Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:10

CAT6a vs CAT6 RJ45 plugs

I can't seem to find many, if any, specific CAT6a RJ45 plugs. It seems the cable spec is the important piece and the plugs only matter when using shielded cable and don't use CAT5e plug with CAT6/a cable.

Would anyone like to counter this and suggest somewhere I can get CAT6a plugs? I have loads of CAT6 rated ones.

mushii Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:11

Cat 6a are FTP and are therefore shielded

Cat 6a RJ45 are available here

CCS Cat6a FTP RJ45 Plug - For Patch Cable | Cat6a Accessories
These are 2 piece shielded plugs. Remember you will need Cat 6a patch panels, keystones, patch cables etc.Remember you only connect a drain wire at one end otherwise you can create ground loops and totally degrade your cable connectivity.

Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:12

that’s interesting. I’m pretty sure there’s no shielding in my CAT6a cable.

mushii Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:13

Cat 6 is generally UTP - the U being unshielded, Cat 6a is FTP the F stands for Foil - shield. It is how the increased the data transmission bandwidth from 250 MHzto 500 MHz

Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:14

Well it’s 100% CAT6a labelled cable. It’s from Excel. I thought the extra bandwidth was more to do with the additional twists in the pairs.

I’ve worked with FTP cable before but I wasn’t aware it was a requirement for CAT6a.

Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:15

Ok ignore me. The cable isn’t CAT6a. It’s CAT6. Must have ordered the wrong stuff. I’m sure I checked but clearly I didn’t.

CAT6 it is then.

stevelup Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:16

A lucky escape because you didn't want shielded cable in the first place! It's a common mistake.

Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:16

I did want 6a though. Not for everywhere but I will be putting some in As I need 10G over more than 30m.

mushii Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:17

Out of curiosity how are you going to check you are getting 10Gbps? Most people have struggled to get more than 7Gbps on domestic Cat 6a installs and 90% of those were self install with no certification. Getting 10Gbpsis no mean feat. I know I have struggled to get bandwidth on HDBaseT installs which is a full 1 Gbps saturation, down to poor cable installs or crosstalk. I am not sure, even after many years of cable dragging how comfortable I would be with 10 Gbps over Cat6a without the necessary tools.

Puntoboy Publish time 2-12-2019 04:29:17

Well I need more that 4GBps as I’m currently saturating that link between my two NASs using LACP. I would have gone for Fibre (still may do) but the cost for the install put me off and I like the flexibility of Ethernet cable. As it’s a specific run of cable I shouldn’t have too much trouble with interference (except with itself) as there’s nothing else it will be running near.
Pages: [1] 2 3
View full version: CAT6a vs CAT6 RJ45 plugs