire pairs are fully shielded. In contrast to cat5 and cat6, the cat 7 patch cable is more expensive but offers much higher performance and more durable lifecycle, which really pays off. In addition, the compatible issue can be almost neglected if you choose the cat 7 patch cable because it is backwards compatible with the traditional cat5 and cat6 patch cable.

What Is the Crossover Cable?

There is no doubt that the straight through cable has a high performance in the applications where two different types of devices need to be connected, for instance, the connection between a computer and a network switch or hub. However, if two devices that have the same type are required to be connected, the straight through cable is no longer recommended. Then which kind of cable should you choose? The answer is the crossover cable, which is designed to connect two similar devices together directly. Are you familiar with this kind of Ethernet patch cable? Let’s explore the basic information of the crossover cable and when and where it should be used.

The Crossover Cable Overview

The crossover cable is also known as the crossed cable, supporting the temporary host-to-host networking in situations where an intermediate device like a network router is not present. Although the crossover cable is a common type of Ethernet patch cable like the straight through cable, it is not so popularly applied as the the latter one. Meanwhile, its function is also unlike that of the straight through cable, usually offering the connection between two similar devices as the simplest and fastest way. Furthermore, it is capable of reversing the transmit and receive signals via the reversed color-coded wires inside the cable.

To better understand the internal reversed color-coded wires of the crossover cable, you can learn it from the RI45 jacks at each side of the cable, as shown in the following figure. From the figure, you can the wire arrangement of the straight through cable can be TIA/EIA 568A or T568B standard with an identical sequence of colored wires on each side of the cable, while the wire arrangement in the crossover cable is reserved like TIA/EIA 568A or T568B crossed standard, for instance, counting from left to right, the first and third wires crossed, the second and sixth wires crossed, the third and first wires crossed, etc.

The Crossover Cable Advantages

Generally, if you want to deploy a Ethernet network at home with multiple PCs, you should connect all the computers to a central router first. Then the router can take all the bits being sent out by the computers and relay them onto the other devices on the network. Is this way of Ethernet network deployment complicated? Can the crossover cable make the deployment easier? Is there any other advantage by using the crossover cable?

In fact, you can use the crossover cable to connect two computers directly, without the help of the router. Using the crossover cable to deploy your network can simply reverse some of the pins so that the output on one computer is being sent to the input of another, instead of choosing the traditional deployment. Except that, expanding your network by connecting another network switch is another advantage of using the crossover cable, thereby more ports can be provided to you. In all, it’s always convenient to own a length of crossover cable for easy Ethernet network deployment.

The Crossover Cable Applications

In the 1990s and 2000s, the popular Ethernet network deployment cannot support the direct cable connection between the hosts. Under the situation, the crossover cable was published to solve the issue that was widely used by Information Technology (IT) at that time. But now most of the network devices have the ability to automatically detect when a port should be run in cross-over mode, or give you a physical switch that you can use to enable the mode. Considering that, do you still need a crossover cable?

Actually, you should use the crossover cable for your network if you are working with the old hardware. Moreover, if quick connection between two computers in a network-less environment is required, you are also strongly suggested to choose the crossover cable.

Conclusion

The crossover cable is one common type of Ethernet patch cable, serving for the direct connection between two devices with the same type. As its function is clearly different from the straight through cable, can you tell the two types of Ethernet patch cables? In fact, most of the crossover cables are generally red in color and stamped with its name “crossover” on the packaging and wire casing. Besides, if there is no mark to distinguish them, you can simply check the wire colors inside the RJ45 jack at both side of the cable. When the wire colors at both side are in the same order, it is a straight through cable; Otherwise, it should be a crossover cable.

Guides for Selecting Ethernet Patch Cable

Ethernet patch cable, the copper-based patch cable, may perform not so good as fiber optic patch cable in deploying Ethernet network, but it is still very commonly used in many applications, such as PCs, routers, and switches, as an accessible, popular and low-cost solution. At present, there are various types of Ethernet patch cables available in the market that may not be very easy to classify if you are not familiar with them. In this paper, it will introduce four widely used types of Ethernet patch cables according to different standards that you can take as reference to select the most suitable one for deploying your network.

STP and UTP Cable

There are two types of Ethernet patch cables according to whether the cable is shielded or not, known as shielded twisted pair (STP) cable and unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. As for the structure of these two types of copper cables, here offers their differences in the following figure for your reference. Besides, it is worth mentioning that shielding is one of the common methods to decrease or avoid EMI, aiming at protecting the whole cabling system.

As for the STP cable, it is always made up of even wires that are shielded by a metallic substance. Just taking an eight-strand cable as an example, all the four pairs of the wires are twisted, shielded and then wrapped in another metallic protector, as shown in the above figure. Through shielding, cancellation and wire twisting, the STP cable can be well protected from interference. It is highly recommended to use the STP cable in industrial settings with high amounts of electromagnetic interference (EMI), such as factories with large electronic equipment. However, there is an important issue that should be paid attention to if you choose the STP cable to deploy Ethernet network. After installation, you should check and ensure that it is installed and grounded properly, or the shielded Ethernet cable will act as an antenna and pick up signals when your network runs.

As for the UTP cable, it is easy to learn that it is designed without shielding. Compared to the STP cable, it is much simpler to install and less expensive due to its unshielded property. But without shielding, how to reduce or avoid interference when using the UTP cable? Or this kind of cable has no ability to decrease the interference? In fact, the UTP cable depends on the twisted pair inside the cable to cancel EMI. Meanwhile, it does not require as much maintenance but can transmit data as fast as the STP cable, since it don’t rely on the outer shielding. As for its application, it is always used in domestic and office Ethernet connections, and in any area where there is not a high degree of EMI.

Solid and Stranded Cable

The solid and stranded cable with different features are designed for various applications. Knowing their features and acquiring when and where they should be used will be helpful for you to improve networking performance and efficiency when designing your network. The following will introduce the structure and advantages of these two kinds of copper cables, then you can have a good knowledge of which should be selected and used for deploying your network.

As shown in the above figure, the solid cable consists of a single, solid conducting wire, insulated with non-conductive materials. With the feature of large-diameter wire, it is physically stronger than the stranded cable and capable of remaining stable over a wider range of frequencies, providing superior electrical characteristics and supporting long transmission with high data rates. Meanwhile, it has a lower DC resistance and a lower susceptibility to high frequency effects than the stranded cable due to its large-diameter wire. All these advantages make the solid cable better suited to the new and emerging high-speed Ethernet applications. However, the large diameter feature of solid cable brings a serious disadvantage at the same time. It could be easy to be break for lack of flexibility as they cannot be flexed or bent for many times without breaking. Hence, the solid cable is an ideal solution for horizontal cabling applications with long transmission distance.

Greatly different from the solid cable, the stranded cable is composed of a bundle of twisted, small gauge wire strands. Its diameter of each individual wire strand is much smaller than that of the solid cable, making it much more flexible and hard to break even if it is repeatedly flexed or bent. Although the stranded cable is not so reliable as solid cables for long distance transmission, it features high flexibility that makes itself easy to constantly plugged, unplugged, bent or installed without harm or risk of performance failure, as an optimal choice for short distance transmission.

Conclusion

From this paper, we can learn four widely used types of Ethernet patch cables with different features that are suitable for different applications. The STP cable is always applied in industrial settings with high amounts of EMI, while the UTP cable is more commonly used in domestic and office Ethernet connections, and in any area where there is not a high degree of EMI. If you want to establish a horizontal, long-distance network with high reliability, the solid cable is strongly recommended. But if long distance is unneeded, you are suggested to use the stranded cable which is a good choice for short distance transmission with high flexibility. In short, choosing the most suitable Ethernet patch cable to deploy your network that can greatly improve your network performance and extend life span of your equipment.