Category 6 cable

Category 6 cable, commonly referred to as Cat 6, is a standardized cable for Gigabit Ethernet and other network physical layers that is backward compatible with the Category 5/5e and Category 3 cable standards. Compared with Cat 5 and Cat 5e, Cat 6 features more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard provides performance of up to 250 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), 1000BASE-T/1000BASE-TX (Gigabit Ethernet) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet).

Whereas Category 6 cable has a slightly reduced maximum length[specify] when used for 10GBASE-T; Category 6a cable, (or Augmented Category 6), is characterized to 500 MHz and has improved alien crosstalk characteristics, allowing 10GBASE-T to be run for the same distance as previous protocols.

Category 6 cable can be identified by the printing on the side of the cable sheath.

Cat 6 patch cables are normally terminated in 8P8C modular connectors. If Cat 6 rated patch cables, jacks and connectors are not used with Cat 6 wiring, overall performance is degraded and will not meet Cat 6 performance specifications.

Category 6a

The latest standard from the TIA for enhanced performance standards for twisted pair cable systems was defined in February 2009 in ANSI/TIA-568-C.1. Category 6a is defined at frequencies up to 500 MHz—twice that of Cat 6.

Category 6a performs at improved specifications, in particular in the area of alien crosstalk as compared to Cat 6 UTP (unshielded twisted pair), which exhibited high alien noise in high frequencies.

The global cabling standard ISO/IEC 11801 has been extended by the addition of amendment 2. This amendment defines new specifications for Cat 6A components and Class EA permanent links. These new global Cat 6A/Class EA specifications require a new generation of connecting hardware offering far superior performance compared to the existing products that are based on the American TIA standard.

The most important point is a performance difference between ISO/IEC and EIA/TIA component specifications for the NEXT transmission parameter. At a frequency of 500 MHz, an ISO/IEC Cat 6A connector performs 3 dB better than a Cat 6A connector that conforms with the EIA/TIA specification. 3 dB equals 50% reduction of near-end crosstalk noise signal power; see 3dB-point.