Are you planning to get rid of your old networking cables and planning to upgrade to a new cable? Well, stay with me for a proper guide. 

Category 6 ethernet cable, which is also known as ethernet, LAN, or networking cable is the best choice for your business network. With Cat6 cable advantages you can up perform in sending and receiving data or larger files in less time.

This blog is about the major advantages of Cat6 cable and its specifications and what aspects you should see while buying the cable for your business.

Ethernet cables are a very hot topic in today’s connecting world where one cannot think about them without an internet connection. Without further ado, let’s discuss the main aspects of Cat6 cable and its benefits.

What Is Cat6 Ethernet Cable?

The next advanced famous category cat6 cable is very popular among users for high speed and bandwidth performance. This cable comes in STP or UTP specifications in need to avoid EMI or RFI within the environment for intact signal quality.

Starting with its speed specifications, the cable can provide you with a speed of up to 1 Gbit/s at a distance of 100 meters. Likewise, if the cable runs at a distance of 50 meters it provides a speed of up to 10 Gbit/s with a tested frequency of 550MHz.

This higher bandwidth helps in commercial setups to transfer large files in minimal time. Furthermore, the cable is ideal to be used for fast ethernet applications which include 1000BASE-T, 10GBASE-T, PoE/+/++, Audio/Video streaming, etc. 

Including Cat6 cable benefits, there is another distinct advantage of this cable is its 100% pure conductor that ensures the signal quality as well as data transmission speed. The cable has 8 separated copper wires that are tightly twisted with their specific color code to make 4 twisted pairs.

Continue reading for more information regarding cat6 cable benefits.

Uses Of Cat6 Ethernet Cable

• Like any ethernet cable, this cable is also used to connect local area networks (LAN) or wide area networks (WAN). 
• It is also used for connecting computers to a hub, router, and switch to share files across a network.
• Moreover, to connect other devices like printers, and scanners and for sending and receiving connections on patch panels.

Below is the table describing the types of Cat6 and cat6a along with their bandwidth and distance usage.

The above is the distance specifications for fast ethernet applications.

Shielded and Unshielded Cat6 Cable Benefits

Shielded Cat6 Cable

The importance of a shield inside the ethernet cable is to avoid the external effects of interference that is capable of dropping your data transmission speed. The shielding is of two types F/UTP and S/FTP – F/UTP means the entire wire is wrapped with foil except for twisted pairs.

Likewise, in S/FTP the entire wire is braided shielded, and foil is wrapped around the twisted pairs, hence strengthening the cable for reducing EMI and crosstalk. The need for shielded ethernet cable is in the complex wiring structure of a building with already electrical wires installed.

When you are unaware of the type of cabling you require for your network simply go for the shielded cat6 ethernet cables for the safe side. The CAT6 shielded cables are stiff and a bit thicker than unshielded cables hence a little effort is required to install these cables.

Moreover, the extra insulation layer inside the cable makes it less flexible which means the bending radius is minimal. Also, these cables are used for residential, commercial, and industrial setups where they need to restrict the large amount of interference generated by generators, heavy machines, etc.

Unshielded Cat6 Cable

The standard cable is without any insulation layer and can be used in a stationary environment with a minimum number of wires.

The cable is capable of reducing the outside interference due to twisted pairs but fails to do so in complex environments.

Cat6 Cable Benefits – Need To Opt

Cat6 ethernet cable has many salient features and benefits that may attract consumers to get high performance.

Here are the major advantages of buying a Cat6 ethernet cable, includes;

Conductor

This cable has a 100% pure copper conductor which is the reason for intact signal quality and conductivity. 

The cable can transfer heavy data without degradation and with minimum latency.

Higher Transmission Speed

The Cat6 provides you with a speed of up to 10 Gbit/s over 50 meters which is ideal for supporting 10GBASE-T.

The cable has minimum distortion and is reliable in providing the gigabit speed for your server.

Cost-Efficient

Buying a cat6 ethernet cable is a cost-effective solution for your upgrade, the shielding cable is a bit more expensive than an unshielded one.

Always select the most appropriate cable for your network because a bit more coins might save you additional spending on the same cable.

PoE Application

This cable is capable of supporting all PoE applications, the need for an additional cable is not required as it has double action in transferring data as well as power.

It includes surveillance cameras, VoIP phones, etc. 

Backward Compatibility

As this cable uses an RJ45 connector on both ends of the cable it is backward compatible with its older version cable.

So it means having the same networking equipment you can upgrade your network structure without replacing the whole infrastructure.

Enhanced Crosstalk Mitigation

The cable incorporates tighter twists and improved insulation and effectively reduces crosstalk between wire pairs.

All this ensures that signals from different pairs remain separate, hence, maintaining signal integrity and EMI protection.

Suitable For Gigabit Ethernet

With the highest bandwidth and speed specification this cable is ideal for gigabit ethernet 10GBASE-T. 

This cable provides the necessary performance and reliability for high-speed data transmission.

Future-Proofing

As the cat6 networking cable is not the latest it does have the potential to future-proof your network structure once deployed.

Planning to upgrade to Cat6 cable is ideally correct and you can get all its benefits accordingly.

Better Signal Quality

Cat6 cable is designed following strict rules and tighter twists that enable this cable to reduce crosstalk and EMI.

Hence, the cable signal quality is more intact, and less data loss.

How To Buy Ethernet Cable

Ethernet cable seems alike when it comes to their physical state but all are different in their design and speed specifications.

A little knowledge about the product while going to buy may prove more costly as a wrong decision might affect your data speed and connectivity.

So, when buying ethernet cable keep these factors in mind and finalize your purchase decision.

Cable Length

The cable length is one of the important factors among several. An ideal cable length is 100 meters so make sure the required length you require to install the cable.

Reversely, if you are not sure about the cable length specs, go for bulk ethernet cable which comes in 1000 ft wooden spool easy-to-pull packing.

The entire cable has sequential ‘ft’ markings making it more convenient for cutting and knowing the remaining length of the cable.

Environment 

This is the foremost important factor while purchasing the cable, whether the cable has to bear strong interference or minimum external interference.

If you are going to install cable in a complex environment make sure to opt for shielded cables to avoid EMI, RFI, and crosstalk influence to disturb your signal quality.

Quality Cable

It is very easy to find ethernet cable in a store near your house but is it worth buying? The quality of the cable must match the specifications as per your need.

Otherwise, you need to buy another cable that will surely disturb your budget.

Location

It is mandatory to buy a plenum or riser jacket for ethernet cable to install cable vertically or horizontally in the building. If there are fire safety instructions then plenum is more recommended. 

Final Findings

Overall, the cat6 ethernet cable is a good source to install for your network upgrade. The gigabit ethernet cable is quite famous for its speed and performance. The cost-effective cable can be future-proof for your network and you will enjoy seamless connectivity according to your server needs.

The cable is also backward compatible so if you want to upgrade your wiring you can upgrade to Cat6a which also uses the same 8P8C RJ45 connector. Rest assured, the quality will not be compromised and you will get affordable prices that will not burden your budget.