If Cat 7 And Cat8 Cables Are Popular Nowadays?

Different applications have to need different Ethernet connections, because of the different demands of performance. Nowadays, Ethernet cable types Category 5e, 6, and 6A are well-known in the business. They’re widely utilized.

Yet, Category 7 and Category 8 are not commonly used. We don’t hear as much about these cables as we do about other cables.

On paper, they appear to be solid and natural. But they prove the next step in supporting developing technology following Category 6A. But we don’t see them as much.

Let’s see if there is room for these two cables or not.

What is Cat 7 Cable?

Category 7 has a transmission performance of 600 MHz in terms of bandwidth.

Category 6A cables, on the other hand, operate at 500 MHZ. Despite the slower speed, it can readily handle today’s 10GBASE-T workloads.

The Category 6A cable’s 500 MHz limit includes a 20% protection band mandated by equipment makers.

Europeans use cat7 cables where the shielded cable is the standard to meet EMC standards. The expectation is that it will be needed in the future.

However, Category 7 isn’t specified in North America (where unshielded cabling is the norm). Because they aren’t required by any technological applications.

In addition, Category 7 cables aren’t recognized by the TIA. An ISO Class F system can be supported by a full Category 7 infrastructure using Category 7 components.

ISO Class F/FA does not support any present or developing technological applications in LAN applications.

For data center applications, the same is true. In North America, there is no demand for Category 7 cables because there is no need for them.

When to use Cat 7 Cable?

Why should you use a Category 7 cabling system in the first place? Well, you should avoid using it. Because if you do, you’re choosing to pay more for these cables when a Category 6A system would suffice.

Besides, you’ll most likely use RJ45 Cat 6A connections to connect Category 7 cable.

While Category 7 connectors are available. Today’s equipment (routers, switches, servers, and so on) isn’t designed to handle them.

You can convert a Category 7 system to a Category 6A system by using Category 6A connectors. As such, you must measure and test it.

When lower-Category components link to higher-Category components. The system’s performance reduces to that of the system’s lowest Category.

If this is all too much for you, consider a garden hose as an analogy.

In your backyard, you may have a one-inch hose, but what if the spigot has a half-inch faucet?

Only a half-inch coupler can be used to connect to it.

Even though the hose itself can handle more water, the narrow hole limits the amount of water that can flow through it.

You might have used a half-inch hose instead of a one-inch hose and saved some money.

The amount of water flowing through the hose will be the same in both circumstances.

Let’s know where does the cat 8 cable stand in the market.

Where does Cat 8 Cable fit in?

In data centres and server rooms, where 25GBaseT and 40GBaseT networks are popular, Cat8 Ethernet cable is appropriate for switch-to-switch connections.

Discussions progressed from 10GBASE-T to 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T technologies.

Existing Category 7 components (considered to be futureproof!) were unable to completely support these higher speeds.

Equipment suppliers asked that connectivity be backward compatible with all current equipment during the development of 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T.

As a result, IEEE established connection segment restrictions for RJ45 connectivity.

Backward-compatible RJ45 connectivity is utilised in TIA Category 8 and ISO/IEC Class I (using Category 8.1 components). Whereas, ISO/IEC Class II (using Category 8.2 components) uses unique connectivity not found in lower Categories or classes.

For 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T all are defined at 2,000 MHz with a 30 m reach. However, because of the reach limitation and the big OD, Category 8 cable is difficult to use.

Furthermore, there is no upgrade path from 100 m Category 6A to 30 m Category 8.

Fiber optic transceivers were also becoming more affordable at the same time when Category 8 cable was released.

Instead of operating 25GBASE-T or 40GBASE-T over copper, several people started using fiber to provide these speeds.

Fiber also assures that your cabling architecture is ready for any future technologies that may emerge.

Final Words

For your next project, are you considering Category 7 or 8 cable? Newlinko can provide you with answers to your queries and point you in the proper way based on the application and your objectives.

As your trusted advisor, we want to ensure that you get the most out of your cabling investment while avoiding splurging on a system that will never meet your needs or expectations.