El cable Cat 8 es un estándar de cableado de par trenzado de próxima generación, diseñado para soportar tasas de datos Ethernet de 25 Gbps y 40 Gbps en distancias de hasta 30 metros. Este tipo de cable es totalmente compatible hacia atrás con el cable Cat 6a y requiere un sistema de cableado blindado para cumplir con los estrictos requisitos de rendimiento. Aunque el producto Cat 8 aún no está disponible en el mercado, se espera que surja pronto para satisfacer las necesidades de interconexión en centros de datos y soportar las especificaciones emergentes de 25Gbase-T y 40Gbase-T.

1. WHITE PAPER
FS.COM White Paper | Do You Know About Cat 8 Cable?
Cat 5e or Cat 6 cables now are the mainstream of the copper network solution, but optical
technology are progressing to promote higher category copper cables for the increasingly
heavy-loaded data center. Recently Cat 8 cables has been frequently talked about, especially after
the TIA category 8 cabling standard approved. Category 8 is regarded as the next-generation
twisted-pair cabling specification, which is still under development. Here is what we need to know
about the basics of Cat 8 cabling.
Main Features of Category 8 Standard
Cat 8 cable is especially designed to support 25G or 40G Ethernet data rate with a link distance of
up to 30 meters, which is sufficient for most switch-to-server connections for top-of-rack (ToR),
middle-of-row (MoR) or end-of-row (EoR) topologies. In addition, category 8 cabling is fully
backward compatible with category 6A cabling, including RJ45 connectivity, and supports all
Category 6A applications such as 10GBASE-T for a distance of 100 meters.
Category 8 cabling and components are specified with transmission performance of up to 2 GHz
(four times the bandwidth of Category 6A cabling and two times the bandwidth of category 7) with
more stringent alien crosstalk requirements. Meeting these requirements requires a shielded
cabling system (F/UTP, S/FTP or F/FTP), just as seen in the above picture. What’s more, the cat 8
cables do not need more power to operate over shorter distances for 25GBASE-T/40GBASE-T
application. The power needed to transmit a signal 30 meters at 40 Gb/s is approximately the same
as the power needed for 10GBASE-T transmission for distances up to 100 meters.
Do You Know About Cat
8 Cable?

2. WHITE PAPER
FS.COM White Paper | Do You Know About Cat 8 Cable?
How to Compare Category 8 to Those of Previous-Generation Twisted-pair
Cabling Systems—Category 5, 6, 6A, 7, 7A?
The cat 5e cables was introduced in 1999 with the use of 100-meter, 4-connector channel in
structure cabling. The primary differences between category systems is the frequency at which the
signal is transmitted over the cable. Cat 6 cables are designed to support 10Gbqs with a frequency
of 500 MHz. While Category 7/7A as n advanced version of cat 6 cables offers a 100-meter
4-connector channel using shielded cabling, and has been designed to transmit signals at a
frequency of 1000 MHz. Even though Category 7/7A operates at the higher frequency, there is no
corresponding improvement in data rate over Category 6A because 10GBase-T is still the fastest
twisted-pair-based data rate recognized by IEEE 802.3.
Category 8 is a significant departure from previous systems in that it uses a frequency of 2000 MHz,
and is limited to a 30-meter 2-connector channel. Unlike Category 5e or Category 6A, which could
use either unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) or shielded cable construction, Category 8 will require
shielded cabling. The most likely cable construction for Category 8 will be 22-AWG S/FTP cabling.
Category 8 is also unique in that the ISO standard will recognize two different classes of product.
Class I is based on the traditional RJ45 connector, while Class II will accept non-RJ45 connectors
similar to Category 7/7A. While both solutions will offer backward compatibility in terms of
transmitting the lower category data rates (1G or 10G), the Class I solution offers a migration path
using the RJ45 connector platform. For example, a customer might install a Category 8 jack-to-jack
link now, but continue to use Category 6A patch cords until the active equipment is upgraded.
Given Category 8’s Capabilities, where Is It Most Likely to be Deployed?
Category 8 cabling is designed to support emerging IEEE 25GBase-T and 40GBase-T needed as
server-to-access-switch interconnect applications. This need has been identified and available, or
under development, over optical fiber links for longer reach (up to 500 meters), or twinax links for
short reach (up to 7 meters).

3. WHITE PAPER
FS.COM White Paper | Do You Know About Cat 8 Cable?
The opportunity for balanced twisted-pair as a cost-effective viable media option for the
intermediate distance needs between 5 and 30 meters, sufficient to serve 20 cabinets or racks in a
data center, led to the initiation and development of both the IEEE 802.3 application standards and
the associated TIA as well as ISO/IEC Category 8 cabling standards.
How to Install Category 8 Cables?
Category 8 will be a shielded, field-terminable, and with a very high bandwidth. Thus there to be at
least some improvements made to how jacks are terminated in the field to both meet this new
bandwidth and to ensure a good bond with the shield. Additionally, contractors must make sure
that the cable is properly grounded. If the connector companies do their job right, grounding the
Category 8 cables and connectors will be a seamless process for the installer, which is all based on
the RJ45 connector. Any component qualified as a Category 8 component will also meet
requirements specified for Category 6A and lower components.
Conclusion
Cat 8 product recently is not available on the market now, but it is believed that in the near future
cat 8 related items will be ubiquitous. Cat 8 cabling are meant to support 25GBASE-T and
40GBASE-T specifications, which will greatly propel the development of 25G and 40G network.
FS.COM will continue our efforts to stay in close touch with the latest technology and bring you the
best products and services. We provide plenty of Cat 5/cat 6/ cat 7 components to meet your
special requirement. Besides the copper cables, we also have the fiber optic cables terminated with
several connectors like SC fiber patch cord, fiber patch cables LC to LC, LC to LC patch cord and so on.
If you want to know more about our products, please sens your request to us.

4. WHITE PAPER
FS.COM White Paper | Do You Know About Cat 8 Cable?
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or
implied, concerning any equipment, equipment features, or service offered or to be offered by FS.COM.
FS.COM reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no
responsibility for its use. This information document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a FS.COM sales team for information on feature and product availability.
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