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Cat6 recommendations

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mcall

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May 9, 2003
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Am looking at installing Cat6 in new site. Am considering various flavors of Cat6 cable, wall jacks and RJ-45 connectors. I'm looking for recommendations for brands/models.
 
we go mostly black box..

just make sure you get cat6 rated jacks and patch panels (and maybe even patch cables) to go with the runs or you're askin for trouble.
 
Cat 6A is the standard to do 100 meters with 10 gig copper.

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.
 
I like the Berktek cable. I use the Pass & Seymour jacks, faceplates, and blanks. They come in a lot of colors and can have about any configuration. (fiber, Rg-6, cat 3, 5E, 6, audio, you name it.

"You don't stop playing because you get old. You get old because you stopped playing."


 
2 cents worth
Most manufacturers want you to use their entire line (cable, jacks, faceplates etc) because that system has been "tuned" to work most efficiently. Marketing ploy?- possible. But it makes troubleshooting and vendor support easier.
If it makes financial sense, look into it.

Regards
Peter Buitenhek
ProfitDeveloper.com
 
Check out the various makers such as Panduit,Leviton,Amp,ICC and see which YOU the client like the best.
Remember: the bend ratio's for CAT 6 are greater than for Cat 5,thus the 'access holes' in the walls and the feeder pipes (flex,etc) should also be greater.
On the higher end:
10 Gig, the tech sheets suggest runs of no greater than 150 feet, not 100 meters.
Good Luck
 
graybar says they have independent third party testing off their shelf of their cat6 products performance which they offer. maybe others do as well, i have never had issues with any of the products they have sold me with performance. we have mixed and matched the product lines with no ill effects.
go all cat6 if you go there, and the contractor makes the biggest difference. there is a difference in the performance of the contractor in the performance of the install. those that charge less are usually worth it, in my experience.
exception would be the guy who works out of his home, for himself, independent contractor, who knows his stuff, but has less overhead. his performance reputation is his only marketing tool, and expense.

 
Has anyone seen or used the Belden Bonded Cable? It is very nice, however, it requires a tool to split the wires. It is really nice to keep cross talk from spreading on the line. If you have not demo'ed it, I recommend a look at it. Anixter Labs has a 100-150 ft ball of it, and it never lost its rating. (It started out as a knot, and then wrapped over and over again.)

Good stuff, from my $0.02.
 
I do not recall what I spent on the cable. It was more than the normal, But seeing the end result, it was a no brainer if you were looking for one of the best.
 
I have used so many jacks from different manufacturers that I have an opinion on what works best for me.

I like a 18o degree jack, which can be terminsted while the jack is secured in the face plate. This makes it easier to handle, and quicker because of this. Most faceplates are not designed to be able to do this, so look around.

What I mean is that the faceplate sits in the palm of your hand with the jack in the plate, jack facing your palm. The termination pins are facing directy away from the palm of your hand so that you are punching straight toward the palm of your hand with the jack in the plate already. Mmany plates can not take this stress, or the pins are not facing 180 degrees from the jack so you can not terminate with the jack in the plate. I find it much easier to terminate holding the plate than the litle jack. I can get more done in a day this way myself. You can put all the jacks in the plate, then start terminating, then secure the plate.

 
I've had very, very good luck with Mohawk's Cat-6 products.

For hardware, I'm a tried and true Hubbell guy, but have found Leviton's products easy to work with and good performers as well.

Just my 2 cents.

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
 
I totally agree on SCS Systimax, I am afraid this is the world leader, and they run a great testsenter in Ireland.
 
I don’t know how big the site is or its growth potential; or if you are planning on having a Cat-6 switch every 150 feet, then Cat-6 may very will be the best way to go.
But I would look at Multi Mode fiber to the desk-top with Media converters at each end,
You could wire back to one server/switch location and may actually save money.
I have been using fiber to the desk top for several years now and it has saved us money over time.
 
We use Bertek and Ortronics, I like the Series II connectors from Ortronics. They are larger than most connectors which helps with the terminations, fat fingers being what they are. I can still fit 12 drops in a double plate even though the jacks are larger. Lots of accessories available: Svideo, RG6, Fiber, VGA, speakers, RCA jacks --- all available in the Series II line.




As for this statement: "But I would look at Multi Mode fiber to the desk-top with Media converters at each end,
You could wire back to one server/switch location and may actually save money. I have been using fiber to the desk top for several years now and it has saved us money over time."

This is one of the big myths in cabling, just because you use fiber you can ignore the distance limits and do all "home runs from the desktop". As far as I understand, the 90meter rule applies to either copper or fiber. Even though we know you can go further (220meters) I don't think the 568 standards allow horizontal runs over 90meters. Please correct me if I am mistaken (believe it or not it has happened before :)
 
I also have set through Cat-6 “Propaganda Seminars”, and have had them tell me that 1000BASE-T / 10GBASE-T on fiber is only good for 150 ft.
We been using Gig-Media converter for 3 years or so, although we use single mode fiber in almost all our Applications I can get MultiMode converters at 850nm, and using
50/125 MM fiber we can extend Gig-Ethernet up to 1800 ft.
 
Is CAT6 augmented and official standard? It seems that even if it is, it is too fresh to find end to end certification on it with all parts in the way i.e. jacks, patch panel, patch cords.

 
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