This 5-foot Category 8.1 cable, Class I channel, features a blue PVC jacket, braided outer shield, with four individually mylar foil shielded 24 AWG pure copper pairs as defined in ISO/IEC 11801 and ratified in ANSI/TIA 568-C.2-1.

Cat8 cabling was designed primarily for high-speed data centers where switches, servers, and other network hardware are located in close proximity. This newest copper communications cable offers greater flexibility both literally and in distances when compared to QSFP+ and Twinax DAC assemblies which typically cost significantly more and are often much more limited in scope. It has the reach to cover Top-of-Rack and End-of-Row or Middle-of-Row network topologies while delivering 10, 25, and 40 Gigabit data rates over BASE-T technology with RJ45 ends making it a drop-in replacement for Cat6a where rates beyond 10Gb will be needed today or in the future.

Cat8 has stricter specifications for noise restriction and crosstalk than any of its predecessors. The individual conductors are 24 AWG (American wire gauge) stranded pure copper. Cat8 patch cables are stranded to improve flexibility. Pure copper conductors provide the best signal possible. Each pair of conductors is shielded with an aluminum mylar foil to reduce, if not eliminate, crosstalk. These cables also have a braided shield, which protects from outside electromagnetic interference.