International standard ISO/IEC 11801 ''Information technology — Generic cabling for customer premises'' specifies general-purpose
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
cabling systems (
structured cabling
In telecommunications, structured cabling is building or campus cabling infrastructure that consists of a number of standardized smaller elements (hence structured) called subsystems. Structured cabling components include twisted pair and opti ...
) that are suitable for a wide range of applications (analog and ISDN telephony, various
data communication
Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point or ...
standards, building
control system
A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...
s,
factory automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
). It is published by
ISO/IEC JTC 1
ISO/IEC JTC 1, entitled "Information technology", is a joint technical committee (JTC) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its purpose is to develop, maintain and pr ...
/
SC 25/WG 3 of the
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...
(ISO) and the
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...
(IEC). It covers both balanced copper cabling and optical fibre cabling.
The standard was designed for use within commercial premises that may consist of either a single building or of multiple buildings on a campus. It was optimized for premises that span up to 3 km, up to 1 km
2 office space, with between 50 and 50,000 persons, but can also be applied for installations outside this range.
A major revision was released in November 2017, unifying requirements for commercial, home and industrial networks.
Classes and categories
The standard defines several link/channel classes and cabling categories of
twisted-pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring used for communications in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic compatibility. Compared to a single conductor or an untwisted ba ...
copper interconnects, which differ in the maximum frequency for which a certain channel performance is required:
* Class A: link/channel up to 100 kHz using
Category 1 cable/connectors
* Class B: link/channel up to 1 MHz using
Category 2 cable/connectors
* Class C: link/channel up to 16 MHz using
Category 3 cable/connectors
* Class D: link/channel up to 100 MHz using
Category 5e cable/connectors
* Class E: link/channel up to 250 MHz using
Category 6 cable/connectors
* Class E
A: link/channel up to 500 MHz using
Category 6A cable/connectors (Amendment 1 and 2 to ISO/IEC 11801, 2nd Ed.)
* Class F: link/channel up to 600 MHz using
Category 7 cable/connectors
* Class F
A: link/channel up to 1000 MHz using
Category 7A cable/connectors (Amendment 1 and 2 to ISO/IEC 11801, 2nd Ed.)
* Class BCT-B: link/channel up to 1000 MHz using with coaxial cabling for BCT applications. (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11)
* Class I: link/channel up to 2000 MHz using
Category 8.1 cable/connectors (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11)
* Class II: link/channel up to 2000 MHz using Category 8.2 cable/connectors (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11)
The standard link impedance is 100 Ω (The older 1995 version of the standard also permitted 120 Ω and 150 Ω in Classes A−C, but this was removed from the 2002 edition).
The standard defines several classes of
optical fiber
An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
interconnect:
* OM1: Multimode fiber type 62.5 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 200 MHz·km at 850 nm
* OM2: Multimode fiber type 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 500 MHz·km at 850 nm
* OM3: Multimode fiber type 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 2000 MHz·km at 850 nm
* OM4: Multimode fiber type 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 4700 MHz·km at 850 nm
* OM5: Multimode fiber type 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 4700 MHz·km at 850 nm and 2470 MHz·km at 953 nm
* OS1: Single-mode fiber type 1 dB/km attenuation at 1310 and 1550 nm
* OS1a: Single-mode fiber type 1 dB/km attenuation at 1310, 1383, and 1550 nm
* OS2: Single-mode fiber type 0.4 dB/km attenuation at 1310, 1383, and 1550 nm
OM5
OM5 fiber is designed for wideband applications using
SWDM multiplexing of 4–16 carriers (40G=4λ×10G, 100G=4λ×25G, 400G=4×4λ×25G) in the 850–953 nm range.
Category 7
Class F channel and Category 7 cable are
backward compatible
Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially in ...
with Class D/Category 5e and Class E/Category 6. Class F features even stricter specifications for
crosstalk
In electronics, crosstalk is any phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one circuit or channel of a transmission system creates an undesired effect in another circuit or channel. Crosstalk is usually caused by undesired capacitive, induc ...
and system noise than Class E. To achieve this,
shielding was added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole. Unshielded cables rely on the quality of the twists to protect from EMI. This involves a tight twist and carefully controlled design. Cables with individual shielding per pair such as category 7 rely mostly on the shield and therefore have pairs with longer twists.
The Category 7 cable standard was ratified in 2002, and primarily introduced to support
10 gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
cabling. It contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards, terminated either with
GG45
GG45 (GigaGate 45) and ARJ45 (Augmented RJ45) are two related connectors for Category 7, Category 7A, and Category 8 telecommunication cabling. The GG45 interface and related implementations are developed and sold by Nexans S.A., while the ...
electrical connectors or with
TERA
TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104.
Th ...
connectors rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz.
However, in 2006, Category 6
A was ratified for Ethernet to allow 10 Gbit/s while still using the traditional
8P8C connector (often erroneously referred to as
RJ-45
A registered jack (RJ) is a standardized telecommunication network interface for connecting voice and data equipment to a service provided by a local exchange carrier or long distance carrier. Registration interfaces were first defined in t ...
, a visually similar connector). Care is required to avoid signal degradation by mixing cable and connectors not designed for that use, however similar. Most manufacturers of active equipment and network cards have chosen to support the 8P8C for their 10 gigabit Ethernet products on copper and not the
GG45
GG45 (GigaGate 45) and ARJ45 (Augmented RJ45) are two related connectors for Category 7, Category 7A, and Category 8 telecommunication cabling. The GG45 interface and related implementations are developed and sold by Nexans S.A., while the ...
,
ARJ45
GG45 (GigaGate 45) and ARJ45 (Augmented RJ45) are two related connectors for Category 7, Category 7A, and Category 8 telecommunication cabling. The GG45 interface and related implementations are developed and sold by Nexans S.A., while the ...
, or
TERA
TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104.
Th ...
.
Therefore, the Category 6 specification was revised to Category
A to permit this use; products therefore require a Class E
A channel (ie, Cat 6
A).
As of 2019 some equipment has been introduced which has connectors supporting the Class F (Category 7) channel.
Note, however, that Category 7 is not recognized by the
TIA
TIA or Tia may refer to:
Aviation
* Tampa International Airport, US, IATA code TPA
* Texas International Airlines, US, ICAO code
* Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, Albania, IATA code
* Trans International Airlines, former U.S. airl ...
/
EIA Eia or EIA may refer to:
Medicine
* Enzyme immunoassay
* Equine infectious anemia
* Exercise-induced anaphylaxis
* Exercise-induced asthma
* External iliac artery
Transport
* Edmonton International Airport, in Alberta, Canada
* Erbil Internation ...
.
Category 7A
Class F
A (Class F Augmented) channels and Category 7
A cables, introduced by ISO 11801 Edition 2 Amendment 2 (2010), are defined at frequencies up to 1000 MHz, suitable for multiple applications including
CATV
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
(862 MHz).
The intent of the Class F
A was to possibly support the future 40 gigabit Ethernet: 40Gbase-T. Simulation results have shown that
40 gigabit Ethernet may be possible at 50 meters and 100 gigabit Ethernet at 15 meters. In 2007, researchers at
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
predicted that either 32 nm or 22 nm circuits would allow for 100 gigabit Ethernet at 100 meters.
However, in 2016, the IEEE 802.3bq working group ratified the amendment 3 which defines 25Gbase-T and 40gbase-T on Category 8 cabling specified to 2000 MHz. The Class F
A therefore does not support 40G Ethernet.
As of 2017 there is no equipment that has connectors supporting the Class F
A (Category 7
A) channel.
Category 7
A is not recognized in TIA/EIA.
Category 8
Category 8 was ratified by the TR43 working group under ANSI/TIA 568-C.2-1. It is defined up to 2000 MHz and only for distances up to 30 m or 36 m, depending on the patch cords used.
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 developed the equivalent standard ISO/IEC 11801-1:2017/COR 1:2018, with two options:
* Class I channel (Category 8.1 cable): minimum cable design
U/FTP or F/UTP, fully backward compatible and interoperable with Class E
A (Category 6
A) using
8P8C connectors;
* Class II channel (Category 8.2 cable): F/FTP or S/FTP minimum, interoperable with Class F
A (Category 7
A) using
TERA
TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104.
Th ...
or
GG45
GG45 (GigaGate 45) and ARJ45 (Augmented RJ45) are two related connectors for Category 7, Category 7A, and Category 8 telecommunication cabling. The GG45 interface and related implementations are developed and sold by Nexans S.A., while the ...
.
Category 8 cabling was designed primarily for data centers where distances between switches and servers are short and is not intended for general office cabling.
Acronyms for twisted pairs
Annex E, ''Acronyms for balanced cables'', provides a system to specify the exact construction for both unshielded and shielded balanced twisted pair cables. It uses three letters - U for unshielded, S for braided shielding, and F for foil shielding - to form a two-part abbreviation in the form of xx/xTP, where the first part specifies the type of overall cable shielding, and the second part specifies shielding for individual cable elements.
Common cable types include U/UTP (unshielded cable); U/FTP (individual pair shielding without the overall screen); F/UTP, S/UTP, or SF/UTP (overall screen without individual shielding); and F/FTP, S/FTP, or SF/FTP (overall screen with individual foil shielding).
2017 edition
In November 2017, a new edition was released by
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 "Interconnection of information technology equipment". It is a major revision of the standard which has unified several prior standards for commercial, home, and industrial networks, as well as data centers, and defines requirements for generic cabling and distributed building networks.
The new series of standards replaces the former 11801 standard and includes six parts:
Versions
* ISO/IEC 11801:1995 (Ed. 1) - First edition
* ISO/IEC 11801:2000 (Ed. 1.1) - Edition 1, Amendment 1
* ISO/IEC 11801:2002 (Ed. 2) - Second edition
* ISO/IEC 11801:2008 (Ed. 2.1) - Edition 2, Amendment 1
* ISO/IEC 11801:2010 (Ed. 2.2) - Edition 2, Amendment 2
* ISO/IEC 11801-(1-6):2017/COR 1:2018/AMD 1:2021 - Current edition
See also
*
Ethernet over twisted pair
Ethernet over twisted-pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. They are a subset of all Ethernet physical layers.
Early Ethernet used various grades of coaxial cable, but in 1984, Sta ...
*
Twisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring used for communications in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic compatibility. Compared to a single conductor or an untwisted ba ...
*
TIA/EIA-568
ANSI/TIA-568 is a technical standard for commercial building cabling for telecommunications products and services. The title of the standard is ''Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard'' and is published by the Telecommunications ...
*
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25
References
Further reading
* International standard ISO/IEC 11801: Information technology — Generic cabling for customer premises''.
* European standard EN 50173: Information technology — Generic cabling systems. 1995.
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