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Cat5e/Cat6 Terms
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Snagless
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Snagless cables are made with a small "boot" that covers the edge of the clip on each
end of the patch cable. This prevents the clip from getting snagged and
potentially breaking off.
Snagless cables are particularly helpful when
used to connect all of your desktops or laptops. Save yourself the trouble
and eliminate the potential for "user error" on any cables that can be accessed
by your coworkers and clients.
Notice in the examples that there are multiple styles available. The style or shape of this "boot" is dependent on the manufacturer and is typically not an option that you can choose.
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Molded
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These cables have a molded boot which results in a more durable product. Note the images to the right and you can see that the molded boot actually covers a good portion of the connector.
The result is a more durable cable that provides extra strain-relief. This is a nice benefit especially in areas where the patch cables are not tied down (ie, under every desk in your office).
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Assembled
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This is a basic cable -- it does not have the Snagless or Molded features, but is a more cost-effective option.
Assembled cables are a great option for your data center or IT rooms -- areas that are secured and the cables are tied down or protected by cable managers.
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Shielded
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Shielded cables protect your network from radio-frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI).
This means that the length of the jacket wrapped in a foil shield and the connector itself is shielded as well. The result is a more rigid cable that provides the additional RFI/EMI protection you'll need in high end or industrial environments.
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Solid
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Solid cables support a higher level of performance over stranded cables, especially across longer distances. Solid wire cable means that each of the eight wires inside the cable consist of one solid copper alloy wire. Compare this to a standard cable with stranded wires -- each of the eight wires here consist of a few dozen very fine hair-like strands.
Solid cables have higher levels of conductivity than stranded cable, which means that you can run ethernet across longer distances. Note that because of the solid cores, these cables are much more rigid and will not flex as easily. Solid cables are typically used in areas where the cable is fixed and will never move.
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| Fiber Terms |
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| Jacket |
The jacket material can provide additional benefits such as increased fire or temperature rating, strength, and even provide increased protection from harmful emissions within your network environment.
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| LSZH |
Low Smoke, Zero Halogen jackets are composed of materials that lessen the emissions of smoke and halogens when the cable is exposed to extreme temperatures. This reduces the amount of harmful toxic and corrosive gasses that cabling made with plastic materials would otherwise emit into the air during combustion. This construction makes LSZH cables ideal for use where the protection of people and equipment from harmful corrosive gasses is absolutely critical.
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| Plenum |
When exposed to extreme heat or flames these cables do not emit toxic chlorine gases. Plenum cables provide the fire protection required to run within walls and air plenums without the need for conduit.
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| PVC |
These OFNR rated cables provide a cost-effective option for environments that require high bandwidth and transmission rates and support longer distances.
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| Fiber Count |
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| Simplex |
Simplex fiber cable consists of a single fiber and is used in applications that require only one-way data transfer.
Simplex fiber is available in singlemode or multimode.
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| Duplex |
Duplex fiber cable consists of a two fibers -- typically in a "zip-cord" style which means the fibers are side by side. Duplex cables allow for applications that require simultaneous, bi-directional data transfer.
Duplex fiber is available in singlemode or multimode.
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| Mode |
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| Single-Mode |
Singlemode fiber cable has a narrow fiber core that allows only one pathway of light.
Single mode cables consist of a 9-micron core.
Singlemode is typically used for long-haul connections, such as connecting nearby offices across a WAN or connecting switching offices.
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| Multi-Mode |
Multimode fiber cable has a large diameter core. The core is larger than the wavelength of light transmitted and several wavelengths of light are used in the fiber core. This allows for multiple pathways of light (carrying multiple signals at once).
Multimode cable is used for most general applications such as bringing fiber to the desktop or adding fiber segments to your network.
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| Core Diameter |
Core Diameter dictate the bandwidth, and the speed over distance, that your
applications can realize.
9-micron cores are used in singlemode fiber cables.
The primary difference between 50-micron vs. 62.5 micron cores is that the 50-micron core transmits significantly faster at an 850-nm wavelength. This is significant as lasers are being more commonly used as a light source and they transmit at this 850-nm wavelength.
At a 1310-nm wavelength, the two cores transmit at essentially the same speed. |
| 9-micron |
Singlemode fiber cable has a narrow fiber core that allows only one pathway of light.
Single mode cables consist of a 9-micron core.
Singlemode is typically used for long-haul connections, such as connecting nearby offices across a WAN or connecting switching offices.
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| 50-micron |
Bandwidth minimum: 50 MHz/km
at 850 nm: 500m
at 1310 nm: 500m
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| 62.5-micron |
Bandwidth minimum: 160 MHz/km
at 850 nm: 220m
at 1310 nm: 500m
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