{"id":78538,"date":"2015-11-17T17:28:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T22:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-07-29T11:19:46","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:19:46","slug":"sun-setting-on-cat-5e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/sun-setting-on-cat-5e\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun Setting on Cat 5e"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sun<\/a>The sun is setting on the Cat 5e<\/a><\/strong> cabling standard. The long-standing standard defined how most commercial spaces around the world were cabled for nearly 20 years. Starting in 2017 Cat 5e will be considered obsolete<\/strong> for new installations following a decision by the ISO\/IEC cabling standards body.<\/p>\n

\"recommendation<\/a>In a recent blog post<\/a> at CommScope<\/a>\u00a0(COMM<\/a>), the ISO<\/a>\u00a0cabling standards body JTC1\/SC25 WG3<\/a> working group agreed to raise the minimum horizontal cabling<\/strong> requirement. The new standard is stated in ISO\/IEC 11801-2<\/a>. Office space requirements change from Class D (Category 5e) to Class E (Category 6<\/strong>). It includes a recommendation for Class EA (Category 6A<\/a>). Cat 6A will enable a smooth migration to 2.5, 5, and ultimately 10 gigabits per second<\/strong> (Gbps). In the drafts of 11801-5 (data centers<\/strong>) and 11801-6 (distributed services), the minimum requirement is already Class EA cabling.<\/p>\n

Ethernet and IP communications everywhere<\/h3>\n

The original ISO\/IEC 11801 standard enabled the explosive growth and mass deployment of Ethernet<\/a> and IP communications<\/a><\/strong> everywhere. In its first edition, the author says the standard defined Class D balanced cabling based on Category 5 copper components. This standard offered an upgrade path from 10 to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) up to 100 meters. At that time, some experts and industry observers argued that 100 Mbps (100BASE-T) to the desk was overkill for the typical office user.<\/p>\n

\"handful<\/a>Today, 100BASE-T technology is in a rapid market decline. 100BASE-T is being replaced with 1000BASE-T (1 Gbps)<\/strong> according to the article. 1000BASE-T is commonplace for desktop and laptop PCs. It also benefits a wide range of other devices such as phones, cameras, and wireless access points (WAPs).<\/p>\n

The 11801 standard now includes more cabling classes that were introduced to enable support of up to 10 Gbps. <\/strong>The new classes include Class E (Category 6), Class F (Category 7). Even more recently, Class EA (Category 6A) and Class FA (Category 7A<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Technology trends<\/h3>\n

According to the CommScope blog, a number of technology trends made ISO choose to upgrade the minimum recommendation for horizontal cabling in offices. Some of the trends recognized by the committee that are driving the adoption of speeds beyond one \"Captain<\/a>gigabit on the horizontal cabling include:<\/p>\n