Specifications

Paragon II 4.1 Frequently asked questions 4/8
Cabling
Category 5e UTP is
standardized.
Why can't I simply use any
Category 5e UTP cable with
Raritan products, instead of
Raritan-certified cable?
Because UTP cabling is designed to transmit digital data, cable
specifications are optimized for that application. However, because video
data is by its very nature analog, Raritan's exclusive technology — which
enables such high-bandwidth video information to be transmitted over
relatively thinly-shielded Category 5e, 6 or 7 UTP cables — requires
even stricter tolerances for certain cable properties.
One particular UTP cable characteristic – delay skew – has a large
impact on your Raritan system performance. UTP cabling consists of
four "twisted pairs" of wire, each carrying one set of data. In order to
minimize cross-interference between the pairs, each pair must be twisted
at slightly different rates (twists/foot). Over long lengths of cable,
however, slight differences in twist rates result in measurably different
rates of data transmission among each twisted pair. The arrival time
delta is called "delay skew."
How does this affect your Raritan solution? Raritan products send red,
green, and blue video information each over a different twisted pair; if
that information does not arrive at the same time, observed video will be
blurry. Raritan's unique algorithms correct for this behavior, but physical
limitations create upper limits to the success of any algorithm.
The TIA/EIA specification for delay skew tolerance is 45 nanoseconds for
Category 5 UTP and Category 5e UTP cable. However, in analog video
applications, a delay skew longer than 15 nanoseconds usually results in
inadequate video performance at high resolutions (XGA and higher).
Raritan-certified cable products happen to surpass the acceptable
tolerances of the TIA/EIA's specification for delay skew, and hence are
best suited for connecting Raritan components.
Can I use Category 6 UTP
cable?
Yes. Currently only one Category 6 UTP cable product is Raritan-certified
for use with Raritan products. Raritan continues to test new Category 6
UTP cabling products as they are released to the market.
Can I use non-certified
Category 5e UTP cable?
Yes, but you may not get the same performance as you would with
Raritan-certified Category 5e, 6 or 7 UTP cable. Using non-certified
Category 5e UTP cable with Raritan products results in degraded video
performance, ranging from mildly irritating to unusable.
Non-certified cable may be used acceptably with Raritan products only
when the total cable distance between any user console and any
connected device is less than 90 meters.
Because cable products certified by Raritan do not cost more than
competing cable offerings, Raritan strongly suggests that users utilize
Raritan certified cabling for maximum performance with Raritan product
applications.
Can I use plain Category 5
UTP cable, instead of
Category 5e UTP?
Yes, however, you may not get the same performance as you would with
Raritan certified Category 5e, 6 or 7 UTP cable. Standard Category 5
UTP cable may not have the necessary characteristics for transmitting
high-quality video over long distances.