What is the Cat7 cable and how to terminate
Jul 22, 2023
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To understand how the Cat7 cable is used, we need to address these four questions:
1. What is the Cat7 cable?
2. What are the differences between the Cat7 cable and the Cat6 cable?
4. What are the application scenarios for the Cat7 cable?
Let's explore these four questions together.
1. What is the Cat7 cable?
In most projects, we often use Cat5e cables, and for units with high network requirements, Cat6 cables are used. However, the Cat7 network cable may not be as commonly encountered. It was primarily developed to meet the demands of 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology. Unlike its predecessors, the Cat7 network cable is now a shielded twisted pair.
The Cat7 network cable is an 8-core shielded cable. Unlike regular shielded cables, the Cat7 system relies solely on shielded cables. In the Cat7 network cable, each pair of wires has its own shielding layer, and all four pairs are wrapped together with an additional large shielding layer.
The Cat7 system can provide at least 500MHz of comprehensive attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio and 600MHz of overall bandwidth. It is mainly suitable for 10 Gigabit Ethernet and offers over two times the performance of the Cat6 and Cat6a cables, with a transmission rate of up to 10Gbps.
However, the Cat7 network cable is not widely used yet due to reasons like lack of unified standards and interfaces, high costs, and limited application range.
2,What are the differences between Cat7 and Cat6 network cables?
2.1 Cat7 network cable is a higher-level cable compared to Cat6 network cable, and it has the following differences:
Shielding Type: Cat7 network cable is a shielded twisted pair, where each pair of wires has its own shielding layer. On the other hand, the Cat6 network cable can be an unshielded twisted pair.
Performance Improvement: Cat7 network cable provides a higher comprehensive attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio and overall bandwidth, making it suitable for higher transmission rates, reaching up to 10Gbps.
Application Range: Cat7 network cable is mainly designed to meet the demands of 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology, whereas Cat6 network cable is commonly used for Gigabit Ethernet.
2.2 Cat6A Cable:
The highest transmission frequency reaches 500MHz, which is twice that of Category 6 cables. It is mainly used for 10 Gigabit (10G) networks. The outer skin is labeled as "CAT.6A". Additionally, Category 6A cables support 10 Gigabit Ethernet and will have a similar marking on their appearance.
Category 6A cables come in two types. Generally, the single-stranded bare copper wire has a diameter of 23AWG, approximately 0.573 millimeters, while there is also Category 6A cable with 24AWG, with a thickness of about 0.511 millimeters.
2.3 Cat7 Cable:
Category 7 cables have performance similar to Category 6A cables. They are made of pure copper with 8 cores and have a shielding layer, providing enhanced performance. The transmission speed can reach 10Gbps, making them suitable for data center applications and other scenarios.
Each pair of wires in Category 7 cables has a shielding layer, typically made of metal foil shielding. In addition to this, there is another overall shielding layer made of metal braided wire shielding (Braided Shield) outside the 8 cores. The interface is the same as RJ-45. The total shielding and pair shielding (generally metal foil shielding) of Category 7 cables enable them to achieve a maximum transmission frequency of 600MHz for S/FTP Cat.7 (HSYVP-7). The transmission frequency of Category 7 cables is 1000MHz. Category 7 fully supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
The cores used in Category 7 cables are made of high-quality oxygen-free copper with a diameter of nearly 0.58mm, slightly thicker than those used in Cat 6 cables. They utilize chemically foamed insulation, greatly improving the transmission capability of each individual core.
In summary, the diagram below illustrates the differences between Cat 5, Cat 6, and Cat 7 cables:
2.5 It's worth mentioning Cat8 cables as well, which, similar to Cat7 cables, have double-layer shielding (SFTP).
Ca 8 cables have two pairs of wires, an ultra-high bandwidth of 2000MHz, and a transmission speed of up to 40Gb/s. However, their maximum transmission distance is only 30 meters. As a result, they are generally used for short-distance connections in data centers, such as servers, switches, patch panels, and other devices. Despite the short transmission distance, Category 8 cables offer much higher transmission speeds and frequency bandwidth compared to other categories.
3. What type of rJ45 plug is used for Cat7 network cables? How to make a rj45 plug for Cat7 network cables?
3.1 Cat7 plug
As you can see, the Cat7 network cable plug comes with a metal shielding shell. Because Cat7 cables adopt a single-pair shielding, followed by an overall shielding structure, the Cat7 plug is shielded, which effectively reduces crosstalk between wire pairs.
3.2 The termination of Cat7 Network Cable
Cat7 network cables use RJ-45 connectors, which are commonly used to connect the cables to network devices such as computers, switches, routers, etc. The steps to make an rj45 plug for Cat7 network cables are as follows:
a. Strip the Cable: Use a cable stripper to remove the outer sheath of the cable, exposing the 8 twisted pairs of wires. Be careful not to damage the twisted pairs.
b. Arrange the Twisted Pairs: Arrange the 8 twisted pairs in the correct color sequence and trim them to ensure they are of equal length.
c. Insert into the RJ45 plug: Insert the arranged 8 twisted pairs into the rj45 plug, making sure each pair reaches the bottom of the rj45 plug and follows the pinout of the connector.
d. Crimping: Place the rj45 plug into a crimping tool and press firmly to ensure a tight connection between the twisted pairs and the connector pins.
e. Inspection: Check if the crimped rj45 plug is secure, and the twisted pairs are intact and in the correct order.
f. Repeat: Repeat the above steps to make the other end of the cable, completing the Cat7 network cable assembly.
4. What are the application scenarios for Cat7 network cables?
Due to their high transmission rate and bandwidth, Cat7 network cables are mainly used in scenarios that require high-speed data transmission, especially for applications involving 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology, providing high-speed and stable data transmission. Cat7 network cables are suitable for environments that require larger network bandwidth and higher performance, such as data centers, enterprise networks, high-performance computing, etc. However, due to factors like standards and costs, the usage of Cat7 network cables is still relatively limited, and they are typically used in specific situations where high-speed transmission is required.
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