Structured Cabling and Current Cabling Categories

Posted by Protect Burbank on October 31st, 2019

In the beginning, most of the computer networks worked in a hosted mode and all data and applications were stored centrally in a host computer. User stations, also called terminals, were handled in a centralized manner. Since most of the communication involved text characters, there was no need for building special high capacity transmission paths for terminal networks. 

But, all of this changed with the launch of personal computers which were equipped with local memory and outputs for connecting different peripherals. This leads to the emergence of a decentralized mode of operation and cabling system for data transmission. 

To meet the high-performance demands and safety requirements, structured cabling was introduced along with International standards. This not only proves to be helpful in sharing files, applications, and expensive peripherals but also ensuring compatibility. 

Structured Cabling

Basically, structured cabling is the design and installation of a cabling system for supporting multiple hardware devices in a way that it fulfills today’s as well as future needs. The designing and implementation of structured cabling are carried out according to a set of standards. These standards specify guidelines for cabling installations in data centers, offices, and apartment buildings for data or voice communications. 

Existing Structured Cabling Standards

Category 5E: 

At present, this is one of the most frequently used categories in structured cabling. The term Cat5E (Enhanced Category 5) is used only in the ANSI/TIA/EIA standard and was first introduced by the manufacturers to distinguish between already existing Category 5 components and the new improved Category 5E. Its components are suitable to use for the Gigabit Ethernet protocol that should fit the requirements of most networks of organizations with regular data traffic. It is important to note that 1 Gbps transmission rate is the limit for all products that lie in Category 5E and no further improvements can be made. 

Category 6:

In 2002, the final specifications were published for Category 6. This category can accommodate the bandwidth up to 250MHz. Since double bandwidth is available for this category as compared to Category 5E, it requires high quality components. If these quality requirements are being fulfilled, improved performance and high transmission reliability can be expected from Category 6 components. 

Category 6A:

A new category was made in 2008 in Category 6. Refers to Augmented Category 6, it is specially developed for a new 10GBaseT Ethernet protocol. It offers a bandwidth limit of 500MHz and therefore, it is ideal for the most data-intensive applications used on wired computer networks. 

Category 7:

Though this category was first mentioned in 1997, the specifications were finalized before 2002. This category was specified in the CENELEC EN 50173:2002 and ISO/IEC 11801:2002 standards but for only installation cables only. It is not specified in ANSI/TIA/EIA standards. Category 7 is allowed up to 600MHz bandwidth. 

Category 7A:

This category came into existence recently. It is specified for installation cables up to 1000MHz with the sole purpose of maintaining sufficient bandwidth distance from Category 6A.

Among all the above categories, Cat5 and Cat6 structured cabling is most commonly used for data sharing and transmission.