In the past few years, Cat 6A adoption has increased dramatically, making it the dominant cabling and connectivity system for 10 Gb/s networks. Cat 6A will continue to see strong growth in years to come, especially in five key applications.
- Data Centres
Data centres of every size are facing bandwidth growth, and Cat 6A has become the preferred copper cabling solution to accommodate this growth in 10Gb/s applications. Not only is Cat 6A the most cost-effective option for access layer networking, it also makes migration easy. 10GBASE-T permits auto-negotiation, allowing two Ethernet devices to connect to each other and select a common transmission speed that both devices support. This means 10GBASE-T migration can be done in phases, offering flexibility in timing, less disruption, and lower cost when upgrading the network.
- Enterprise Wireless
Today’s businesses are updating their wireless networks with 802.11ac access points capable of delivering up to 6.9 Gb/s. However, these businesses won’t see the true benefits of higher speed wireless without the right cabling infrastructure. TIA TSB-162-A, Telecommunications Cabling Guidelines for Wireless Access Points, recommends installing Cat 6A for horizontal cabling to WAPs, and IEEE 802.3bz recommends Cat 6A for all new installations. Cat 6A supports longer lengths, provides greater alien crosstalk suppression at higher frequencies, and future-proofs the backbone cabling infrastructure for 2.5 Gb/s, 5 Gb/s, and 10 Gb/s applications.
- Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet (PoE) has made great strides in recent years. Today’s higher-current PoE brings important cabling and connectivity considerations to ensure the highest level of performance in the network. Cat 6A cabling is recommended for all new PoE installations. Leviton Atlas-X1™ connectivity has been tested to deliver 100-watt PoE, which will drive power and data to a wider range of remote devices.
- Health Care Networks
Hospitals are seeing huge increases in data growth, largely due to the rise of computerized health records and more connected equipment at the bedside, in treatment rooms, and other areas. ANSI/TIA 1179-A cites Cat 6A as the only recognised copper cabling for horizontal cabling in health care facilities. Hospitals today also strive to provide staff, patients, and visitors with reliable wireless access. But hospitals won’t be able to take full advantage of new wireless technology without a high-performance, future-ready cabling infrastructure to support it.
- Schools and Universities
High-speed internet is vital for student education at all levels, and today’s students need greater bandwidth for quick access to information. Cat 6A cabling is the ideal backbone for new school network installations. School AV systems increasingly use HDBaseT™ technology to extend HDMI, VGA, and USB signals from the teacher’s desk to devices throughout the room, all networked over category rated cable. Cat 6A cabling is the best solution for protecting signals in cable bundles from alien crosstalk issues while supporting higher bandwidth signals for applications such as 4K.
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Make the Smart Choice for Cat 6A Systems
Data centres, businesses, hospitals, and schools all require higher performance networks and greater bandwidth to meet today's data demand. Leviton has designed Cat 6A systems for these demanding networks. Our UTP and shielded solutions all meet IEEE, TIA, and ISO/IEC requirements for mission critical networks running at 10Gb/s, with performance verified by independent testing labs.
You can learn more at Leviton.com/Cat6A.
