Comparison and Selection of 5E and 6 types of cable technology

Currently, manufacturers of Structured Cabling solutions have released Cat5E and Cat5E solutions. Although the six types of cable standards have not yet been promulgated, many customers have chosen to implement this solution in view of its superior performance. What prompted them to install these systems even if the six standards are not finalized and there is no hope of release of the standards? Obviously, such systems are indeed better than existing 5E solutions. This article will focus on the advantages of this technology.

First, let's briefly review the evolution of cables. The continuous improvement of 5E technical specifications is due to the development of Gigabit Ethernet. During the formulation of Gigabit Ethernet technical specifications, whether Category 5 cables of low-end and low-grade low-end networks can support such networks has attracted some attention. As a result, new key test parameters such as level-level near-end crosstalk (ELFEXT) and return loss occur. Therefore, the industry has developed 5E cable technical specifications. However, Category 6 cable specifications have not yet been formulated. Although existing or emerging networks do not have to rely on six types of solutions for support, it is foreseeable that in the near future, the six types of cables will become the mainstream solutions for copper cabling. In the end, with the development of the network, it is certainly a 6-class cabling solution, not a 5E solution. It is hard to say the specific time when the six types of solutions provide support, but the technical advantages it shows in network construction are indisputable. Therefore, replacing 5E with six types of cables is only a matter of time.

Comparison of features and advantages:
Features: 6-class advantages vs. 5E advantages

1. Performance: supports all current and emerging copper cabling networks with margin available for future use, and supports all existing known and emerging copper cabling networks, including Gigabit Ethernet, however, the next-generation support capability is unknown.

2. Frequency Range: 1-200 MHz, additional margin space up to 250 MHz 1-100 MHz

3. Margin: The maximum wiring margin for copper cables. The possibility of faults caused by falling levels due to factors such as network over time, improper installation, and temperature and humidity is small. The wiring margin for copper cables is high, it can support increasing application demands, such as Gigabit Ethernet. However, with the development of high-speed networks, the remaining balance will soon reach full load.

4. Easy installation: The UTP cabling method is used for quick and easy installation, with low cost and high reliability.

5. Backward compatibility: allows existing 5/5E components to be mixed with 6 components, compatible with 5/5E functions, and backward compatible with 5 and 3

6. Cost of the active component: the balance is high, and the active component does not need to transmit synthetic signals. Therefore, the high-speed network developed to reduce the cost of the active component must supplement the synthetic Signaling Mechanism in the operation of the low-class cabling system, to compensate for attenuation and NEXT. The cost of the active components will increase accordingly.

7. Initial Cost: 20-30% higher than the 5E solution (but lower than the 5E solution) than the top 5 Solutions

8. cost of ownership: long service life, lower cost of ownership than 5E solutions, longer service life than 5 solutions, but less than 6 solutions.

Note that the actual values of category 6 and Category 7 cables may be different from the results published in this table. We estimate that the value of the six types of cables does not change much, but the value of the seven types of cables must be significantly different from the published standard value. However, in any case, the six types of cables are improved on the basis of 5E cables. According to the frequency range, the 5E type cable is still limited to 100 MHz, while the six types of cables have been increased to 200 MHz, and additional 25% margin is required on this basis to reach 250 MHz (tentative ).

Which solution is suitable for you?

Currently, structured cabling vendors have a lot of water in marketing. Market hypes and publicity such as "tested up to MHz", "guaranteed Applications", "cat6 cables are the choice of Gigabit Ethernet", and "absolutely exclusive supplier solutions" mislead users it's hard to get confused. Undoubtedly, many users are concerned with installation, rather than another copper cabling solution.

Provides the best technical suggestions for your application environment. It emphasizes a variety of options, rather than sticking to Category 5, category 5E, or Category 6, shielding or unblocking, copper or optical fiber. Users can choose from various solutions based on their own needs and economic affordability. We recommend that you consider the following:

1) What is the current purpose and how will the application be developed in the future? Probably Process Planning?

If you plan to use only 100 BaseT for the next 5-10 years, then the 5E cable is sufficient. However, if you want to use broadband anytime, such as real-time video conferencing, 3D mode, and desktop printing, you 'd better use six solutions.

2) are the prospects clear; how is the enterprise's development speed?

If the prospects are unclear, you can use six types of solutions for security reasons. Or if you predict that the enterprise will continue to develop at a high speed, more than six types of solutions can provide a larger "growth space" to support enterprise development through network resizing.

3) What is the importance of the network in daily operations?

For example, the banking network system is the lifeline of its operation. If the service is stopped for several minutes, it will cause thousands of dollars in losses to its business. Therefore, from the perspective of sufficient balance, easy installation and reliability, the six types of cables are more ideal solutions.

4) how to consider the budget?

If the budget is not limited, we will all adopt optical cables. The objective environment is realistic and the budget is limited. Therefore, you will certainly consider the economic affordability of the six types of cable solutions. After all, it costs 20-30% higher than the 5E solution. However, it is important not to focus solely on initial costs during decision-making. You may be surprised to find that, compared with the 5E solution, the life cycle costs of the six solutions are lower (that is, the cost of ownership is lower ).

Based on the analysis of the above problems and such situations, you can know which solution is most suitable for your needs, and the cost is within the budget range. Performance Comparison-Worst Case

Unless otherwise specified, all values are in the unit of dB Cat5ClassD Cat5E Cat6ClassE Cat7ClassF

Frequency Range (MHz) 1-100 1-100 1-200 (250) 1-600 Attenuation 24.0 24.0 21.2 (36.0) 20.8 (54.1) Near-end crosstalk 27.1 30.1 39.9 (33.1) 62.1 (51.0) Power and near-end crosstalk N/A 27.1 37.1 (30.2) 59.1 (48.0) Attenuation crosstalk ratio 3.1 6.1 18.7 (0.1) 41.3 (-3.1) Power and attenuation crosstalk ratio N/A 3.1 15.9 (-5.8) 38.3 (-6.1) Same level remote crosstalk 17.0 17.4 23.2 (15.3) ffs Power and other levels remote crosstalk 14.4 14.4 20.2 (12.3) ffs Return Loss 8.0 10.0 12.0 8.0 (14.1) 8.7) Transmission latency (ns) 555.0 555.0 538 (536) 504 (501) Latency deviation (ns) 50.0 45.0 45.0 20.0

All values are measured at 100 MHz (worst case-channel ). The values in the brackets are the measured values of the 6 types of cables at 250 MHz and the 7 types of cables at 600 MHz respectively. The values of category 6 and Category 7 cables shown in the table may differ from the final standards (ffs = to be studied ).