Category 6: Pros & Contras

Development of Category 6 is one of the hottest topics in the cabling industry. Now, when the draft standard is in its 7^th version, some conclusions can already be made and used during today’s network upgrade decision making.

 Category 6 is a major breakthrough since ratification of Category 5 in 1995. The bandwidth of 250 MHz for Category 6 cabling presents a good step forward from 100 MHz of Category 5 and Category 5E. Category 6 has the headroom needed for future high-speed technologies that are already in development. If you did not know it, the first LAN application for Category 6 will probably be Gigabit Ethernet for Category 6 cabling and it is expected to be published  in the first quarter of 2001. Today’s Gigabit Ethernet protocol (1000Base-T) was approved several years ago and is rated for Category 5 and Category 5E cabling. It means that 1 Gigabit of data is to be pumped into a narrow pipe of 100 MHz of bandwidth. Of course, this requires complex noise-cancellation electronics, increases cost and slows 1000Base-T acceptance. A new version of Gigabit Ethernet being developed by TIA/EIA (let’s call it 1000Base-TX) will use the full bandwidth advantage of Category 6 making electronics and devices cheaper and more accessible.

Yes, yes, you are right, the Category 6 standard is not ratified yet (ratification is expected in 2001 in June – September timeframe). Nevertheless, the channel specifications are stable for almost two years and not expected to change. Many manufacturers already have Category 6 solutions. If you buy all components from a reputable manufacturer and the manufacturer warrants that the installed channels will meet Category 6 requirements, you are recommended to seriously consider Category 6 instead of Category 5 and Category 5E cabling.

Some words of caution. Be careful with designing Category 6 systems from different vendors’ components. The major problem with Category 6 is backward and inter-compatibility. Today, it means that in general you cannot just buy “Category 6” components from different vendors, connect them together and end up with the Category 6-compliant channel. This fact makes Category 6 strongly different from Category 5. Similarly, if you buy “mixed Category” components from various vendors (for example, a “Category 6” cable from one manufacturer, a “Category 5E” patch panel from another), the installed channel may also not comply with the Category of the lowest-performing component.  Remember this when making your purchasing decision.

 In summary, if you are deciding, which Category to choose, and you expect your new cabling system to last at least 5-7 years in the world of ever increasing network speeds, consider choosing Category 6 from a reputable manufacturer with a well-written performance and standards compliance warranty.

 Finally, some statistics can also answer some of your questions about deploying or not deploying Category 6 solutions. Cabling-Design.com (http://www.cabling-design.com) asked its visitors to answer if they are going to install Category 6. The results are as follows:

Will install this year:          48%

Will never install:               29%

Will install next year:          14%

Will install in 2-3 years:       9%