Which cable is augmented Cat6, supporting 10 Gbps at the full 100 meter distance?

Which cable is augmented Cat6, supporting 10 Gbps at the full 100 meter distance?

• A. Plenum-Rated Cable
• B. Cat6
• C. Cat5e
• D. Cat6a

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that 10 Gbps over the full 100 meters requires the augmented version of Cat6, known as Cat6a. Cat6a raises the bandwidth to 500 MHz and tightens the cable construction to suppress crosstalk, which lets 10GBASE-T run reliably up to 100 meters. Regular Cat6 can carry 10 Gbps, but typically only up to about 55 meters in practice due to higher crosstalk and looser tolerances. Cat5e is limited to about 1 Gbps at 100 meters, so it won’t do 10 Gbps. Plenum-rated refers to the jacket’s flame-rating for use in plenum spaces and doesn’t by itself determine the data rate. So the augmented Cat6, Cat6a, is the correct choice for 10 Gbps across the full 100 meters.

The key idea is that 10 Gbps over the full 100 meters requires the augmented version of Cat6, known as Cat6a. Cat6a raises the bandwidth to 500 MHz and tightens the cable construction to suppress crosstalk, which lets 10GBASE-T run reliably up to 100 meters. Regular Cat6 can carry 10 Gbps, but typically only up to about 55 meters in practice due to higher crosstalk and looser tolerances. Cat5e is limited to about 1 Gbps at 100 meters, so it won’t do 10 Gbps. Plenum-rated refers to the jacket’s flame-rating for use in plenum spaces and doesn’t by itself determine the data rate. So the augmented Cat6, Cat6a, is the correct choice for 10 Gbps across the full 100 meters.