A patch cord is a network cable with two end connectors (crystal heads or modules), also known as a finished network cable. Also classified like Ethernet cables: CAT3 CAT5E CAT6 CAT6A CAT7 CAT8, etc., composed of Ethernet cables, crystal heads, and crystal head protective covers. In addition to the conventional circular patch cord, there are two types of network patch cord, namely ultra-fine patch cord and flat patch cord.
Ultra fine patch cord: refers to a wire diameter smaller than conventional jumpers. Ultra fine patch cord only has unshielded and does not differentiate between CAT5E, CAT6, and CAT6A, because the structure is the same, with only different printing. There are generally two types of conductor wire diameters: 28AWG and 32AWG. The 28AWG wire diameter is about 3.8mm, and the 32AWG wire diameter is about 2.7mm.
Flat patch cords (such as CAT6 UTP Flat PATCH CABLE) can be divided into two types of structures: unshielded and shielded, without distinguishing between types. The unshielded can be referred to as CAT5E or CAT6; The shielding can be said to be CAT6A or CAT7.
| category | UTP(U/UTP) | FTP(F/UTP) | SFTP(SF/UTP) | SFTP(S/FTP) |
| CAT5E | 26AWG | 26AWG | 26AWG | / |
| CAT6 | 26AWG | 26AWG | 26AWG | / |
| CAT6A | 26AWG | 26AWG | / | 28AWG |
| CAT7 | / | / | / | 28AWG |
Data center.
Office environment.
Home network.
