Rated to 250MHz, this 0.5m CAT6 lead carries Gigabit Ethernet at up to 100 metres, with 10GBASE-T possible on shorter links of around 55 metres. It is the everyday choice for offices, homes and small comms rooms.
The cable uses unscreened twisted pairs (U/UTP), which is all most homes and offices need. The sheath is LSZH, meaning it produces little smoke and no halogen gases in a fire; many commercial and public buildings ask for it. Its 24 AWG copper cores are thicker than the 26 AWG found in many patch leads, which helps with longer runs and powered devices. The RJ45 latch is protected by snagless boots, which stop it hooking on other cables or breaking.
It supports Power over Ethernet up to IEEE 802.3bt (PoE++), so one cable powers and connects IP cameras, wireless access points and desk phones.
It is sized for in-rack patching between a panel and the switch directly above or below it. Choosing blue leads for one job (cameras, phones or uplinks, say) makes faults quicker to trace later.
Specification
- Cable category: CAT6
- Length: 0.5m
- Colour: Blue
- Screening: U/UTP
- Conductor size: 24 AWG
- Sheath: LSZH
- Boots: Snagless
- Plugs: RJ45 to RJ45
- Power over Ethernet: Up to 802.3bt (PoE++)
- Bandwidth: 250MHz