Cat6a & Cat5e Plenum Cables, Pros and Cons
Networking cables, these cables include coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, patch cables and twisted pair cables of which cat6a & cat5e cable are belonging to. The twisted pair was the leading cable in the early 1980s and is still being used for networking. The improved version of these cables can transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps which is quite fast if you ask me and these twisted cables contain 8 solid wires wounded around in pairs for better structural integrity and to minimize electromagnetic interference.
Uses:
As the name Plenum in states itself, this cable is generally made for the plenum areas of buildings. The Category 6a or Cat6a Plenum Cable is mostly being used in large organizations and professional tech-based companies mainly for better performance and less cross-talk. While on the other hand the Cat5e cable performs the same purpose as the other Networking cables but it is preferred for medium or small networks rather than large Networked Industries because it provides less bandwidth, speed, frequency than its successors.
Properties & features
Cable type: The Cat5e and Cat6a Cables both can be UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) or STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) depending upon their usage, where they are going to be installed. But the Cat6a Ethernet cable is much expensive than its predecessors.
Data Transfer: The Category 5e Cables have a transfer speed of 10 Mbps to 1000 Mbps. On the other hand, the Category 6a cables can transfer at 10,000 Mbps (10 Gbps) speed which is quite higher than Cat5e.
Cost: While the price of these cables varies from manufacturer to seller. The Cat5e cable is relatively cheaper than Cat6a cables.
Bandwidth: The category 5e cable can only support the maximum frequency up to 250 MHz, whereas the Category 6a can supports up to 850 MHz frequency.
Compatibility: Both of the cables are backward compatible. Even to Cat3 cable.
Structure: The 5e is flexible allowing it to be bending to some extent and have precise interference proofing. The 6a is not as flexible as to its predecessor, it is rigid, heat and smoke resistance.
If you are a home based user and want to network it for various purposes, the Cat5e cable is suitable for you and it will perform its job perfectly and will meet all the standards, needs you require. In fact, the speed of 5E, supported by this type of cable is likely to be faster than what the residential Internet connections can provide which makes it perfect for daily home-based use.
On the other hand, if you are going to deal with the large networking companies; where the bandwidth, data transfer speed is an important matter because they relay on quick file syncing. In that kind of situation the Cat6a performs best for these networked connections.
