Networked Enterprise Featured Article

Data is being created today faster than any other time in history. This is putting a lot of pressure on data centers and network operators responsible for storing and transporting this information. Each new technology designed to address the growing demand has to be quickly reassessed because of the growth being experienced around the world. Category 8 is the classification for the next-generation twisted-pair cabling specifications that will allow data centers to transport data four times faster. Already past the development stage, Category 8 is now being tested, and Panduit, a global provider of next-generation Data Center solutions, has announced its Category 8 copper cabling system has been tested and confirmed by Intertek (News - Alert), an independent third party laboratory.

The result for the Panduit test has revealed the company’s cable will meet the proposed Category 8 TIA (News - Alert)-568-C.2-1 standard.  The goal of the TIA-568-C.2-1 standard is to ensure Category 8 cables are economical without sacrificing quality and familiarity of the technology so it can be easily implemented. The standard is expected to be ratified in 2016.

Designed to support Ethernet data rates of 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T at channel lengths up to 30 meters, Category 8 cabling systems will offer data centers increased capability to transport data faster. According to Panduit, the cables are designed for the data center of the future. It provides a cost-effective solution that is simple to deploy with a universal RJ45 interface for both end-of-row and top-of-rack architectures.

“Panduit has successfully developed a full 30-meter system that meets the latest Category 8 draft standard,” stated Antoine Pelletier, Project Engineer, Intertek. “The successful performance of this system shows the industry is embracing this new challenging standard that has 4 times the bandwidth of existing Category 6A to support both 25 and 40 gigabit transmission.”

As part of the IEEE (News - Alert) Next Generation BASE-T Study Group, the IEEE P802.3bq 40GBASE-T Task Force, and the IEEE 25GBASE-T Study Group, Panduit has been involved from the start to create next generation Ethernet equipment and the next generation Category 8 cabling systems to run 25 and 40GBASE-T. The company has made 17 publicly available contributions to support to the development of these new technologies and improve the future of data delivery.