Comparison of properties between Category 5e and Category 6 lines
Why is the transmission rate of Category 6 lines faster than Category 5e lines? This is a good question. When doing many projects, we all have an illusion that there is not much difference between Cat 5e and Cat 6, but there is the difference between Cat 6 and Cat 5e.
Category 5 (CAT5):
The transmission frequency is 100MHz, which is used for voice transmission and data transmission with a maximum transmission rate of 100Mbps, mainly used in 100BASE-T and 10BASE-T networks. This is the most commonly used Ethernet cable. This type of cable has increased winding density and a high-quality insulating material. Now Category 5 cables are basically not used much.
Cat5e (CAT5e):
The transmission frequency is 100MHz, which is mainly used for 100M or Gigabit Ethernet (Gigabit is relatively reluctant, and standard cables can only achieve it). It has small attenuation, less crosstalk, higher attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio (ACR) and signal-to-noise ratio (Structural Return Loss), smaller delay error, and greatly improved performance. In actual projects, although Cat5e cables can also transmit Gigabit, it is only recommended for short-distance transmission of Gigabit. Long-distance transmission of Gigabit may be unstable. This is also a common fault in projects, and it is easy to ignore. The problem.
Category 6 (CAT6):
The transmission frequency is 250MHz, which is most suitable for applications with a transmission rate higher than 1Gbps, mainly for Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps). Category 6 twisted pair is different from Category 5 or super category 5 twisted pair in appearance and structure. It not only adds an insulated cross frame, but also places four pairs of twisted pair wires on the four sides of the cross frame. In a groove, and the diameter of the cable is also thicker.
Super six or 6A (CAT6A):
The transmission frequency is 500 MHz, and the maximum transmission speed can reach 1000 Mbps, which is mainly used in gigabit networks. Category 6e cable is an improved version of Category 6 cable. It is also an unshielded twisted pair cable specified in ANSI/EIA/TIA-568B.2 and ISO Category 6/Class E standards. Compared with other aspects, there is a big improvement.
Seven types of wires (CAT7):
The transmission frequency can reach at least 600 MHz, and the transmission rate can reach 10 Gbps. It is mainly to adapt to the application and development of 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology. The cable is the latest shielded twisted pair cable in the ISO Category 7/Class F standard.
The difference between super category 5 line and category 6 line
Difference one:
The difference in loss, an important difference between Category 6 and Category 5e cables is the improved performance in terms of crosstalk and return loss. It is recommended to use Category 6 network cables directly for home decoration.
Difference two:
The thickness of the core is different. The core of the super five network cable is between 0.45mm and 0.51mm, and the core of the six category network cable is between 0.56mm and 0.58mm. The appearance of the six category network cable is much thicker than the super category five network cable ;
Difference three:
The cable structure is different. The outer skin of the super-category 5 network cable has the logo of "CAT.5e".
Although Cat5e unshielded twisted pair can also provide transmission bandwidth up to 1000Mb/s, it often requires the support of expensive special equipment.
"Cat6" refers to six types of unshielded twisted pair (CAT6)
The parameters of the six types of unshielded twisted pair have been greatly improved, and the bandwidth has also been extended to 250MHz or higher. Category 6 twisted pair is different from Category 5 or super category 5 twisted pair in appearance and structure. It not only adds an insulated cross frame, but also places four pairs of twisted pair wires on the four sides of the cross frame. In a groove, and the diameter of the cable is also thicker.
The cross frame in the center of the cable rotates with the change of length, clamps the four pairs of twisted pairs in the groove of the frame, maintains the relative position of the four pairs of twisted pairs, and improves the balance characteristics and crosstalk attenuation of the cable. In addition, ensure that the balanced structure of the cable is not damaged during installation. The six types of unshielded twisted pair bare copper wire diameter is 0.57mm (wire gauge is 23AWG), the insulation wire diameter is 1.02mm, and the UTP cable diameter is 6.53mm. Of course the thicker the better. The signal is stable.
The difference between super six lines and seven lines
01. Cat6e line:
The highest transmission frequency is 500MHz, which is twice that of Category 6 cables. It is mainly used for 10G (10G) networks, and the outer skin is marked with "CAT.6A". In addition, Category 6 network cables support 10G Ethernet, and there will be 10Gigabit in appearance. similar to the logo;
There are two types of Category 6 wires. Generally, the diameter of single-strand bare copper wire is 23AWG, which is approximately equal to 0.573mm. There are also 24AWG Category 6 wires, and the thickness is approximately 0.511mm.
02. Seven types of wires:
The performance of the Category 7 cable is similar to that of the Category 6e network cable. It uses 8 cores of pure copper and has a shielding layer. The performance is stronger and the transmission rate can reach 10Gbps. It is used in data centers and other occasions.
Each pair has a shielding layer (usually metal foil shielding), and then there is a shielding layer outside the 8 cores (usually metal braided wire mesh shielding Braided Shield), and the interface is the same as RJ-45. Overall shielding (usually metal braided wire mesh shielding) + wire pair shielding (usually metal foil shielding) Cat. , Seven types fully support 10 Gigabit.
The core of the Category 7 line uses high-quality oxygen-free copper with a diameter of nearly 0.58mm as the transmission conductor, which is slightly thicker than the Category 6 line. It uses chemical foam insulation, which greatly improves the transmission capacity of a single conductor.
From the perspective of the wire core of the network cable, the diameter of the wire core has increased for Category 5, Category 6, and Category 7 cables. The higher the quality of copper used, the faster and more stable the transmission rate.