When Shielded or Unshielded Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cable Need

You are surely familiar with the Shielded and Unshielded Ethernet Cables. But what is the scenario to choose between shielded or unshielded Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cables? Here is the brief guide for your evaluation. 

While constructing a house or office you are very curious about the material for wall design, furniture, and other important factors that may depict awesome architectural work. The same is the case with networking cables like “Cat6 Plenum Shielded Cable”. The network cable internal features portray their right need and quality. 

The LAN cables are used for shorter and longer lengths to cover all the possible nearby connections to the computers and other networking devices including PoE. But there is a twist to selecting the right cable for your needs. This blog will cover all the important information regarding the Cat6 plenum shielded and unshielded cables. 

Starting with the comparison between STP and UTP Cat6 plenum ethernet cable. Read this blog to the end to know thoroughly about the hidden secret of STP and UTP cables. 

Difference — Shielded and Unshielded Cables

Attributes	Shielded Cat6 (STP)	Unshielded Cat6 (UTP)
Shielding	Yes, F/UTP – Aluminum Foil and sometimes Braided Mess	No Shielding is present in UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cables
EMI/RFI Protection	Less prone to EMI or RFI interference. The shield restricts entering the outer signal from disrupting the cable’s signal integrity	Only twisted pairs are involved to reduce crosstalk and signal interference. Becomes susceptible to EMI at longer lengths
Effect of Crosstalk	Foil or braid is both involved in reducing the crosstalk to maintain the transmission intact	It is not good for installing in crowded spaces with power and networking cables
Performance	Potentially better performance for longer distances – Fight against external noises	Has tight twisted pairs but if used in complex wiring structures — may lag or slow down the speed
Cable Flexibility	The cable’s outer diameter is 7.00 mmMin. bending radius is 4.9cm and 2.00 inch	Unshielded cable outer jacket diameter is 6.00 mm, Min. bending radius is 2.4 cm and 1.00 inch
Cost	Most expensive due to the presence of an additional insulation layer	Less expensive choice for cabling
Installation	Challenging and needs grounding for proper functionality	UTP cables are general ethernet cables you can install by DIY method
Applications	Suitable for EMI active areas, mission-impossible installation, near radio transmitters, power lines, etc	Only suitable for stationary spaces within the buildings. Not good to install cables near power lines.

Additional Considerations

There are some other factors that you should know to understand the terminology of Cat6 plenum shielded ethernet cables.

• Grounding — Cat 6 shielded plenum cable needs to be grounded with the RJ45 connector at both ends for optimal performance. There is a drain wire that protects the extra current from passing through without damaging the cable conductors. 
• Cable Quality — The top priority is to buy high-quality Cat6 Plenum Ethernet Cable and this could be possible if you choose it from a reputed brand. 
• Future Proofing — The Cat6 plenum 1000ft cable cable will provide future-proofing when installed with low server speed. You have a maximum bracket to upgrade the server speed. 

Choosing the Right Cat6 Plenum Cable

The cat6 plenum ethernet cable is the top choice for your gigabit networking. It is ideal with some of its main benefits and core characteristics. 

• The Bare Copper Conductor — The solid copper conductor construction makes it a vivid choice for high-density applications. Low electrical resistance, anti-corrosive properties, and recommended bending radius make it ideal for installation. 

Important Note: Bulk Cat6 Plenum Cable has recommended a bending radius for installing sharp bends. If you exceed the limit the inside conductors might kink. 

• Plenum Fire Resistive Jacket — FEP material jacket protects the cable from catching fire. The LSZH properties ensure the cable emits non-toxic smoke. 
• High-Speed Transmission — It can deliver two-speed ratings — for shorter lengths (164ft) the speed is 10 Gbps. At 328ft in length, the speed of Bulk Cat6 Plenum Cable is 1 Gbps. 
• Conductor Diameter — The Cat6 plenum observes a 23 AWG conductor size that will easily transfer the electrical current from one end to another. 
• Spline — It is said to be very beneficial and known as a twisted pair separator. It reduces the effect of pair-to-pair crosstalk. This is a plastic cross-skeleton material that is eliminated in the termination process of Bulk Cat6 Cable. 
• Bandwidth — The Cat6 cable has a maximum bandwidth of 550 MHz which is ideal for running Fast Ethernet Applications like PoE, PoE+, PoE++, etc. 4K video streaming and online gaming. 

The Anatomy of Cat 6 Plenum Shielded Cable

The Cat6 shielded plenum cables have many variants like F/UTP, U/FTP, S/UTP, and S/FTP. All these are known as shielded variants as they are backed up by the Aluminum Foil or Braid Mess. So, let’s learn what is the difference between UTP and STP cables. 

All the features like bandwidth, conductor gauge, speed, and internal characteristics remain the same but there are some other differences in Cat 6 shielded plenum cables.

• Foil Shielded Cable — F/UTP is an Aluminum foil-shielded cable. The whole length of the cable is protected by a Foil shield and there is no shield present on the twisted pair of cables. This foil shield is backed up by mylar. 
• PE Tape — A transparent polyethylene jacket beneath the foil shield protects the conductors. 
• Drain Wire — The main function of drain wire is bonding, when the cable is terminated with shielded RJ45, it connects with the connector to the chassis of the device it is connected to. 

These are the main properties of the Cat6 Plenum Cable which separates this cable from the UTP one. Now let’s read out where you need Cat 6 shielded plenum cable and unshielded Cat6 plenum cable. 

When To Choose Cat6 Plenum Shielded and Unshielded Cables

Networking cable installation is one of the hectic tasks to run cable according to their specific destinations. For that reason, the engineers have provided the two main jackets for indoor installation — Plenum and Riser. 

But sometimes, the environment is not friendly and overcrowded with other electrical cables running vertically and horizontally. Yeah, there’s what Cat 6 Shielded Plenum Cable jumps in. 

• The F/UTP Cat6 plenum shielded cables are better to install for an environment with the maximum EMI or RFI interference. 
• When there is a need to install LAN cables to hospitals, education sectors, or adjoining buildings or campuses. Shielded cables are used for longer runs. 
• In hospitals, especially in radiology departments, several rays can disturb signal potential. 
• The Shield inside the cat6 plenum 1000ft (Bulk) cable acts as a Faraday Cage which ultimately puts a barrier to the wandering outside signals to enter the data stream. 
• To install cable for longer runs, industrial setups are surrounded by heavy machinery that could be the cause of signal fluctuations. 

Now For UTP cat6 plenum 1000ft cables — they are the normal cables with no additional insulation and just the conductor wires. They are mostly used for 

• Home and office installation 
• SMEs cabling
• Minimum EMI environment
• Stationary environment
• Data Centers
• Network closets
• With patch panels

In A Nutshell

The debate between Shielded and Unshielded cables is tricky as you need to understand the terminology of the cable for the ideal installation. There is another factor of price which is ignorable but if you invest in the wrong cable this little impact will sound more. 

So, there must be a check on the environment to install Cat6 plenum shielded cable or Unshielded bulk Cat6 plenum cable. Cat 6 shielded plenum cable with pure copper is the best server for your high-end applications.