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3M Telecommunications Solutions for Networks

Category 6A Cabling Solutions

Technology built for business

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2 3M Telecommunications Solutions for Networks

Your ideal partner for Category 6A

There is now a clear pathway to migration towards high-speed 10Gb/s copper cabling in horizontal ‘to the desktop’ networks and in data centres, thanks to the introduction of the Class EA and Category 6A cabling standards. So it is no surprise that many organisations are looking at taking their existing local area network cabling systems to a new level that will last for years to come.

This is why it is vital to make the right choice of product and to work with a partner that has the experience and expertise to support you every step of the way. Whether a system owner, an installer, consultant or systems integrator, 3M is your ideal solutions provider for Category 6A, with end-to-end systems that are fast and easy to install and will perform in even the most demanding of ‘mission-critical’ situations. Marketed under the Volition brand name, all 3M cabling solutions are backed by a flexible range of consultancy and project support services.

A proven track record you can trust

3M has a track record that is hard to rival, spanning over 40 years of network design and product innovation. From the Lloyds building in the City of London to the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, 3M has installed high-calibre cabling solutions across the world, for many of the biggest global organisations and in some of the most demanding situations imaginable. Employing some of the best experts in the industry, 3M has for many years worked closely with the industry associations tasked with creating international cabling standards.

Global knowledge, local expertise

The company is renowned for its commitment to research and development, so customers and partners can always be sure that 3M is at the leading edge of innovation, as well as the assurance that 3M has a strong focus on environmental issues and adhering to relevant legislation. Established as one of Europe’s leading providers of cabling systems, 3M also understands market needs on a local level, with offices in over 80 countries worldwide.

Total lifetime service & support

Excellent technology is critical, but customer and channel partner service is equally important, from pre-installation onwards. That’s why 3M provides a broad range of support options for every stage of a system’s life, including network design and project support, on-site assistance, certified installer training and advice on systems upgrades. Every system is backed by a 25-year warranty and 3M has built a robust supply chain, with locally held stock, trusted distributors and rapid-response customer service teams.

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3M Telecommunications Solutions for Networks 3

A total solution 3M provides a single port of call for the entire cabling system, with a comprehensive range of RJ45 jacks, twisted pair copper cables and RJ45 patch cables. Innovative features integrated into the range support rapid installation at a consistent high quality, while at the same time ensuring long-term superior performance of the cabling system.

All 3M Volition products have been tested and verified wherever feasible, with particular consideration for environment, health and safety issues.

Highlights:• High-performance at 10Gb/s• Excellent immunity against alien crosstalk• Single one-stop system solution• Ease of installation• Consistently high installation yield• Re-usable jacks• Space-saving small system size• 25-year warranty• Standards compliance• Ongoing support services available

Working in partnership to your benefit by collaborating with leading organisations.

Range overview Working in partnership to your benefit

Collaborating with some of the leading industry organisations in the communications marketplace means that we can offer our customers and partners an even greater breadth of expertise and resources. 3M is an HP Alliance One Partner and a member of the CISCO Developer Network programme, the combination of 3M’s solutions expertise and the portfolio of business technologies of HP and Cisco together facilitate the delivery of better results through a common customer approach. The company is also a long-established participant in and supporter of industry associations and user groups such as BICSI, FIA and the IET.

Introducing Volition™ Category 6A Cabling System

The latest addition to the Volition range is a system specifically designed to optimise 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections on twisted pairs (10GBASE-T) in compliance with cabling standards ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA/EIA 568C for Class EA and Category 6A, for channel and permanent link configurations.

High-performance: low crosstalk

Optimal performance is integral to the design of Volition. One of the big concerns about Category 6A is that its inherent nature means a very real risk of increased interference caused by alien cross talk (AXT). This is particularly the case in cable routes, RJ45 jacks and patching racks. The shielded 3M Category 6A solution addresses this challenge with excellent reduction of the effects of AXT over the entire channel. This means that customers can be assured of optimal performance in the network.

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4 3M Telecommunications Solutions for Networks

Rapid installation and superior connections

K6A jacks means that they can be connected to Category 6A and Category 7 cables without needing any special tools. A simple one-click enclosure allows more multiple connections to be completed in less time while ensuring a consistently high installation yield, helped by the integral cable guide. A built-in dust shutter helps prevent any contamination.

Furthermore, the jacks are designed to be re-usable, so when amendments are needed – such as changes in configuration or system upgrades – these can be carried out with minimal impact. The insulation displacement connections (IDCs) are compatible with both solid and stranded cables.

360° Connection helps prevent alien crosstalk

Another differentiating feature of these jacks is the 360° connection to the cable shield, made possible by the unique metallic braided cover, giving excellent immunity against alien cross talk through optimised noise compensation and cancellation between pairs in neighbouring cables. The way this distinctive feature works is ingenious but simple, acting like a Faraday cage around the RJ45 K6A jack.

Last but certainly not least, the jack’s small size means that they support installation in the frequently confined spaces in which cabling systems have to be contained.

3M™ Volition™ Range RJ45 K6A Jacks

and peace of mind

With 3M networks“you get

warranty ”

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Maximum AXT immunity

When system integrity is vital, it does not pay to cut corners on patch cables. After all, patch cords are the last link to the user, so having invested in a high-performance cabling system, it makes sense to use the best patch cables available.

Volition patch cables from 3M have been designed to give excellent immunity against alien crosstalk (AXT) up to 500MHz. They also reduce the effect of AXT in patching racks where there are many adjacent links close together.

All cables are supplied with a general braid and screen per pair with Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSOH) sheaths.

Patch panels Easy installation, flexible design

The designers behind the Volition Category 6A Cabling System have applied their ingenuity to every detail. The patch panels in the range are a good example: their modular design means that they are easy to install on standard 19" racks, with up to 24 RJ45 ports in any one unit of rack space.

All Volition patch panels in the range have an earth stud, which permits continuity of earth with the RJ45 K6A jacks.

Easy to assemble

Like all components within 3M cabling systems, the face plates have been designed to support fast, easy and error-free installation. The design supports simple assembly and a wide range of options are available, including modular and one-piece keystones for tool-less K5e, K6 and K6a tool-less jacks. LJ6C, European specification (50 x 50mm), adapters and voice adapters are all supported.

Patch cables Faceplates

Test Cat 6A for yourself at

0870 609 4639

www.3M.co.uk/Cat6aor call

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6 3M Telecommunications Solutions for Networks

Category 6A and Category 7

Not all cables are created equal and their quality can have considerable impact on a system’s performance. This is why 3M has put so much emphasis into designing its very own range of superior quality cables, developed to support easy installation, reduced crosstalk and minimal environmental impact.

Easy installation

No special installation techniques are required to connect the cables to Volition K6A RJ45 jacks. Pulling in the cables is easy, because their outer dimensions are very close in profile to the current Volition Category 6 cables. Available in 500m and 1000m reels, the cables are designed to lay flat.

Optimised design

All Volition Category 6A and Category 7 cables have a general shield and/or a screen per pair. Yet the way they are designed ensures improved immunity to AXT, but without materially increasing the footprint of the cable system. These round cables are able to stack more easily to use minimal space.

Comparative studies show that competitive Category 6A U/UTP cables have outer diameters larger than those of current Category 6 cables or are non-round in shape: clearly less than ideal in confined installation environments. As an example, one technique for U/UTP involves moving the pairs further apart, strengthening the outer sheaths, placing an insulator or separator between the pairs and increasing the twist. Not surprisingly, this results in a larger outer diameter. Other vendors have experimented with oval designs, but these are harder to install and the cable bundles become larger, so defeating the object.

Environmentally aware

The Volition Category 6A FUTP cable provides the best ‘Eco Profile’ of the whole range of Volition shielded cables for Category 6A and Category 7. The ‘Eco Profile’ is about measuring all the parameters influencing the environmental impact of the cable design, manufacturing, shipping and use.

The Volition Category 6A FUTP cable has a significantly lower impact on the environment than FFTP or SFTP cables in terms of: energy consumption, greenhouse effect, impoverished natural resources, hazardous waste, water toxicity, air acidification, air toxicity, creation of photo-chemical ozone, destruction of ozone layer.

The comparative ‘Eco Profile’ analysis between Volition Category 6A FUTP cable and competitive UUTP cables has shown that, despite the presence of the aluminium shielding foil, the Volition Category 6A FUTP cable has a total comparable impact on the environment. All Volition cables in this range have Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSOH) sheath.

3M™ Enterprise Networks Solutions extended 25-year warranty

As such a crucial part of a company’s communications system, customers need to be confident that the network will work to specification from commissioning to the end of its lifetime.

3M Telecommunications offers an extended 25-year warranty* for the entire range of passive permanent link components in the Volition and Fibre Interconnect ranges that they will continue to perform to ISO/IEC 11801, EN50173 and TIA/EIA 568 standards in force at the time of installation. The warranty is extended through 3M partner installers and systems integrators who support the warranty in the field, backed by 3M technical support.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Introducing our high-specification cables

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Product list, part numbers

Jack3M Reference Description Dimension Units per Box

VOL-OCK6A-SE8 3M Volition RJ45 K6A Jack, STP, with straight cable entry (bag of 8) 17 x 25 x 35(d) + Flexible Braid 8

VOL-OCK6A-SEB 3M Volition RJ45 K6A Jack, STP, with straight cable entry (bulk) 18 x 25 x 35(d) + Flexible Braid 8

Horizontal Cable – Sold in 500m and 1000m drums3M Reference Description Dimension Units per BoxVOL-6AFL4-500 Cat 6A 100 ohms F/UTP LSZH 4 pair cable 500m BoxVOL-6AFL4-1000 Cat 6A 100 ohms F/UTP LSZH 4 pair cable 1000m DrumVOL-6AUFL4-1000 Cat 6A 100 ohms U/FTP LSZH 4 pair cable 1000m DrumVOL-6AFFL4-1000 Cat 6A 100 ohms F/FTP LSZH 4 pair cable 1000m DrumVOL-10SFL4-500 Cat 7 10G 100 ohm S/FTP LSZH 4 pair cable 500m BoxVOL-10SFL4-1000 Cat 7 10G 100 ohm S/FTP LSZH 4 pair cable 1000m Drum

Patch Cords3M Reference Description Dimension Units per BoxVOL-6ASFL-L1 3M Volition RJ45 Cat.6A SFTP LSOH Patch Cord 1 m Turquoise 1m 1VOL-6ASFL-L2 3M Volition RJ45 Cat.6A SFTP LSOH Patch Cord 2 m Turquoise 2m 1VOL-6ASFL-L3 3M Volition RJ45 Cat.6A SFTP LSOH Patch Cord 3 m Turquoise 3m 1VOL-6ASFL-L5 3M Volition RJ45 Cat.6A SFTP LSOH Patch Cord 5 m Turquoise 5m 1

Patch Panels3M Reference Description Dimension Units per BoxVOL-PPCB-F24K Panel for 24 ports, keystone, 1U, black aluminium 1U x 19" x 100 1VOL-PPCB-F48K Panel for 48 ports, keystone, 2U, black aluminium 2U x 19" x 118 1VOL-PPCBHD-F32K Panel for 32 ports, keystone, 1U, black aluminium 1U x 19" x 100 1

Face Plates3M Reference Description Dimension Units per BoxVOL-EF-F-1K Euro Flat Adapter 25 x 50 25VOL-EF-A-1K Euro Angled Adapter 25 x 50 25VOL-EFUK-1K Euro Faceplate Single Gang Single Port 86 x 86 25VOL-EFUK-2K Euro Faceplate Single Gang Dual Port 86 x 86 25VOL-EFUK-4K Euro Faceplate Double Gang Quad Port 86 x 172 12VOL-EF-BEV-2K Euro Bevelled Faceplate Single Gang Dual Port 86 x 86 25VOL-EF-BEV-4K Euro Bevelled Faceplate Double Gang Quad Port 86 x 172 12VOL-EF-BLANK-12.5*50 Euro Blanking Plate 12.5 x 50 200VOL-EF-BLANK-25*50 Euro Blanking Plate 25 x 50 120VOL-LJ6C-F-1K LJ6C Flat Adapter 25 x 38.7 25VOL-LJ6C-A-1K LJ6C Angled Adapter 25 x 38.7 25VOL-FPUK-LJ6C-F1K LJ6 Flat Faceplate Single Port 86 x 86 25VOL-FPUK-LJ6C-F2K LJ6 Flat Faceplate Dual Port 86 x 86 25VOL-FPUK-LJ6C-F4K LJ6 Flat Faceplate Quad Port 86 x 172 12VOL-LJ6C-F1K BLANK LJ6C Adaptor Blank 25 x 38.7 100VOL-CHUK-1K Keystone RJ45 Faceplate White Single Port 86 x 86 200VOL-CHUK-2K Keystone RJ45 Faceplate White Dual Port 86 x 86 200

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3M Telecommunications3M United Kingdom PLC3M CentreCain RoadBracknellBerkshire RG12 8HT

3M Customer Contact Centre3M Telecommunications3M United Kingdom PLCTel: 0870 609 4639Email: 3Melectrouk@mmm.comwww.3M.co.uk/telecommunicationswww.3M.co.uk/Cat6a

3M and Volition are trademarks of the 3M Company. Please recycle. Printed in UK. © 3M 2010. All rights reserved to make technical alterations. 25.03.2010

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