What Are the Pros and Cons of Augmented Category 6 (Cat6a) Cabling?

Introduced in 1997, Category6 (or Cat6) networking cable offered significant improvements over its predecessor, the Cat5ecable. It offers data transfer speeds up to twice as fast as a Cat5e and with less attenuation and EMI problems. It is also backward compatible, so even if your equipment is only capable of 10/100 speeds, you can replace all your Cat5e cable with Cat6. You won’t get the benefits of Cat6, but you’ll still be in business. 

2008 brought an improvement to Cat6, with Cat6a, or Augmented Category 6. This standard is defined at frequencies up to 500 MHz which is twice that of its predecessor, the Cat6.

The purpose of Cat6a is to support 10GbE networking, and it is capable of supporting this speed for up to 100 meters. Speed is really the only benefit of Cat6a over Cat6 and Cat5e. (Although a tenfold increase in speed is a huge improvement!)

There are several drawbacks to Cat6a cables including:

Price

Cat6a is a more expensive product, running generally anywhere between 30 to 50 percent more than Cat5e or Cat6. In a large scale renovation, it may be a reasonable choice to go with Cat6a, particularly for large businesses that deal with huge amounts of data and those that would benefit from the enhanced speeds.

Equipment

With enhanced capabilities in cabling comes the necessity to upgrade equipment, thus adding to the overall cost of the upgrade. You could use Cat6a cables, but you’ll never achieve 10GbE with the same old 10/100 or 10/100/1,000 network cards or switches and, desktop network cards with that kind of support are still rather expensive.

Sure the cables will transfer your data, but the data is only going to travel as fast as your slowest piece of equipment. It’s like buying a moped (do they still make mopeds??) and only using the pedals.

Cable Size

Perhaps the biggest drawback of the Category 6a cable is it’s thicker than Cat6, by almost 100 percent. It’s nearly the size of a Coaxial cable. In the case of new construction, or extensive renovation, this isn’t such a big deal, as old cable trays can be replaced or areas where thinner cables were run can be widened. However, if you’re looking to replace old wiring with Cat6a, you may run into trouble due to the cables’ width. 

The cable size also impacts other aspects. The weight of the cable can be a problem when it comes to installing or hanging runs. When cables hang, they stretch, which will degrade the signal. This may require upgrading cable raceways or hanging racks. If this solution is cost prohibitive, the tendency is to use more zip ties. However, this cable is also much more sensitive to damage. Over-tightened zip ties will cause signal reflections, causing the signal to degrade more so in the Cat6a than in earlier standards.

Also, due to size and width, the Cat6a cable has a larger minimum bend radius. Any network cable’s performance will degrade if runs take too sharp a turn. The Cat6a cable is affected even more acutely by tight turns than its predecessor.

Should I Upgrade to Cat6a?

The most important question to ask yourself when considering changing to Cat6a is, “Am I going to need to support 10GbE?” If you run a business with a few hundred employees, then maybe not. A datacenter or an ISP though, may benefit from upgrading their backbone to something capable of these speeds.

At CZ Labs we are always on-hand to answer your questions via live chat or call us at 800-423-2322.

We carry a large lineup of Cat5e and Cat 6 products at wholesale bulk discount pricing. We cater to businesses and IT companies that need bulk quantities. Please do visit our online store for more information and to learn more about our products.

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