ERA® WCS and e-POI Subracks and Power Supply Unit Installation Guide
M0201ABK_uc
Page 32
© June 2021 CommScope, Inc.
WCS-2 and WCS-4 Subrack Overview
Cat6A Cables and Connectors
The rules listed below must be observed for all ERA installations that utilize Cat6A cabling when connecting
UAPs or Copper CAP Ls.
•
Plenum rated cable must be used wherever it is required by local electrical codes.
•
Cat6A shielded-twisted pair (STP) is not required unless operating in a high RFI/EMI environment.
•
An ERA system requires a minimum Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of 25 dB, and Alien Crosstalk (AXT) must
not degrade SNR on any cable by more than 0.5dB.
•
Cat6A cable wire size requirements are as follows:
–
23 AWG Cat6A cable (minimum EIA/TIA standards) must be used between RJ-45 connector points
–
24 AWG is the minimum wire size allowed for a Cat6A Patch Cord.
•
CommScope strongly recommends using factory terminated and tested Cat6A Patch Cord.
•
There can never be more than two RJ-45 connections in a Cat6A cable run, as described below and as
. Minimizing these connections improves the link margin.
–
In a non-cascade, between the CAT Card and the AP, there can be one Cat6A Patch Cord at the start of
a Cat6A cable run and a second Cat6A Patch Cord at the end of a Cat6A cable run.
–
In a cascade, between the Primary AP and the Secondary AP, there can be one Cat6A Patch Cord at the
start of a Cat6A cable run and a second Cat6A Patch Cord at the end of a Cat6A cable run.
Figure 6.
Maximum Number of RJ-45 Connections in Cable Runs
•
Unshielded Cat6A (Category 6A U/UTP) twisted pair cable that meets ANSI/TIA-568-C.2, CENELEC EN
50173 series, and ISO/IEC 11801:2002 including its amendments 1 and 2, is suitable for use in an ERA
system. The CommScope GigaSPEED X10D® 2091B ETL Verified Category 6A U/UTP Cable (760107201,
2091B BL 4/23 W1000) meets these requirements and is recommended.
There are many parameters that impact the SNR of the 10GBase-T signal received by the CAT Card from
the AP, or received by the AP from the CAT Card. For example, excessive insertion loss degrades the signal
level, which results in a degraded SNR. An increase in the noise level will also result in degraded SNR. The
most common sources of noise are NEXT (near end crosstalk, interference from pairs within a cable that
couple from the TX to RX), and AXT (alien crosstalk, interference from adjacent cables). Additionally,
there can be interference from outside sources such as lighting, switching power supplies, radio
transmitters in the UHF and VHF bands, and similar sources of RFI/EMI. To guarantee acceptable SNR
level, all cable key parameters must be measured as discussed in the next section.
•
For information on how to test your Cat6A cables and connections, see
"Cat6A Specifications and Testing
RJ-45
connecon
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
23 AWG
Cat6A
Cable
RJ-45
connecon
CAT Card
in CAN/TEN
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
CAT/TEN
RJ-45
connecon
CAT Card
in CAN/TEN
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
≥ 24 AWG
Cat6A
Patch Cord
23 AWG
Cat6A
Cable
23 AWG
Cat6A
Cable
Primary
AP
RJ-45
connecon
RJ-45
connecon
RJ-45
connecon
AP
Secondary
AP
