Category 6A cable...

Thread Starter

Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,201
Wiki specifications talk about 500MHz limit and also capable of 10GBASE-T (10Gigabit Ethernet)
If 10G means ten Gigabit; what is its relation to only 500MHz ?
Can it be used to transmit a 10GHz signal ?
 

eetech00

Joined Jun 8, 2013
3,859
Hi

Wiki specifications talk about 500MHz limit and also capable of 10GBASE-T (10Gigabit Ethernet)
If 10G means ten Gigabit; what is its relation to only 500MHz ?
In the old days, Hz used to equal baud rate but not true anymore.
10GbE uses a form of encoding that sends information in both directions, simultaneously, at 833Mbaud. The math equates to 10Gbps. I won't try to explain how it does that, but it can do this over cable tested to 500Mhz (Category 6A). There are plenty of articles that explain in detail.

Can it be used to transmit a 10GHz signal ?
No. Category 6A is only certified tested to 500Mhz.
 

hp1729

Joined Nov 23, 2015
2,304
The answer you seek is in IEEE 802.3an-2006.
I am missing how this clarifies the subject.

"Category 6a is required to reach the full distance of 100 metres (330 ft) and category 6 may reach a distance of 55 metres (180 ft) depending on the quality of installation, determined only after re-testing to 500 MHz."

So Cat 6 goes up to 500 MHz (without creative modulation) and 6A goes up to 833 MHz?
 

eetech00

Joined Jun 8, 2013
3,859
I am missing how this clarifies the subject.

"Category 6a is required to reach the full distance of 100 metres (330 ft) and category 6 may reach a distance of 55 metres (180 ft) depending on the quality of installation, determined only after re-testing to 500 MHz."

So Cat 6 goes up to 500 MHz (without creative modulation) and 6A goes up to 833 MHz?
No...
Cat6A is certified to 500Mhz and is intended for use with 10Gb Ethernet up to 100 meters.
Cat6 is certified to 250Mhz and is intended for use with 1Gb Ethernet up to 100 meters.

But...as the statement you've quoted suggests...if you can certifiy Cat6 cable at 500Mhz, then you can use it for 10Gb, but only up to a shorter distance of 55 meters. But I wouldn't recommend that, I'd recommend just to use Cat6A.
 

hp1729

Joined Nov 23, 2015
2,304
No...
Cat6A is certified to 500Mhz and is intended for use with 10Gb Ethernet up to 100 meters.
Cat6 is certified to 250Mhz and is intended for use with 1Gb Ethernet up to 100 meters.

But...as the statement you've quoted suggests...if you can certifiy Cat6 cable at 500Mhz, then you can use it for 10Gb, but only up to a shorter distance of 55 meters. But I wouldn't recommend that, I'd just use Cat6A.
Ah, got it.thank you.
 

bushrat

Joined Nov 29, 2014
209
I am missing how this clarifies the subject.
"The 802.3an standard specifies the wire-level modulation for 10GBASE-T to use Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) and pulse-amplitude modulation with 16 discrete levels (PAM-16), encoded in a two-dimensional checkerboard pattern known as DSQ128 sent on the line at 800 Msymbols/sec"

short description of PAM is also described in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-amplitude_modulation#Ethernet

You can use up to 500 MHz signal, and if you use PAM or QAM modulation, each pulse can represent few bits, not just one bit
 
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