CAT8.1 CMR Riser Cable 1000ft - S/FTP Dual-Shielded, 23AWG 40G

This is Cat8, the fastest copper cable there is, in a riser-rated jacket. It's rated to 2000 MHz, four times Cat6A, and carries 25GBase-T and 40GBase-T over a 30 m channel, which is the distance from a top-of-rack switch to every server in the row, or from one floor's equipment room to the next. Each of the four pairs is wrapped in its own foil, and a tinned copper braid surrounds all four, because at these frequencies shielding isn't optional. Cat8.1 is the version that terminates on RJ45, so it works with standard shielded Cat8 jacks and plugs. The flame-retardant PVC jacket is CMR riser rated, so it can run through a riser shaft or an in-wall path that an LSZH cable can't, across a -20 °C to 75 °C operating range.

The 23 AWG solid copper conductors have HDPE insulation. It comes on a 1000 ft wooden spool with footage markings on the jacket.

Features

• 25GBase-T and 40GBase-T over a 30 m channel. It also runs 10G, 5G, 2.5G, and 1G links, and works with Cat6A, Cat6, and Cat5e equipment.
• 2000 MHz, ISO/IEC 11801 Class I and ANSI/TIA-568.2-D Category 8. Four times the bandwidth of Cat6A.
• S/FTP double shielding. Foil on every pair plus an overall tinned copper braid, which Cat8 requires; the braid is the shield's path to ground.
• RJ45 termination. Cat8.1 uses standard shielded Cat8 RJ45 jacks and plugs, unlike Cat8.2 and Cat7, which need their own connectors.
• CMR riser rated. Rated for riser runs between floors as well as general in-wall and ceiling use.
• 23 AWG solid bare copper. Full-gauge solid conductors for the lowest loss. No copper-clad aluminum.
• HDPE insulation. Tight, consistent pair twists for crosstalk control.
• Sequential footage markings. You can see what's left on the spool and cut runs to length without a tape.
• 1000 ft wooden spool. Standard TIA-568 pair colors inside.

Where It Fits

It suits top-of-rack switch to server links, switch-to-switch links inside a data center row, short riser links between equipment rooms on adjacent floors, storage and HPC cluster interconnects, custom 25G and 40G patch cords for the rack, and any short copper backbone in a U.S. building where the spec calls for Category 8 and a riser listing.

Good to Know

Cat8 is a 30 m cable by design; the 25G and 40G ratings apply to a channel of 30 m including patch cords, and past that it's a very well shielded 10G cable, so a riser run only makes sense between adjacent floors. Most 25G and 40G switch ports today are SFP28 and QSFP+ rather than RJ45, so check that your switch and NICs have 25GBase-T or 40GBase-T copper ports before buying for those speeds; on 10G ports it works, but the shielded Cat6A riser does the same job for less. CMR covers risers and general indoor spaces but not plenum air-handling ceilings. A shield only works when it's grounded: terminate on shielded Cat8 jacks and patch panels that bond to the braid, ground at one end, and use shielded patch cords and switch ports. Terminating S/FTP takes longer than F/UTP, so allow for it. At 7.8 mm it's a stiff cable; plan for a bend radius of about four times the diameter. Solid conductors are for permanent runs; terminate on jacks and patch panels, not crimped plugs.

Specifications