What is the difference between CAT5E and CAT6?

What is the difference between CAT5E, CAT6 and CAT6A in system performance and network applications?

 

 

1. CAT5E wiring physical bandwidth: 100MHz, CAT6 wiring physical bandwidth: 250MHz;

 

Description: The larger the physical bandwidth, the higher the transmission rate supported.

 

2. CAT5E Cables usually use 24AWG wire gauge (about copper core diameter: 0.51mm), and CAT6 cables usually use 23AWG wire gauge (copper core diameter about 0.57mm);

 

Description: The thicker the copper core diameter, the better the conduction performance, and the smaller the signal attenuation on the line. In PoE applications, 23AWG has an absolute advantage over 24AWG in energy transfer.

 

3. The maximum data transmission rate supported by CAT5E wiring theory is 1200Mbps, and the maximum data transmission rate supported by CAT6 wiring theory is 2400Mbps;
 

Description: The higher the data transfer rate, the larger the physical bandwidth.

 

4. The 10GBASE-T 10G Ethernet application standard that CAT5E wiring does not support, and the 10GBASE-T Ethernet application standard that CAT6 wiring can support, but the transmission distance is limited and cannot exceed 37 meters.

 

Description: Category 6 cabling system can barely meet the application requirements of 10 Gigabit Ethernet over short distances, while Category 5 systems cannot support it.

 

5. CAT6 cables usually adopt a cross frame structure to reduce crosstalk between pairs. Its (NEXT) near-end crosstalk performance index is 5-10dB higher than that of CAT5E without a frame structure (1-100MHz);

 

Description: Minimizing crosstalk between pairs is the most important basic prerequisite for the stable and high-speed transmission of data information in a wiring system.

 

Comprehensively compare the differences between the above-mentioned two levels of wiring systems, the Category 6 wiring system is not only far higher than the Category 5 cabling system in terms of physical and electrical performance, but also much higher than the Category 5 wiring system in terms of high-speed and stable data transmission. At the same time, as the category 6 cabling market continues to mature, the large-scale promotion of category 6 products drives the production of large-scale category 6 products, making the price of category 6 wiring products no longer much higher than the price of over 5 categories.

 

What is the difference between CAT5E, CAT6 and CAT6A in system performance and network applications?

 

Next, here is a brief description of the difference in product performance between CAT6 and CAT6A cabling systems:

 

1. CAT6 wiring physical bandwidth: 250MHz, CAT6A wiring physical bandwidth: 500MHz;

 

Description: The larger the physical bandwidth, the higher the transmission rate supported.

 

2. CAT6 cable loop resistance (at 20℃) 155 ohm/km, NVP value: 69%;

 

CAT6A cable loop resistance (at 20°C) 150 ohm/km, NVP value: 76%;

 

Description: The smaller the copper core loop resistance, the better the conduction performance, and the smaller the signal attenuation on the line. The cable NVP value is the percentage of the electrical signal transmission rate in the copper medium equivalent to the speed of light in vacuum. The higher the NVP value, the faster the transmission speed of the electronic signal in the medium.

 

3. The 10GBASE-T 10 Gigabit Ethernet application standard supported by CAT6 cabling, but the transmission distance is limited, not exceeding 37 meters (and the need to increase the external crosstalk test to re-evaluate the performance of the Category 6 cabling system against external electromagnetic interference). CAT6A cabling can support the 10GBASE-T Ethernet application standard, which meets the 100-meter range standard application without additional external crosstalk testing.

 

Description: The CAT6A cabling system can fully meet the application requirements of 10 Gigabit Ethernet at a distance of 100 meters, and there are many defects in the transmission of 10 Gigabit Ethernet by the CAT6 cabling system.

 

4. CAT6A cable usually adopts the method of aluminum foil shielding and aluminum foil total shielding to achieve extremely good shielding effect against external electromagnetic interference and crosstalk between pairs. The crosstalk between the six types of unshielded twisted pairs of the cross frame structure is 15-35dB higher in the range of (1-250MHz).

 

Description: Minimizing crosstalk between pairs and avoiding external electromagnetic interference from cables are the most important basic premise for the stable and high-speed transmission of data information in a wiring system.

 

The integrated wiring system has been developed for more than 20 years. With the popularization of network applications in various fields, the number of ports has increased sharply. And with the continuous development of information technology, users have higher and higher requirements for network speed. In order to support the development of network speed, the network cabling system has also been extended from the initial three types of systems to today’s support for 10 Gigabit transmission. CAT6A (Cat 6), can provide a horizontal transmission rate of 10 Gigabits and 10Gbps. So for now, the transmission performance of copper cabling is no longer an application bottleneck.