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I've read detailed insights on differences in the CAT Cabling.

We have CAT 6 Cabling & LeGrand keystone jacks; unknown to me & could be CAT 5, 5e or 6.

  • We might be redoing certain jacks/ keystones/ plugs for higher CAT compliance.

  • Wondering if there is a difference in how the cabling is terminated for the different CAT-egories i.e. for CAT5, CAT5e, CAT 6, CAT6a & CAT7 compliance.

    • Male - Plugs/ Crimps
    • Female - Keystone blocks/ Jacks
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Alex S
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  • Have you read the standards? [IEEE Std 802.3 Standard for Ethernet](http://blog.siemon.com/standards/introduction-to-ieee-802-3) – DavidPostill Jan 08 '16 at 10:40
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    @DavidPostill - Have read a lot of stuff, found small differences in CAT 5 vs CAT 6 RJ-45 plugs on the net. But nothing that clearly outlines the variation between them. The ones for the cables I've found and linked above. Would you be kind enough to answer wrt to plugs & keystone jacks? – Alex S Jan 09 '16 at 16:21
  • A cable system only has the lowest rating of any part in the system. Also, unless you have a lot of cable installation experience and a very, very expensive tester, you will not be successful in getting the cabling to pass the Category-6 test suite. That just means wasted money. I have also never seen any person, even very experienced cable installers, who could make a patch cable which could pass the Category-6 test suite, so you should only use factory built patch cables.. – Ron Maupin Jan 09 '16 at 16:59
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    I read all that online Ron and understand it, it still does not satisfy the answer - You are telling me the weakest component is the bottleneck - Yes, I know. I know the differences in the cables, I am asking "how different" are the plugs & keystone jacks.. No one seems to point out the physical & technical differences - Getting it done via right people is a separate issue. Is it not a valid Q to know/ understand the differences given that the same is known for cables - Maybe even identify / physically differentiate between 5e, 6, 6a & 7? – Alex S Jan 11 '16 at 11:31
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    Also note that whether or not the cable has shielding will make a significant difference to the gauge. I purchased a spool of CAT6a cabling last year to learn how to cut and terminate my own cables, and while it was a rewarding experience, it took several months to be able to terminate them proficiently taking all day. – Arctiic Feb 28 '20 at 05:12
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    Still all I hear is about differences in the cable. Already aware of that. What’s the difference in the other parts aside from the cables; keystone blocks, plugs/ jacks? – Alex S Mar 05 '20 at 03:03

1 Answers1

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I came across this page which may answer your question.

So the main difference between Cat6 patch panel vs Cat6a patch panel lies in the wire gauge specified for cat6 and cat6a cables – cat6a cables are thicker and bulkier than Cat6 cables.

Worthwelle
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