Cat6 vs Cat6a are two giants in networking due to their enhanced features and internal characteristics. The need for high-quality cables for networking is due to the upcoming need for fast ethernet applications. For that reason, you surely need a Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cable or Cat 6a Plenum Cable.
Read this blog explaining the Cat6 vs Cat6a featuring their similarities and differences. Also, what are the speed specs each cable supports? Can you use Cat6a Plenum Cable at your home or is bulk Cat6 plenum enough for future proofing needs? Let’s start the discussion with an introduction to the Category 6 Ethernet Cable.
What Is a Cat6 Cable?
Cat6 Plenum 1000ft bulk cable was made in 2002 and due to its high-rated properties, the cable was expensive. But with the increase in category cable variants like Cat 6a Plenum Cable, you can buy Cat6 Plenum in a cost-efficient way.
This is a round-shaped cable having 8 conductors that are twisted tightly exhibiting 5-6 twists per inch. This tight twisted pair helps reduce crosstalk and attenuation. Cat6 plenum cable has a spline inside the cable — a plastic material also known as a twisted pair separator.
The Cat6 plenum jacket is FEP rated and therefore this cable is highly fire resistant which halts the fire progression and therefore protects the conductor of the cable from damage. The Cat6 plenum ethernet cable has a 23 AWG diameter size and uses an RJ45 connector to connect different devices. This is a backward-compatible ethernet cable that does support 10/100/1000BASE-T.
What Is a Cat6a Cable?
In Cat 6a Plenum Cable, “A” refers to the “Augmented Category 6 Cable”. It means that the cable has even more advanced features than its predecessors (Cat6 Plenum Cable). The diameter size of the cat 6a plenum cable is 23 AWG and the internal zigzag pattern of the cable has an even more tight twisted pair design of about 6-7 twists per inch throughout the cable length.
The need for Bulk Cat6a Plenum cable is for commercial and industrial applications. For the connection process, there is no different connector that is used to terminate the cable. Instead, it uses an RJ45 connector to transfer the signals.
The Cat 6a plenum cable is thicker than the cat6 plenum; this is the main difference between Cat6a Vs Cat6. Later come toward the similarities of the Cat6a vs Cat6 ethernet cables.
Similarities Between Cat6 vs Cat6a
Comparing both cat6 plenum 1000ft and Cat6a plenum 1000ft there are some same properties that both LAN cables have. The following are the similarities of Cat6 vs Cat6a.
- Cat6a vs Cat6 both have support for 10/100/1000BASE-T network
- Can used for 2.4 and 5 GHz ethernet standards
- Uses RJ45 connector for termination
- Support 10GBASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet)
- Tight twisted pair to reduce crosstalk
- Fire retardant CMP jacket
- Power over Ethernet (PoE) includes PoE/+/++
Types of Cat6 vs Cat6a Cables
Some of the advanced types of Cat6 and Cat6a ethernet cables are used for special destinations and are formally known as Shielded Cables. UTP cables mean (Unshielded Twisted Pair) the normal general ethernet cables having a larger bending radius than STP cables.
The shielded Cat6 vs Cat6a cables have the following shielded variant that depends on the environment. Some short forms like F for Aluminum Foil and S denote Braided Mess.
- U/UTP — This is a normal ethernet cable without any additional shield. This cable is specially used where EMI or RFI are not present. It is a cost-efficient cabling solution and less challenging. The bending radius of Cat6 Plenum 1000ft is 2.4 cm (Inside Radius).
- F/UTP — That’s a foil shielded cable the whole insulation layer runs to the entire cable length. It is suitable for longer runs, and active places with EMI or RFI, and also where artificial electrical noise is present.
- U/FTP — In this type of LAN cable, the whole cable is unshielded, but the twisted pairs are shielded with Foil. There is no alternate way to terminate the cable, just peel the foil shield and follow the same process.
- S/UTP — Braid shielded cable the whole length of the cable has braided mesh to prevent the cable from outer noise. Due to tight shielding the bending radius is less.
- S/FTP — one of the most rigid assemblies in the category of ethernet cables. Double shielded with braid and aluminum foil. Mostly used in heavy factories where machineries cause artificial noise that may create signal distortion.
The above type of cat6 plenum or Cat 6a plenum cable comes in different shielded variants. They are quite expensive with copper inside the cable making it a viable option to use for industrial or commercial applications.
Why is Cat6a Better Than Cat6 Cable?
The Bulk Cat6a Cable has 10 Gbps speed over 100 meters and 50 meters. There is no change in the speed specs of the cable. The 23 AWG conductor size has the highest bandwidth of 750 MHz. Whether you use it for longer runs. But one thing is considerable: to get the maximum potential of the Cat 6a Plenum cable you need to upgrade your server speed to 10 Gbps. there is no use to invest on this expensive cable if you are getting the gigabit speed.
On the other hand, the bulk cat6 plenum cable is a bit less expensive than the cat6a cable. There are some reasons why cat plenum is the best to use for home networking needs
- 1 Gbps speed over 328ft length
- 10 Gbps speed over 164ft cable length
- 550 MHz bandwidth frequency
- PoE support for different devices
- Improved crosstalk
- Copper conductor for optimum performance
The selection of the cable depends on various factors like speed demands, fast ethernet applications, futureproofing, and upgrading speed of the server in the future. It is unlikely to use this cable with older network equipment. There is no issue in that but the actual speed of the cable might be restricted.
At this point, you cannot say that the Cat6 is the winner or Cat6a is the king, but both cables have their own set of demands and allow users to maximize their networking speed. Keep one thing in mind while you are going to buy ethernet cable — the speed, category, and quality (Industry Standard) of the cable.
Final Thoughts
Cat6 Vs Cat6a Cable has set the standard regarding fast networking. You have to invest more in Cat6a Plenum Cable than the Bulk Cat6 Plenum cable. Both have low latency rates and also there are fewer networking issues as the cat6 plenum can support PoE voltage up to 90 watts, while the bulk cat6a plenum can support type 4 PPoE up to 100 watts.
Choosing an ethernet cable is a hectic job while deploying the cable is a challenge as there are some tips and tricks to install the Cat6 plenum cable or the Cat6a plenum.
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