Flat Pacth cables?

[cyberlocc]

Hey I was wondering what is everyone's thoughts experiences with Flat Pacth cables?

I am build a rack setup, and I don't have alot of U, nor do I have alot of door to swicth clearance (like 2 inches).

So what I want to do is have 2 pacth panels, one on top and one below the swicth. Then use the top panels 24 ports in the swicths top 24 ports, and same for bottom.

Cat 6 doesn't have a great bend radius, as we all know, however I seen these Flat cables and they seem to.

However I am worried, about cable quality and signal issues ECT, as I have never used these and can't find much info on them. My runs would be very short, like 3-4inches tops.

Also is it hard to crimp this stuff? All I find is premades, which are too long, and cost too much, I will buy a few long ones and make my own.

 

[Evan]

Maybe not flat but thin...
Monoprice has some 1ft one that are good for home use... I also use the flat CAT6 cables at home and they are fine. But that's at home only.

Honestly in enterprise I would only use certified CAT7 cables and they are easily obtainable on 1m and often smaller lengths. I have never tried anything else and not about to do so.

 

[cyberlocc]

Alright I broke the quote lol.

Its not really home use, its home/ and small business.

I didn't think anyone used cat 7 for enterprise, as it isn't standardized?

Anyway my issue is not really the thickness as much as more bend radius than can be achieved by any round cable.

However your cat 7 remark had me googling, and I found some "Cat 7" flat cable. I doubt it is Cat 7, what it is, is shown to be twisted pairs, that are shielded. Works for me, for 3-4 inch runs, I think that will more than work . Going with that and problem solved.

Obvious I wont have the "Gold plated connector" but I dont need it, this is for connection for a 48port GBE switch, to patch panels, they then go to another set of patch panels on the top of the rack, to yet another patch panel on the wall and out to where they are going (all outward ports anyway, a lot will be internal, so PP to device.)

 

[Evan]

CAT7 for 10 years or so.
Very standard. Hardly used any of it for 10G though as went top of rack so little copper infrastructure cabling used any more just fiber to the rack and patch cables form the switches to servers inside the rack.

Anyway for a small install just use whatever works, like at home it works so I use it.

 

[StammesOpfer]

I have used the Flat cables as well as the slimrun cables. Both work fine. I wouldn't do long runs with them but as patch cables they work great for gigabit. Copper in the wall I do shielded CAT6a. I use DAC and fiber for 10GBe

 

[seang86s]

Would this help? https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com...rd_wg=rADnx&psc=1&refRID=QFXBZ4C1TQMBQJ4KNMWY

Recess your switch and patch panel so you can better accommodate the bend radius.

 

[cyberlocc]

Would this help? https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com...rd_wg=rADnx&psc=1&refRID=QFXBZ4C1TQMBQJ4KNMWY

Recess your switch and patch panel so you can better accommodate the bend radius.

Didn't get an email with this, so sorry for late reply.

I would rather not have them set back like that. Anyways, the flat cat7 will work and I will have enough space do to the need to set back the rails anyway for other reasons.

I have to move the rails recessed 1 inch, for some other reasons. Which isn't ideal due to rack depth, but it's life.

 

[cyberlocc]

The flat Cat7 is harder to crimp because it's thicker than Cat6. The punch tool in the crimper could crush the flat Cat7. Considering the risk and time it will take to terminate the cable and the fair cost for a 3ft flat patch cable, I would recommend you to buy a 3ft premade flat Cat7, about $6 online. If the length really matters, and you're skilled at it you can try crimping it.

3ft is way too long lol, I need 3-4 inch cables. Then I need about 40 of them, so ya 6 dollars, isnt going to happen lol. 6 dollars for a patch cable is not a fair price lol, 60 cents is. Pacth cables for cat 6 can literally be had for under 1 dollar. Ends are like what 20cents each? And I have 6000 feet of Cat 6 in the garage, I would never ever pay 6 dollars for a 3ft cable lol.

I didnt know the wire spec changed for Cat 7? I know the outside wire is larger for Cat 7 than a UTP Cat 6, but that is because it is shielded isn't it?

Not sure how its going to crush the cable, I watched a few vids on the flat cable crimping and its actually easier than doing standard cable the pairs are laid out better.

All that said, I did find some Cat 6 Flat cable that seems to be twisted and each pair is separated by rubber. Looks good to me, and much cheaper , So I will use that.

 

[Evan]

A short quality patch cable is $10 each. Buying for datacenter by the hundreds, still price for single purchase at home is little indication of quality.
But for sure brands like R&M cost the $$

 

[cyberlocc]

A short quality patch cable is $10 each. Buying for datacenter by the hundreds, still price for single purchase at home is little indication of quality.
But for sure brands like R&M cost the $$

A short high quality pacth cable can run up to 10, if you are buying 1 or 2, if you are buying 100s and paying 10 each, well businesses have money to blow lol. However you likely won't have a job very long.


You can buy 1 Belden cable, 3ft, cat 6a, for 7 dollars, you buy 1000 that price becomes 5 each, ECT. And the lower it goes.

In a data center with 100s of cables bound togehter that high end sheilded cable makes since. I have 40 not 4000 lol.

That said it also depends on the company. During my time in IT before inheriting my current business, I worked for schools, we didn't buy ant cables, we made them all, the budget didn't allow buying overpriced Ethernet cables. Because let's be honest, that is what R&M and Belden are, you can make a comparable cable for pennies. I have seen boxed cable with hand crimps score the same as "High End cables" on flukes. Most of it is snake oil, you are paying for a name nothing more. Copper is copper, and there is only so much to a cable.

Again some businesses write it off, or just don't care. I agree, however the places I have worked, and the people I know, would crack up if you told them we need this 10 dollar pacth cables. IT depts usually get small budgets and getting 10 dollar pacth cables approved would be a joke to them. It just wouldn't happen, I had problems getting real hardware upgrades, that we really needed, 10 dollar cables pfft, in my dreams . That was the worst part of working in IT dealing with the money men, who don't understand or just don't care.