Category 6A UTP vs.

FTP

Nathan Benton, RCDD/NTS/WD Technical Manager

UTP vs. FTP

Two copper solutions for 10Gb/s

UTP and FTP

Effects of Alien Crosstalk (ANEXT) ANEXT Mitigation Methods Standards Approach

Victim

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathways Training

6A FTP

Standards Compliance

TIA-568-C.1 Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard Ratified Feb 2008 Available Now on TIA Website http://www.tiaonline.org/standards/catalog/search. cfm

TIA-568-C.1 Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard

To incorporate ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-4, Addendum 4 Recognition of Category 6 and 850 nm LaserOptimized 50/125 Multimode Optical Fiber Cabling ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-5, Addendum 5 Telecommunications Cabling for Telecommunications Enclosures Highlights of technical changes from the previous edition Removal of generic requirements which are now placed within ANSI/TIA-568-C.0 Removal of 150-Ohm STP cabling Removal of Category 5 cabling Incorporation of references to generic nomenclature found in ANSI/TIA-568-C.0 Inclusion of Category 6 and Augmented Category 6 balanced 100-ohm cabling Inclusion of 850 nm laser-optimized 50/125 um multimode optical fiber cabling Inclusion of Telecommunications Enclosures Removal of balanced twisted-pair cabling performance and test requirements which are now placed within ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 Centralized cabling incorporated into main body of document Removal of 50-ohm and 75-ohm coaxial cabling

UTP-vs-FTP Selection Matrix

Must meet TIA-568-C.1

Customer Requirements Support 10GBASE-T to 100 meters (up to 4-connection channel) Meet or exceed ISO/IEC Class EA channel specifications (up to 4-connection channel) Meet or exceed TIA Category 6A channel specifications (up to 4-connection channel) Meet Class A Emission requirements Meet immunity requirements per IEC CISPR 24, EN 55024 and IEC/EN 61000-6-1 (Office environments) Meet immunity requirements per IEC/EN 61000-6-2 (Heavy Industrial environments)

X10D UTP YES YES YES YES YES NO

(YES if in metal containment)

X10D FTP YES YES YES

Generic Cat 6A FTP YES NO YES

YES YES

YES YES

YES

YES

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathways Training Compliant

6A FTP
Compliant

Data Rates

Standard written around 10Gb/s Category 6A Added to Standard Backwards Compatible with Cat6 and Cat5e Category 5e removed from standard

IEEE 802.11an Standard 10Gb/s over installed base of Category 6

May Require Mitigation

10GBASE-T Power Projection

Technology Improvements Reduce Power Needs
Teranetics TeraPHY
3W
TN 3030

5W 130nm 10W
TN 1010 TN 2020

Source: Linley Group Conference May 2007

2006-7

2007-8

2008-9

Intel Penryn Processor (45 nm technology) available November 2007 32 nm technology processors available in 2009 Each improvement reduces power 30-40%

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathways Training Compliant 10 Gb/s

6A FTP
Compliant 10Gb/s

Maximum Distance
100 Meters Channel Specifies a 4 Connector Model IEEE 802.11an Standard 10Gb/s over installed base of Category 6
37 Meters May Require Mitigation

Performance of Channel vs. Components

When comparing performance specifications it is important to view the entire channel Ensure manufacturer is warranting the entire channel not just the components they manufacture
SYSTIMAX M3600 w/ MGS500
Lucent PATCHMAX

SYSTIMAX M3600 w/ MGS500

Lucent PATCHMAX

MGS500
3 6 1 2

MGS500
3 6 1 2

91A Series Cable GS10E Cord GS10E Cord

GS10E Cord

GS10E Cord

Be careful of Cable test measurements that exceed the TIA568.B.2 - 250 MHz frequency sweep
600 MHz frequency is not achievable in a field channel

Verified Support of 10G 6@1 100m 4-conn Channel

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathways Training Compliant 10 Gb/s 100 meters

6A FTP
Compliant 10Gb/s 100 meters

Cable Diameter
TIA-568-C.1 Specifes maximum cable diameter of .354 inches O.D. Specified for both UTP and FTP Typical UTP O.D. .30 in to .33 in
New UTP introduction of .285 in

Typical FTP O.D. .290 in

6 around 1 configuration

Conduit Fill Ratio

Size

FTP Acond OD

UTP OD

AFTP

AUTP

40% Fill UTP

40%Fill FTP

0.5 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50

0.20 0.44 0.79 1.23 1.77

0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29

0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31

0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07

0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08

1.04 2.34 4.16 6.50 9.37

1.19 2.68 4.76 7.43 10.70

* Plenum Cable used in this illustration

Cable Diameter
Single gang boxes are not large enough to maintain proper bend radius. UTP 4x Outside Diameter of the Cable FTP 8x Outside Diameter of the Cable

1.24 2.3

CAT6A UTP

CAT6A FTP

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathways Training Compliant 10 Gb/s 100 meters .285 in O.D.

6A FTP
Compliant 10Gb/s 100 meters .290 in O.D.

Alien NEXT

Large bundles common in Data Centers Cable geometry dictates the total number of cables with Alien Crosstalk effect on a single cable is SIX (6) The signal strength of non-adjacent cables is simply too weak to induce Alien Crosstalk

Measuring Alien Crosstalk

Test Equipment Setup

Example of 6 around 1 Configuration

FIELD TESTING

Field Testing is NOT specified in the Standards for UTP or FTP it is an option. Most UTP manufacturers do not require ANEXT testing to warranty system To ensure meeting quality metrics both UTP and FTP should be tested. FTP Shield continuity testing

Comparison Chart

6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathway Experience Compliant 10 Gb/s 100 meters .285 in O.D. Not Required*

6A FTP
Compliant 10Gb/s 100 meters .290 in O.D. Not Required*

Shared Cable Pathways

TIA-568-B.2-10 E.4 Test Configurations Alien Cross-talk requirements for category 6A channels and permanent links are specified for bundled configurations containing only category 6A cabling requirements Manufacturers publish specific installation guidelines for various situations

Shared Cable Pathways

Separation of Cat6A UTP cabling from lower categories is an issue if the lower categories are supporting 10G. For all other applications there is no issue. Typical Cabling Requirements

Cable types are laid, routed, and/or bundled in separate groups

Pull each cable type separately Cables can be layered but not intermingled If alternate pulling of each cable type is planned, then side by side
positions in the tray must be allocated for each cable type

Comparison Chart
6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathway Experience Compliant 10 Gb/s 100 meters .285 in O.D. Not Required* Std. Bundling/ Layering Compliant 10Gb/s 100 meters .290 in O.D. Not Required* Std. Bundling

6A FTP

Installation Experience
Structured Cabling Questionnaire
Question 1 2 3 4 What percentage of installations over the past 3 years have been FTP / STP (non-UTP) ? What percentage of installations over the last 3 years have been UTP? How many installation projects have you done in hospital environments in the last 3 years? How many of these hospital projects utilized FTP / STP solutions? Have your Technicians received independent training for FTP /STP Solutions (BICSI, Global Knowledge, NJATC, etc) ? If Yes, what percentage of technicians received training? Have your Technicians received vendor specific training for FTP / STP solutions? If Yes, what percentage of technicians received training? Have your Technicians received independent training for UTP Solutions (BICSI, Global Knowledge, NJATC, etc) ? If Yes, what percentage of technicians received training? Have your Technicians received vendor specific training for UTP solutions? If Yes, what percentage of technicians received training? What percentage of current inventory consists of FTP / STP components? What percentage of current inventory consists of UTP components? Answer

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14

Installation Experience

FTP v. UTP Installations

1%

Non-Vendor FTP Training

6%

Received

99%

94%

Vendor-Specific FTP Training

Percentage of Inventory
0%

9%

Received

FTP

91%

100%

Comparison Chart
6A UTP Parameter
TIA-568-C.1 Data Rate Max Distance Cable Size ANEXT Testing Shared Pathway Experience Compliant 10 Gb/s 100 meters .285 in O.D. Not Required* Std. Bundling/ Layering 84% Worldwide Compliant 10Gb/s 100 meters .290 in O.D. Not Required* Std. Bundling 16% Worldwide

6A FTP

Thank you
Nathan Benton, RCDD/NTS/WD
Technical Manager, NAR Enterprise Solutions nbenton@commscope.com 248.231.8514

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