I am being recommended Shielded Cable and Jacks for a project. Why would you need it for Voice and Data? Has anyone ever worked with Shielded Cable and Jacks. And for what applications do you recommend it? The installer I am working with sent me a quote and it had this below Cat 5e connector on it.

https://www.cablegiant.com/Default.aspx?p_id=4&Product_id=93

Why would you need it for Voice and Data?

You don't and if you charge properly nobody will want to pay for it either. Sounds like some CG or IT "professional" has been reading a book.

-Hal

What type of facility is this going to be in? I am with Hal..I doubt you are going to need it.

The ICC products are very good, but I too would question the need for shielded. Of course there may be some extenuating circumstances that your installer may be aware of.

Shielded and screened network cables are popular in Europe, but not so much in the States. Apparently, Europe has a lot of grounding issues that we don't have over here. (So I've been told.)

You need to question the installer as to why he or she has made that recommendation. There are certain environments where shielded cable is the way to go. In areas where there is a lot of equipment that may produce EMI-RFI such as factory floors with heavy machinery then this may be the way to go. Typically in an office environment there isnt much that may cause interference if the cable is properly routed and the installer maintains recommended distances from interference causing devices. So look at the environment, determine if there are going to be any areas where there might be a high level or EMI-RMI and then if there are you can use shielded cable there. Its also not necessary to use shielded cable throughout the entire installation just because you may use it in an area or two. Without looking at your environment I wouldnt be able to say whether you need it or not but your installer should be able to answer the question. If their answer is shaky and leaves any doubts then it may be time to seek another contractor. For example if the answer is "because its better" then you might want to run!

While I follow along with what has been said here. NFC has a point that needs to be addressed. The installer may know something you don't.

There may be a high amount of foreign frequency or voltage in your application. There are several things that may cause this, the least of which are transformers. Honestly I would not quote shielded unless it was needed. There is more work involved in connection than with non shielded products. So that has to be considered as well.

As for the jack you link to, I don't see were its below C5e.

Europe has a lot of "grounding issues" because of the US.

The expectation after WWII was that WWIII would start on the plains of Germany and that it would begin with the explosion of a low yield nuclear device in the atmosphere, designed to disrupt all communications.

To counter this, when we rebuilt the West German communications network we insisted that shielded cable be used exclusively. As other European countries rebuilt their networks they too, adopted the shielded model. It's now the standard in Europe.

When I did the renovation of Time/Life's headquarters in Rockefeller Center they started using all ITT Shielded Cat 6 connectors and panels.

They worked well, but they were a pain in the butt. Allow more time to install jacks & panels and more time to test and troubleshoot. If you're certifying them, make sure your tester supports shielded cable.

Sam

Only thing I can think of, besides the previous anti-EMP comment, would be extreme RFI situations, but I can't think of any actual situations I have ever seen that necessitated shielded jacks and cables.

I can think of one place in the US that should have shielded cable, and know of several who do. Radio repair facilities. Probably also anyone who works on radar. The radio's coming in are not transmitting to spec, and may induce EMI on the lines even when in spec if they are not power adjustable. When the place is small 1-2 techs it is usually not an issue, but as they grow larger it crops up. Imagine 10 30 watt RF sources within 3500 sq feet. It doesn't help that the structure isn't shielded and isn't usually new construction which would have better grounding. It all comes back to the client. I would definitely ask because it could also be over-engineering.

One other thing, the really large companies have better equipment for testing or shielded rooms and may not need it. They also tend to have more cable in metal conduit which helps quite a bit.

I am working on a bid where the customer is talking to Siemon and they are telling the that shielded is a way to go.

Not this is a large data center, that is secured. there are a lot of PCs and work stations but no other equipment that would do emi. They claim that it secures transmission and helps/revents cross talk on cat 6?! I have about 110 runs to one closet and 75 to another. Does that make sense?

Siemon makes a quality product, so you should feel safe if you're going to use their equipment.

They also sell a lot of product to Europe (I hosted a tour for the Central Bank of the Czech Republic for them once upon a time), so they've done a lot of work on Shielded/Screened material.

If you look at different manufacturers of cable you'll see that all of them arrive at the same result (Cat 5E, Cat 6, whatever) by slightly different means. The EIA/TIA doesn't care HOW you get to Cat X, just that when you get there the product meets the defined specification.

Siemon may find that THEIR CAT 6 product works better if the cable is shielded, or more likely, they may be talking aout Cat 6A, which is a whole other story. On 6A, Alien X-Talk (X-Talk from other cables) is a big issue and I could see where shielding/screening comes in to play.

If you're being asked to bid on this, remember that shielded/screened cable takes longer to term and to certify.

Sam

If it is a secure facility, as in DOD or IC, than shielded may be required to prevent reproducible signal emanations, fiber would be better.

Ahh, Tempest proofing/over engineering. If someone has the ability to compromise low voltage singnaling and the ability to differentiate between one of 75 cables without wrapping an inductive tap on a wire, shielded probably wont slow them down much, but I'm not paying your bills.

From an emmitted RF standpoint, it would make more sense to shield the building. RF power falls off as a square of the distance. You would need less shielding because the building shell is that much farther from the wires. It only takes lead impregnated glass or metallic tinting to stop cell communications, and those are 0.7w and directly adjacent to the device.

So alien X talk is really the only issue with 6a?

What is the minimum number of cable(s) where this becomes an issue? If I bundle my runs in to small groups like 12 per pull and separate them. Will that solve it?

In other words what I am looking for is if there is a solution that will solve this issue by an installation technique instead of throwing money at it - ala shielded cable, jacks, patch panels and patch cords.


C

Igadget I agree, assuming there is separation from other equipment that “could regenerate the signal and propagate it out into the world…”

In this case their reasons are found here Siemon

Interesting… "Screened category 6A cable diameters are generally smaller than 6A UTP cables allowing greater pathway fill/utilization"

Tempest, I used to play that video game all the time.