News & Case Studies
Balancing network budgets is crucial.
The speed at which communications technology advances makes it challenging to keep up to date with current issues. Demands to move larger amounts of data at a faster pace, use of the internet for telephony and being able to distribute power over data cabling are only a few examples. Power over Ethernet (PoE) is already in use with many applications.
The pace of evolution in this sector means that choosing the right data cabling category is very important, because if we get it wrong it could result in making a business' computer system obsolete in a matter of months, or the client making an investment upon which they will get little or no return.
It is widely acknowledged that Cat 5e, where the e stands for enhanced, is cost effective, easy to install and supports applications including Gigabit Ethernet. If 10/100/1000 Ethernet is required, the 100 MHz bandwidth will be acceptable.
Cat 6 costs a little more. It also takes longer to install, but has greater bandwidth (200 MHz, tested to 250 MHz). However this is not normally enough to support 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GBase-T) beyond about 50 m. Augmented Cat 6 is the unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling platform being developed to support 10GBase-T, but its use must be considered quite specialised, although it is only a matter of time and technology until it becomes the everyday norm.
At the top end is Cat 7, which is an expensive and complicated fully shielded system, but boasts a 600 MHz bandwidth. Not surprisingly, only a small amount has been installed so far.
As with any job, a balance between budget, performance and technology is crucial in determinimg the best choice for any specific application. We at Reginald Maude's have the knowledge and experience to help you choose the right structured cabling system to support your data and voice requirements.
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