Choosing the Right Cat6 Plenum Cable for Commercial Use?

If you are installing Bulk cat6 plenum cable for a small domestic network, you may make decisions on a whim because of the lower stakes. But when you are installing the cable in a large commercial network, you will most probably be extra careful – for the obvious greater stakes that are involved.

But how to actually choose the right 1000ft Cat6 plenum cable for commercial use is a question we are asked regularly.

So in this guide, we will look into how to choose the right Cat6 Plenum Cable 1000ft for your commercial network? We will also look into its different conductors, shielding, length, and installation. Let’s dive in.

What is Cat6 Plenum 1000ft?

Before we discuss the nuts and bolts of this cable, let’s define what it is and what its specifications are.

The 1000ft Cat6 plenum cable was introduced as an enhanced version of the previously used Category 5 and enhanced category 5. It is designed to support data transfer at speeds of up to 1 Gbps over a hundred meters in length and supports a bandwidth of 550 MHz.

The cable is ideally used as a commercial LAN cable but it can also be used in home networks with a relatively higher performance requirement.

Speed and bandwidth

When choosing the cat6 plenum cable, you must keep in mind that you will have the maximum speed of 1 Gbps if you run it over 100 meters. However, you can increase this speed if you run it over 50 meters or less.

The bandwidth capacity will remain the same which is 550 MHz despite the cable’s run length.

Plenum-rated Jacket

The Cat6 plenum cable comes with a plenum jacket. It is given. But you ought to know more about it before buying the cable.

The plenum-rated jacket of the cat6 cable 1000 ft is ideal for indoor HVAC spaces. It is highly resistant to heat and does not emit toxic smoke in case of a fire. Additionally, the communications multipurpose plenum (CMP) jacket is designed for indoor open spaces such as dropped ceilings, raised floors, etc.

Cable Shielding

The cable comes with a shielded and an unshielded variant. The shielded one is more efficient and performed better as compared to the unshielded counterpart. It is basically a metal foil wrapped around the conductors that are responsible for protecting the signal transmission from being interfered with by the cables in the vicinity.

Commercial LAN networks tend to have a large number of network cables which can produce quite a significant amount of electromagnetic interference (EMI) therefore, buying a shielded Cat6 plenum cable will allow you to minimize the interference and have a better connection.

Cable Conductor

Cat6 plenum 1000ft cable comes with two different conductors, namely, Copper-clad aluminum (CCA) and bare copper. The CCA cable is an affordable option for the relatively less crowded networks. It has a decent quality build but does not last for extended periods as the bare copper cable.

The bare copper cable on the other hand is relatively more costly but will last for a long time while also providing a smooth and stable connection.

Length and installation

When you are buying the cable, you have to choose the cable with a certain length. It will depend upon your requirement and the length of the cable that it comes in.

As the name implies, the bulk Cat6 plenum cable comes in 1000ft in length. This is the median size the cable comes in. But it is ideally run at 100 meters – which is 328 feet.

How to choose the right Cat6 Patch Cable?

Some may not necessarily be looking for the bulk cable but smaller patch cords that are used to connect devices together in a local area network. So in this part, we will look at how you can choose one for your requirements.

As stated above, a patch cord is an ethernet cable with a smaller length, usually ranging between 3 to 15 feet. Choosing a Cat6 patch cable requires two things. How long do you need the cable to be, and which devices you will be connecting with it?

Length

Category 6 patch cables come in various lengths. In fact, there are patch cables available in 1 feet length as well. So this factor is totally dependent on your requirement.

For instance, If you need the patch cord to connect a computer with an ethernet router, you will calculate the length between the device and the router. And then you can get the cable of the same length.

Pro Tip: Get a for two longer than what you need. It costs almost nothing extra but is a great precaution to follow – just in case.

Device

If you will be using the Cat6 patch cable to connect PoE devices, you must get one with a bare copper conductor. And if you will be using it to connect regular non-PoE devices, you can make do even with a CCA conductor. Simple as that.

Why NewYork Cables?

NewYork Cables is the leading brand of cutting-edge networking cables and accessories. We are renowned for producing products at market competitive prices that surpass industry standards. In addition to the unmatched quality of our products, we are also known for having the best customer support in the industry. Place your order now or contact us at sales@newyorkcables.com for more info.