Is Cat 6a plenum cable best for residential or commercial setups? This sounds a bit tricky but hold on there are some of the key features regarding the bulk cat6a plenum cable that identify its potential and right usage.
When you decide to buy the ethernet cable you are more likely to know about its features like bandwidth, speed, diameter size, and the applications it can run. But have you ever wondered how ethernet cables work on their specific speed demands? If you are going to deploy cat6a plenum cable your server must be supporting 10 Gbps speed.
This is a bit confusing so let me take responsibility for guiding you through the technical aspects of Cat 6a plenum cable. Read this guide to evaluate your needs regarding the Networking Cables.
Internal Inspection of Cat6a Plenum Cable
What you need to learn is the internal structure of the cat 6a plenum cable. It is right that the cable has the same structure as of previous Cat5e and Cat6 and is also backward compatible but there is a lot of difference between key characteristics of Bulk Cat6a Plenum Cable.
So why is that so, the need for fast networking increasingly becoming the need for everyone, especially for large enterprises, hospitals, and education sectors. They can’t even think of speed to deteriorate or slow down.
This is the reason for choosing the bulk cat6a plenum cable for their fast networking needs. Just cut the jacket off, and inside the cable, you will see a plastic skeleton cross sign material known as “Spline”. The spline helps reduce the pair-to-pair crosstalk which can disrupt the signal quality. The twisted pair separator helps improve speed throughout the cable.
The next important feature resides in twisted pair assembly, you will see there are 6-7 twists per inch in the cat 6a plenum cable. Why are there so many twists in Cat6a plenum cable? The reason is very simple: when current passes any electrical source it generates an electromagnetic field and can easily be manipulated with external signals or electrical noises.
The tight twisting in the cat 6a plenum cable will help in attaining better signal strength and maintain the flow of electrical current without being influenced by external factors.
The inner conductors of the cat6a cable have insulation that is made up of PVC material. These insulation jackets have specific color codes — Green/White-Green, Blue/White-Blue, Orange/White-Orange, and Brown/White-Brown respectively. This color order helps in determining the wiring sequence during the cable termination process. There are no additional color patterns you will observe within the ethernet cable.
Momentum of Cat6a Plenum Cable
The speed of ethernet cable keeps on improving as we move along the ethernet cable category from cat5e to cat6a there is a major difference in speed ratings.
The bulk cat6a plenum cable has the better speed mileage to transfer the data in bulk mode. The cat6a plenum 1000ft cable shows 10 Gbps speed over longer and shorter distances. The internal size of the conductor is 23 AWG which translates the speed of transmission.
The main reason to buy this cable is its high bandwidth of 750 MHz which is why it’s actively suitable for all the applications. There is a minor difference between Cat6 and Cat6a: the size of the cable is a bit thicker than the cat6 cable. This shows the sophisticated structure of the cat6a plenum 1000ft cable. Down below are the applications that the cat 6a plenum cable is suitable for.
Cat6a Applications
Network cables are not just for data transmission but there are several other key benefits that LAN cables could take part in to make everything easy and accessible. Such is the case with the Cat6a plenum 1000ft cable. It is majorly used for the following Fast Ethernet Applications.
- PoE — the vital role of transferring signals and power simultaneously
- 100/1000BASE-T (Fast and Gigabit Ethernet)
- 10GBASE-T (Future Ethernet)
- Audio/Video Streaming
- 4K and 8K visuals
- 2.4 GHz Ethernet
- 5 GHz Ethernet
- Commercial and Industrial
UTP cat6a plenum 1000ft cables have improved performance against the crosstalk. The cable has only tight twisted pairs that can be used to prevent the outer stray signals from entering the data flow stream.
Now what you have all been waiting for is the feasibility of Cat6a plenum cable with residential or commercial setup. This is not a simple debate, let’s talk about your server speed ratings offered by ISPs.
Feasibility of Cat6a For Commercial or Residential
The server you have all been using has some specific limitations regarding the speed. That could be 50, 100, 200 Mbps, or so. You are in your working space where you can afford the 10 Gbps speed package and it is the ultimate need for smooth operations. On the other hand, when you choose the 10 Gbps package from your ISP it might cost you more than your budget if that is the case you either go with the 1 Gbps speed or above.
Here I will quote a FAQ regarding the Cat 6a Plenum cable “Is Cat6a Plenum 1000ft Cable Overkill for Residential Use?” This question is not simply answered as there are some myths associated with the Cat6a ethernet cable that it boosts the signal speed. This is not the right statement for the Cat6a cable.
Bulk plenum cable has a total of 8 wires (Conductors), Spline, Ripcord, and outer jacket. The conductor’s main task is to transfer the information from one end of the cable to the other connected device. There is no signal booster installed or present in the cable so if you say that after installing the cat6a plenum cable you will be able to get the 10 Gbps speed. That’s not true.
Besides, every LAN cable is just used as a protocol to transfer the same rate speed as provided by your ISP (Internet Service Provider). If you are using a low-speed server connection using the cat6a plenum cable is not good as it will restrict the speed according to your server. Let’s say 1 Gbps only. So you will never be able to get the proper 10 Gbps speed.
For Commercial setups or Industrial needs the Cat6a Plenum is the right choice. The reason is that when commercial sectors like Education sectors and other major factories that are working day and night to increase their productivity have implanted higher servers which thatet the bulk cat6a plenum speed (10 Gbps). That is why they are mostly suitable for Commercial and industrial setups.
Plenum The Fire Resistant Wall
You will observe cat6a plenum cable with different color gradients like red, green, white, yellow, black, and gray. All these color jackets are plenum-rated. The plenum cables are for the horizontal shafts of the buildings to lower the risk of fire hazards.
This FEP-rated jacket is highly fire resistant which is why it is a more expensive cable than a riser or PVC. The plenum is an indoor-rated cable that is only perfect for indoor installation. This UV-resistant cable can withstand high temperatures.
The authentic destinations for Cat 6a plenum cable are HVAC systems, drop ceilings, raised floors, attics, data centers, horizontal shafts, and ventilation systems.
In A Nutshell
I hope this blog has explained thoroughly about the Cat6a plenum cables. You must check the speed ratings before deploying this high-category cable to your building or residential needs. The Bulk cat6a cable provides futureproofing to your cabling infrastructure. All you need to upgrade your server speed.
When choosing an ethernet cable speed, bandwidth, and shielded and unshielded should be checked before installing the cable.