Ratings of Cat 6 Cable and Installation Advice: Am I Missing Something?

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northtexas55693

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Still in the planning/design stage of my home network in my new construction house.

Plan on using all S/STP Cat 6 cabling run in attic then down through the walls in 1.5" conduit.

Three questions:
1) Cat 6 is supposed to be standard rated at 250 Mhz yet I see plenty of vendors with 500 or 550 Mhz Cat 6 cable. What gives?

2) I've read that in order to really see gigabit/10 gigabit performance in your Cat 6 network you have to be careful with cable installation especially with S/STP cable like I plan on using in attic and in wall.
I've read that I should try to minimize the bends in the line, don't be rough with the cables, and stay away from EMI, etc. Is this a bunch of BS?

If it is true, that how the wires are run and handled during installation can affect future performance, does anyone have a source(s) where I can read up on the ideas of proper installation for highest performance?

3) I live in a place with no building codes so I need not follow electrical guidelines. Cable prices from what I see go - Riser < In-Wall < Plenum < Outdoor. Plenum and outdoor are obviously overkill and won't be used. Should I pay the extra $0.50/ft and get the in-wall rated or will riser be fine?

Thanks for you input.
 
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kanewolf

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First DO NOT BUY CCA (copper clad aluminum) cable. Buy a brand name, solid copper cable like Belden.

For a home installation, I don't see the benefits of S/STP over UTP. You shouldn't have high levels of EMI (multi-hp motors, etc) to shield against. Even for 10GE, which I don't see a practical use in home use, Cat 6 UTP should be good for 50+ meters.

The biggest error made is removing too much twist when terminating. Do you plan on buying or renting any type of test equipment to certify your installation to Cat6 standards?

In-Wall cable has a sheath that is rated to not rip as easily and not burn as easily. Probably worth it.
 
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bill001g

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500 mhz cat6 is generally cat6a. It depends if they certified it as cat6a. In most cases cat5e will be fine. If you really think you will live in your house long enough to get equipment that can run 10g then put in cat6a. Machines have had 1g ports for many many years and people are now only starting to get applications like NAS that can use them and most NAS systems are well under 1g.

Really all you have to worry about is not bending it so much you damage the cable. Bend radius is mostly a issue with optical fiber because the more of the beam goes into the coating and if you really bend it you crack the fiber. You likely will never see EMI issues it is very rare the twist do a excellent job of protecting the signals from your normal day to day issues.

In most cases building codes do not require plenum cables in a residential install. The primary difference is that the plenum wire resists fire much better and it give off less toxic gas if it were to burn.

The key thing is to not buy CCA cable. Many sellers have gotten extremely deceptive in the marketing of this stuff. They have gotten so bold to actually claim it is tia/eia cable. They can lie to a point and call it cat5e or cat6 since that is not a licensed thing. But saying you have TIA/EIA certification on CCA cable is outright fraud since the standard explicitly excludes copper coated aluminum.
 
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northtexas55693

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yeah solid copper is the way to be.

Runs will be at least 100, mostly 150, and some at 200ft. S/STP is what most of my research has pointed to for in-attic/in wall installation. I have not read in one place where someone used stranded UTP in a wall/attic (but there is a first for everything).

1/2' or less of twist removal - everyone says this - got it in my notes.

Not planning on buying/renting equipment to test. Would like to just for fun but probably wont.

I just want to know if the "be careful with the cable and routing" argument holds water?
 
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bill001g

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I would avoid shield wire. If it is not properly installed it can actually cause interference. You need to ground the shield on both ends. You generally need very special wall plates and patch panels to do it correctly. When it is used to end equipment you need to use special rj45 plugs that have ground tabs on the side. The equipment must also have connections to connect to these grounding tabs.

It really isn't worth all the effort to get it installed if you do not have a issue and installing incorrectly is a complete waste of money and may makes things worse.
 
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northtexas55693

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Bill001g
- I have yet to see anyone mention that shielded need special plugs and a ground continuity. I'll have to check into that - got any sources I should look at for more information on this topic?
 
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kanewolf

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If you are pulling your own cable then the biggest thing on "routing" is make sure it is away from damage from electricians and sheet rock hangers. Install your low voltage cabling LAST, just before sheetrock.
You could use "smurf tube" for your conduit.
Electric_Conduit_0379_DJFss.jpg
It has the benefit of being available in long continuous runs. Remember to leave a pull string in each conduit.
 
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northtexas55693

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I am the electrician and sheet rock hanger so I should be good there :)
Conduit in walls since we are spray foaming the 2x6 studs - also mounted (with cable tie downs and Velcro) on a 2x6 stringer I ran in the attic specifically for cables.
 
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Unolocogringo

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1 Better quality shielding and purer copper.
2 Follow the guides if you want gigabit performance.
If you kink the wire when installing it, it will create a bend inside the plastic covering that you can not see. this will create cross talk or bleed over and you will no longer be able to do gigabit transfers on that line.
EMI, electro magnetic interference is created by ALL electrical appliances and wiring. do not run your cable near house wiring or satellite/cable tv wires.

3 Riser will be fine if you are installing it inside of metal or plastic emt conduit. In wall has a thicker protective outer coating. so it can be run without the conduit.
Follow all electrical guidelines even if you do not have local codes, National codes apply. Why take a chance and have your home burn down because you tried to save a few dollars?
 
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bill001g

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It may just mean they did not pay to certify it, hard to say. But if you look up the definition of cat6a that is the primary difference.

Shielded cable must be grounded that is what gives it the ability to block EMI. The EMI is induced in the sheild and carried the ground. To install this properly and really be sure it will work you need special meters. It get extremely messy when the grounds have slightly different resistances.

I have had tens of thousands of cable drops run in the various office building the company I work for has around the world and we never user shielded cable. The only place we did was in a medical install but I was told that was to protect the medical equipment from the ethernet signals not to protect the ethernet.
 
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northtexas55693

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@Unolocogringo - I can see not kinking the wire, but the one place I even saw mention of taking care with installation (can't remember it right now since I've seen so many discussons about installs) said that you should radius your curves as much as possible. Maybe they were going overkill?

There will be electrical wiring run in the attic as well. I was planning on staying at least 3 feet from it. 3 feet from any line/appliance/LED light would be OK with S/UTP?

I'll be using the gray conduit from Home Depot since I have a lot laying around for the electrical wiring install.

Ethernet wiring does not scare me (don't break the plastic coating and all should be fine). My three phase lines for AC's and shop tools scare me.

@Bill001g - Seems like I will more heavily investigate unshielded cabling - but still will be using solid for attic and wall runs. stranded for wall to desktops/networks devices.
 
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bill001g

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You always run solid cable it is part of the standard....you technically do not have a certified install if you use stranded in the walls. It will likely work but why would you do ever do it when it costs more money.

Pretty much you will never have a issue with interference from power if you follow the national building codes. If you are a electrician ethernet cable is considered low voltage cable and it follows the same rules as alarm cable and thermostat wires. Pretty much as long as you don't run it in the same conduits or chases you are good to go.
 
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northtexas55693

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SMH - read the automated home article just now - cool read and will take it all under advice. Be careful as you can - terminate as close as possible - maintain twists as much as possible.

@Bill - I see the big difference in the RJ45 jacks for STP vs UTP - metal body with ground clip. And I think you mean that a switch or patch panel would need to be able to allow for metal on metal contact? - Is there not a way that if the switch or patch panel is grounded - the STP cable would be grounded as well?

Thanks for all the info guys. Ill keep looking around more.
 
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Unolocogringo

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Sounds like a good plan.
3 feet is plenty of clearance for EMI interference free routing.
On the page I posted it explains that at gigabit speeds the cable more or less become an antennae, the signal is flowing outside the copper wire and any kink or tight bend throws everything off.
A simple analogy would be like water flowing in a pipe. Straight runs get full flow, Start adding in bends and flow diminishes, Get a couple rocks(kinks) in the line and you have major turbulence and greatly diminished flow.
 
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bill001g

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Yes it takes very special equipment. The only equipment I have ever seen that uses these is telco equipment used in cell towers. I am not sure what exactly they are using it for. I have seen some cisco switches that say they can accept these connections. Again these switches are designed for telco room applications. Grounding seems to be a extremely important issue when you get into a telephone companies data center. Then again they want everything to run on -48volt DC too.
 
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kanewolf

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I concur with @bill001g. I have run many thousand feet of ethernet cable and we have never used shielded. This is in data centers where the EMI is pretty high.

You definitely SHOULD invest in some type of test equipment. You will eventually get good a punch downs and RJ45s. But if you haven't done them until your fingers hurt, you probably want to test your connections.
A used Pentascanner is a great choice if you can find a decent price. For basic testing a microscanner is good
flukenet_microscannerpro.jpg
.
 
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