The Myths and Realities of 10Gbase-T Claims in the Marketplace Today

With the 10Gigabit Ethernet standards still in a state of flux, and with key measurement procedures and performance limits yet to be finalized, there is a great deal of confusion in the industry surrounding 10Gbase-T technology. To ensure that your cabling system will provide guaranteed compliance to all current and future 10G channel specifications identified by the IEEE and TIA committees, consider the following myths that are being heard throughout the marketplace today:

Myth:
You need a cabling system specified the 625 MHz to support 10Gbase-T
-OR -
My 10G UTP system only needs to be specified to 250 MHz (Cat6).
Reality:
According to the latest requirements from IEEE, the target frequency range for 10Gbase-T is 500MHz.
Look for:
Channel performance specifications for frequencies up to 500 MHz.

Myth:
Our 10G UTP cabling system includes existing Cat 6 cables and channels that are tested to 625 MHz and perform better than an extrapolated Cat 6 limit, therefore I can support 10GBase-T to 100 meters.
Reality:
Any existing Cat 6 UTP cable can be tested to 625 MHz. However, Cat 6 cables do not address Alien Crosstalk and will not support 10Gbase-T to a full 100 meters.
Look for:
Independent 3rd party test results for Alien Crosstalk performance compared to at least the proposed limits set forth in the latest TIA drafts.

Myth:
Our system provides 625 MHz of 'usable bandwidth' with existing Cat 6 cables, therefore we can 'guarantee' support for 10Gbase-T to 100 meters.
Reality:
The critical issues for full 10Gbase-T support are related to channel and Signal-To-Noise Ratio (SNR), which are heavily affected by Alien Crosstalk, not addressed by existing Cat 6 cables. This is why TSB-155 was created in the first place.
Look for:
Statements in the warranty that refer to "channel lengths not exceeding the specified length limitation associated with the application." This is basically a caveat that means that the system will support some shorter distance than a full 100 meters (per TSB-155).

Myth:
Computer modeling of our channel performance is accurate enough to predict the actual installed performance of our channels. We can therefore guarantee full 100-meter 10Gbase-T support without having done a significant number of real-world tests.
Reality:
Even the most sophisticated computer model cannot fully predict every possible source of noise or interference in a UTP channel, or the impact of installation on the cable and connector terminations.
Look for:
Independent 3rd party test results for all performance claims, not only for standard NEXT, Insertion Loss, Return Loss, ELFEXT, but also Alien Crosstalk using the most stringent 6-around-1 test method.

Myth:
Our channel's Alien Crosstalk performance is "sufficient to overcome this challenge". Since there is no standard we don't need to show our Alien Crosstalk performance or specify how we tested it.
Reality:
There are target numbers for Alien Crosstalk in the most recent drafts of the IEEE and TIA documents. The most stringent test method for Alien Crosstalk testing is 6-around-1. Both UL and ETL have the capability to provide this testing.
Look for:
Independent 3rd party test results for Alien Crosstalk using the most stringent 6-around-1 test method.

Myth:
There is no existing copper twisted pair channel standard today that will support 10Gbase-T.
Reality:
In addition to listing a new performance category of Augmented Cat 6, IEEE identified both Class F (Category 7) and Class E (Category 6) FTP channels as channel models that will support 10Gbase-T. Neither of these shielded cabling types will require changes to their existing performance specifications to provide full 100-meter support.
Look for:
Cat 6 FTP channels compliant to the existing 568-B.2 standard with independently verified Alien Crosstalk performance like the NetClear GTS cabling system from Berk-Tek Ortronics.

Myth:
Meets or exceeds proposed Augmented Category 6 requirements as per Augmented Category 6 Draft 1 of TSB-155, ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 Category 6, and ISO/IEC 11801 Ed:2002 Class E channels.
Reality:
Augmented Category 6 channel specifications are not part of TSB-155, but are part of a separate document. TSB-155 is specifically for existing Category 6 performance characterization beyond 250 MHz out to 500 MHz. Further, TSB-155 does not specify full 100-meter channel length support, but a shorter channel length.
Look for:
Guaranteed performance to the latest TIA draft document for Augmented Category 6.