Cabling And Technology Information; Cabling Specifications - HP ProCurve 6120G/XG Installation And Getting Started Manual

Cabling and Technology Information

Cabling and Technology Information
This section includes network cable information for cables that should be used with the Switch,
including minimum pin-out information and specifications for twisted-pair cables.
N o t e
Incorrectly wired cabling is the most common cause of problems for LAN communications.
ProCurve recommends that you work with a qualified LAN cable installer for assistance with
your cabling requirements.

Cabling specifications

Table 7.
Twisted-pair copper
Twinaxial copper
Multimode fiber
Single mode fiber
1
A mode conditioning patch cord may be needed for some Gigabit-LX installations.
See
Note on 1000Base-T Cable Requirements. The Category 5 networking cables that work
for 100Base-TX connections should also work for 1000Base-T, as long as all four-pairs are
connected. But, for the most robust connections you should use cabling that complies with the
Category 5e specifications, as described in Addendum 5 to the TIA-568-A standard (ANSI/TIA/
EIA-568-A-5).
Because of the increased speed provided by 1000Base-T (Gigabit-T), network cable quality is
more important than for either 10Base-T or 100Base-TX. Cabling plants being used to carry
1000Base-T networking must comply with the IEEE 802.3ab standards. In particular, the
cabling must pass tests for Attenuation, Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT), and Far-End Crosstalk
(FEXT). Additionally, unlike the cables for 100Base-TX, the 1000Base-T cables must pass tests
for Equal-Level Far-End Crosstalk (ELFEXT) and Return Loss.
When testing your cabling, be sure to include the patch cables that connect the switch and
other end devices to the patch panels on your site. The patch cables are frequently overlooked
when testing cable and they must also comply with the cabling standards.
38
Cabling specifications
10 Mbps Operation
100 Mbps Operation
1000 Mbps Operation
CX4 cables
Direct attach cables
"Mode Conditioning Patch Cord" on page 39
Category 3, 4, or 5 100-ohm unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) or
shielded twisted-pair (STP) cable, complying with IEEE 802.3
10Base-T specifications.
Category 5 100-ohm UTP or STP cable, complying with IEEE
802.3u 100Base-TX specifications.
Category 5 100-ohm 4-pair UTP or STP cable, complying with IEEE
802.3ab 1000Base-T specifications—Category 5e or better is
recommended. See note on 1000Base-T Cable Requirements on
page 38.
Twinaxial cables complying with IEEE 802.3ak 10GBASE-CX4
specifications.
One-piece devices consisting of a cable with SFP+ and XFP
connectors permanently attached, complying with SFF 8431
SFP+ and SFF INF 8077 specifications.
62.5/125 m or 50/125 m (core/cladding) diameter, low metal
content, graded index fiber-optic cables, complying with the
ITU-T G.651 and ISO/IEC 793-2 Type A1b or A1a standards
1
respectively.
9/125 m (core/cladding) diameter, low metal content fiber-optic
cables, complying with the ITU-T G.652 and
ISO/IEC 793-2 Type B1 standards.
for more information.