Questions about Cat6, Cat6a, and Cat7 Patch Cables

[CCurious]

Hi! Newbie here with several questions trying to detangle the delicate differences of cat6, cat6a, cat7 patch cables. So please go easy and explain like i'm 5 years old....

Background Information

I am looking to switch my Cat5e patch cables in my home. For me, i've discovered that certified Cat6, Cat6a, and Cat7 patch cables are cheap and so i might as well switch over to a higher category.

All of my devices (routers, switches) are only rated for 1Gbps and so I fully understand that Cat5e is more than capable of handling 1Gbps and that upgrading to Cat6, Cat6a, or Cat7 is a waste of money because my network can never go higher than 1Gbps (at present). But because it's relatively cheap to upgrade i figure why not; it will serve as one step to eventually upgrading my full home to 10Gbps.

The other benefit of upgrading (if i understand correctly) is that unlike Cat5E UTP, Cat6 UTP (for example) has a higher standard for less crosstalk (ie, higher twist count, a separator spine for each wire pair). So simply changing my Cat5e UTP patch cables to a Cat6 UTP would provide at the very least better shieding (my cables tend to bunch up and are near some higher than normal EMI devices -- e.g. stereo speakers).

My Questions

■ Must all shielded patch cables be grounded?
■ If a switch device says it supports: "1000BASE-T: UTP category 5, 5e, 6 or above cable (maximum 100m) EIA/TIA-568 100 ohms STP (maximum 100m)" does this imply it supports even cat6 STP shielded patch cables and one does not need to terminate the cables at some telecom room, instead it is automatically grounded at the outlet of this switch device? Does it also mean that cat6a and cat 7 is supported too?
■ Can i simply take a Cat6 UTP or Cat6a SFTP, or Cat7 SFTP patch cable and plug it into a standard RJ45 socket used by home routers, switches and not experience any degredation in performance from my 1Gbps device-imposed limits?
■ How is the grounding done for patch cables? Shielded cat6, 6a, 7 (SUTP/SFTP/SFFTP/UFTP) have a drain wire. This drain wire i notice gets wraped around the pvc sheath and makes contact to a metal 8P8C style connector (also ARJ45, GG45). I have to assume this means the 8P8C style socket is also fully metal so the EMF/RFI noise can transfer through. But i am curious does the noise then pass through the ground of the device (e.g. router) via its 3-prong power cable to a wall receptacle or must the connected ethernet cable make its way back (indirectly -- device to device) to some patch panel of network cables and be grounded there?
■ Although cat 6, 6a, and 7 are backwards compatible to 5e i notice they all have their own type of connector and their own type of sockets. When comparing against the standard 8P8C connector (colloquially known as RJ45) used on 5e i notice cat 6's connector staggers the 8 wires, cat 6a is metalic (to handle the drain wire?), cat 7 uses GG45 or ARJ45. Is it possible to use a regular 8P8C connector (plastic or metal) on a cat 6 UTP and see no issues with devices that expect a 1Gbps 5e cable? What about cat 6a and 7 (can i use a regular 8P8C -- metalic -- too? I understand that cat6,6a, and 7 are fatter cables but due to varying AWG gauges one can technically get 26 AWG or 28AWG thinner cables to make fitting possible, despite getting a lot hotter due to lower conductivity (higher resistance), but that leaves the question -- will it still work (a stable 1Gbps connection is achieved) and what if the device being connected to (e.g. the switch) has a regular plastic RJ45 socket?

Much appreciated in advance for all your help!

 

[bill001g]

To make life simple i would not buy better than cat6a and avoid shielded cable.

Shielded cable is almost never needed even running 10g. You would need to actually test and see you have interference before it is justified.

Grounding is a massively complex. Part of the reason ethernet using thing like magnetic isolation is to avoid ground loops. When you connect equipment that is separated you always run the risk that there is a slightly different ground potential. You can actually induce a current though the cable. So ethernet avoids this by completely isolating the cable from and power or ground with tiny transformers and in many case optic isolation.


When you use shielded cable the problem is back again. You can not use the electrical ground. Both ends must have a dedicated telco grade ground that is completely independent of the power ground. This requirement is what stops most people and I suspect it will kill any plans you have to use it.

If you do not ground things properly you can damage your equipment (very rare) or actually cause interference in the cable because a improper grounded cable acts as a antenna.

Just use normal unshield cable you will never see a problem in a home installation. The place you might see issues is in industrial installation where large motors are being used. Generally you only think to install shielded cable when a fluke meter shows you are getting external interference.

 

[USAFRet]

it will serve as one step to eventually upgrading my full home to 10Gbps.

What is your thought process on the timeline of upgrading to 10Gbps? 5 years, 10 years?
You might be thinking about fiber endpoints at that point.

Cat6a or 7 might just be technology to be jumped over.