You have heard of the bulk ethernet cables UTP and STP variants to use according to the needs. Besides unshielded ethernet cables, shielded ethernet cables (Cat 6 shielded plenum cables) are not normal ethernet cables that can be used either way. But they are manufactured to cater to some of the specific needs.
Read this blog to understand the Cat 6 shielded plenum cable and what are their benefits that will help you understand your needs for deploying the perfect cable combination. So let’s start with the general ethernet cable — Cat6 plenum cable.
What Is UTP Cat6 Ethernet Cable?
The term UTP stands for “Unshielded Twisted Pair” and is also known as the general ethernet cable to use in an environment having low EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). The bending radius to install Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cable is 6.00 mm “Original Diameter” and 2.4 cm inside radius. So, you can ideally analyze how much you need to turn this cable to install at the sharp ends of the buildings.
The Cat6 Ethernet Cable comes with three jacket ratings to use for indoor and outdoor installation needs.
Riser PVC for indoor installation
Plenum HDPE for indoor installation
Direct Burial for outdoor installation
These jackets are useful when you are expanding your networking connection to other buildings indoor to outdoor — direct burial cable is used.
The cable comes with the most advanced features like 23 AWG conductor size, 550 MHz bandwidth, spline, and the tightly twisted pair ft. 5-6 twists per inch. Let me brief each of the features of the Cat6 plenum.
23 AWG (American Wire Gauge) is the standard for measuring conductor diameter the lower the AWG value the thicker the conductor diameter. The 24 AWG conductor is less thick than the 23 AWG conductor.
550 MHz bandwidth is the throughput of the cable and how fast it can carry electrical signals to transfer the information. The ability to grab the bulk data to the specific location.
Spline is a plastic material with a cross-skeleton structure which is known as a twisted pair separator. The main function of spline is to reduce the chances of pair-to-pair crosstalk.
Tight twisted pairs of 5-6 twists per inch indicate that the conductors have minimum gaps to accept the invitation of outside stray signals. So the Cat6 plenum ethernet cable is the perfect solution for longer distances but should not exceed 100 meters. If you want to extend the cable length use an inline coupler or cable amplifiers.
Last but not least, the speed of the Cat6 is 1000 Gbps over longer runs and 10 Gbps at 328ft in length.
What are the benefits of Shielded Ethernet Cable?
Like UTP bulk ethernet cables, STP (Shielded Twisted Pairs) cables have also come with the most major benefits to secure your cabling infrastructure and to future-proof it to use for the next advanced technology.
Features | Shielded Cables |
Interference Protection | It protects the cable from EMI or RFI to deteriorate the signal quality |
Signal Quality | For more reliable and secure data transmission, shielded cables offer premium signal quality |
Performance | Cables like F/UTP, and S/UTP offer the best performance over longer distances |
Security | Less susceptible to theft of the data as they are secured with Aluminum Foil or Braided Mess |
Applications | Most suitable for data centers, industrial applications, populated areas with EMI or RFI |
Cost | The shielded cables are quite expensive due to an additional insulation layer |
Longer runs | Longer runs installation is feasible with the shielded ethernet cables |
What Is Cat6 Shielded Plenum Cable?
The highly sophisticated ethernet cable in the market has the following variants to use for low to extreme installation needs. The Cat 6 shielded plenum cable is the most expensive option to buy but there are more expensive variants.
The cable has a similar structure to the Cat6 UTP cable but with the addition of an insulation layer (Aluminum Foil ‘F’ and Braided Mess ‘S’). The PE tape is a plastic sheath that covers the conductors, and the drain wire for grounding purposes while terminating the cable.
The following variants of Cat 6 shielded cables are F/UTP, U/FTP, S/UTP, S/FTP, SF/FTP, F/FTP, etc. Here U indicates Unshielded, and F is for Al. Foil and TP are for Twisted Pair.
Benefits of Using Cat6 Plenum Shielded Cable
The benefits of using F/UTP Cat6 shielded plenum cable in pure copper conductors are as follows. When you are going to deal with a complex wiring structure you only need to think about the Cat 6 shielded plenum cable.
Shielding — F/UTP Cat6 plenum shielded cable provides the best protection against EMI or RFI. it blocks all the unnecessary signals that may affect the transmission.
Plenum Rating — designed to meet the building fire safety codes. HDPE insulation makes it fire-resistant and LSZH overcomes the toxic smoke emission.
Performance — Cat6 shielded has more performance than the UTP cat6 ethernet cable. You will get 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps uncompromised speed.
Reliability — no crosstalk and signal degradation, just perfect data transmission over longer runs.
Applications — for data centers, hospitals, Education sectors, and near factory areas to cater to fast speed ideally without any interruptions.
Cost — The Cat6 plenum shielded cable is quite expensive due to the Plenum (Fire-resistant), additional insulation, and bulky nature makes it cable to install at specific locations where temperature and EMI fluctuate.
Do You Need Cat6 Shielded Cable In Home?
There is no need to install the Cat6 plenum shielded cable at home. The reason is simple Cat6 UTP ethernet cable is enough for your daily needs. But if you are having a data center or running an in-house office. Then it might be your need. But still, Cat6 Ethernet Cable UTP is an affordable option.
Mostly residential and commercial buildings do not require shielded cable due to the high price and challenging installation issues. But if you are sure about the complexity of the environment you may use the Cat 6 shielded plenum cable.
In a Nutshell
Shielded twisted pairs are the armor for complex wiring environments to protect the cable signals from high interference. These cables are more often needed for factory areas and industrial areas where manual and artificial EMIs are generated.
Always check the location while installing the cable. But on the other hand, the cat6 plenum ethernet cable seems a perfect combination for your cabling needs.
