Specifications

STRUCTURED

CABLING

NETWORK CONNECTIVITY SYSTEMS

www.signamax.eu

10GBaseT and Structured Cabling

Gigabit Ethernet was, until recently, considered to be the limit that would be very difficult to overcome on

metallic structured cabling. Now it is obvious that 1 Gbps will not be the maximum transmission rate that

can be achieved on copper twisted pair cables. The new 10GBaseT Ethernet standard that was published

in June 2006 by the IEEE 802.3an group proves this. In the first stage, this new protocol with transmission

speeds of up to 10 Gbps will be primarily employed in backbone distribution systems, SAN's (Storage Area

Networks), and data centers.

1. Running 10GBaseT on currently existing cabling

The document ANSI/TIA/EIA TSB 155 deals with operating 10GBaseT over currently existing Category 5E

and 6 cablings. The test results performed in connection with this bulletin showed that it will not be possible

to run 10 Gbps data transfers on Category 5E networks and that on current unshielded Category 6 cabling

the 10GBaseT protocol will be able to operate for a distance of up to 55 m. This length limitation should be

improved on shielded Category 6 systems but it is highly recommended to use Category 6A components

for all new 10G installations as the this new category was primarily designed to provide full compatibility

with no length or other limitations for the 10GBaseT. The factor that plays an important role in the above

mentioned length restriction is the so-called Alien Crosstalk. It is influenced by the amount of crosstalk

signal from external sources, such as other cables in a cable bundle, electronic devices operated nearby,

telephones, etc.

2. New requirements for future cabling systems for 10GBaseT

As it was already mentioned, a new category with bandwidth of up to 500 MHz (i.e. double of what is

available for the current Category 6) was defined to ensure full compatibility of cabling systems with the

10GBaseT protocol, both including the Permanent Link and Channel topologies as well as unscreened and

screened cablings. This new category is referred to as “Augmented Category 6” or “Category 6A” and will

be published in the upcoming structured cabling specification updates (e.g. ANSI/TIA/EIA 568B.2-10).

These updates are currently available in drafts and will be published for the wide public very soon.

Similarly to Category 6A, a “new” Category 7 will be defined. It will be referred to as “Augmented Category 7”

or “Category 7A” with bandwidth of up to 1,000 MHz (as compared to 600 MHz of the current Category 7).