What type of Cat 6a cable do I need for my home network?
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Soldato
U = Unshielded with each pair wrapped in foil
F = Unshielded with the 4 pairs wrapped together in foil
S = Shielded cable - with metal and not just foil
For a home U would be fine, unless you are running close to electrical cables then you may want S
F = Unshielded with the 4 pairs wrapped together in foil
S = Shielded cable - with metal and not just foil
For a home U would be fine, unless you are running close to electrical cables then you may want S
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Don
Cat6 UTP is all you need - zero benefit to Cat6A and it's arguably harder to work with
www.cablemonkey.co.uk
Cat6 UTP PVC Solid Cable (Reel) | Cat6 Cable
Category 6 unshielded twisted pair cable is designed for use in next generation data communications networks, and will comfortably support all present
www.cablemonkey.co.uk
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Soldato
Avoid the cheaper CCA (Copper Coated Aluminium) marked cable, especially if you intend to use PoE.
Soldato
For home stuff i'd personally only go as far as CAT6 UTP stuff myself, just avoid CCA cable and don't get an electrician to terminate it as they generally have no idea how to do it properly.
Fibre or GTFO.
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I was going to go with this - Cat6 UTP LSOH Solid Core Cable. Seems to be about half the price but can't figure out why, can't just be the shielding?
The worry with solid core is that it can be really stiff and might be hard to feed extra cables in the future if needs beCat6 UTP is all you need - zero benefit to Cat6A and it's arguably harder to work with
Cat6 UTP PVC Solid Cable (Reel) | Cat6 Cable
Category 6 unshielded twisted pair cable is designed for use in next generation data communications networks, and will comfortably support all present
I saw that and it was the only difference I could see?
Don
Solid core is for use with patch panels or faceplates, stranded is for make patch leads with RJ45 connectors. There is no real difference in terms of cable flexibility or how difficult it is to run, it's just how the copper is arranged within the conductors i.e. a single solid copper conductor vs lots of woven strands.
It's Cat6 UTP LSOH vs Cat6A U/FTP. The FTP means that each pair is shielded in Foil, which costs more money (as well as the Cat6A construction/certification costing slightly more than just Cat6).
For almost all home use standard Cat6 UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) will be absolutely fine:-
- Cat6 is also fine for 10Gb networking at lengths of up to 55m (which is normally fine for home lengths)
- STP, U/FTP, S/FTP are generally overkill for most home installations. They generally are of more benefit when run in particularly electrically noisy environments (such as near 3 phase electric, industrial motors, and the like), even when run alongside bundles of other network cables it is generally unnecessary
Soldato
Do bear in mind that all the components have to be the same grade to work together. So for CAT6A cable you can require specific CAT6A connectors with metal shielding, for CAT6 UTP you want CAT6 UTP connectors etc. it does make a difference. And likewise if you buy patch panels or keystones, make sure you buy ones that match. If you’re unsure, buy everything from one supplier and ask them to make sure everything is compatible.
CAT6A is not nice to work with, if you’re doing it right. And you really, really, really don’t need anything more than CAT6 or even CAT5e depending on your ultimate ambitions to run very high speed traffic. I regularly quote customers for grandiose requirements (their idea, not my recommendation) when all they actually need is CAT6.
CAT6A is not nice to work with, if you’re doing it right. And you really, really, really don’t need anything more than CAT6 or even CAT5e depending on your ultimate ambitions to run very high speed traffic. I regularly quote customers for grandiose requirements (their idea, not my recommendation) when all they actually need is CAT6.
