Utilize shielded CAT 6 and shielded CAT 6 keystone connectors for 10 GbE connectivity.
Utilize shielded CAT 6 and shielded CAT 6 keystone connectors for 10 GbE connectivity.
Hi, I'm starting over with my home networking setup. It's been tough finding someone to handle it professionally, so I'm taking on the work myself. I'm new to this and know enough to get it done, but not quite confident about doing it right. My biggest errors were using shielded CAT 6 SUTP cables and shielded jacks for my patch panel. Not only did I have to connect the cable and jack shielding properly, but I also needed to ground them to avoid interference. Another mistake was stripping the shielding too much to close isolation, which made it hard to connect the shields. Lastly, I forgot to ground the patch panel altogether. In short, I spent a lot of time making things wrong.
My questions are: How worried should I be? Could this cause signal issues and make 10G impossible, even over short distances like 25 meters? Might it affect Wi-Fi or other wireless signals—since underground shielded cables can act like antennas? And is there any risk to my equipment or safety, like electric current in keystone jacks or racks?
I can probably fix most of these problems, but I'm still learning. If possible, using unshielded jacks and UTP cables should work fine for short runs at 10G. However, since the walls are solid brick, replacing cables isn't an option. What should I do if I encounter any issues? I appreciate your help. Thanks ahead!
Kriz
You appear less worried than you think. Everything is under control. No, UTP Cat6 can handle 10 gigabits over 100 meters with correctly terminated ends. It won’t. [Reference required] What will it collect underground? Not much. Simply remove the shielding foil and return it to the cable jacket—treat it as standard UTP.
Thanks for your prompt reply, brother! It's great to hear. As I mentioned, I've just picked up enough about networking to understand how little I knew before. Without experience, it's easy to feel uncertain. So in short, it's fine for a small house and won't cause any issues. Nice to know I didn't waste my money completely.
For regular Ethernet, protection isn’t optional. It’s important for certain digital links using CAT cables like HDbaseT. If you’ve already installed STP CAT6, it’s best to keep that. A better choice could be choosing higher-quality connectors—both male and female. Although costly, these female connectors are convenient to crimp, and I often use ready-made patch cables to switch between them and the gear. I set up a patch panel for the female keystone jacks. The advantage is it’s keystone-based, so it doesn’t need to carry all RJ45 connectors. The clear point is that the connections around the panel should allow some flexibility in the cables before rewiring.
I’ve completed the setup already. It’s technically shielded but not grounded; however, if I ever need a better job, I left extra cable for both ends. Now that I understand networking better, a properly terminated CAT5e should suffice for 10 Gigabit—definitely enough for years to come.