Cabling & spares
The parts in between, where a link is actually decided
18 categories of cabling, enclosures and spares, judged the same way as the hardware itself: by what they change, and whether the cheap option is already good enough. A link takes the rating of its weakest component, which is why a Cat 6a run terminated into a Cat 6 module is a Cat 6 link — and an enclosure only reaches its stated rate on a host socket that can feed it.
Browse by category
- Patch cables Category, conductor construction and shielding, in that order 7
- Patch panels Port count, termination style, and the category the panel itself claims 5
- Network cabinets Usable internal depth is what turns a cabinet into a mistake 7
- Keystone modules The category on the module has to match the cable behind it 6
- RJ45 connectors Solid or stranded, shielded or not, and whether a load bar is in the packet 7
- Crimping tools The jaws decide what the tool can terminate, and the ratchet decides how well 6
- SFP modules Rate, medium, reach and the vendor coding the switch will accept 7
- Fibre patch cables Fibre type, connector and polarity, and only then the length 7
- NVMe enclosures The bridge chip and the host socket set the ceiling, not the drive inside 6
- Drive enclosures Drive size, interface, and whether it needs a mains adapter of its own 6
- Drive docks Bay count, what the slot accepts, and whether it clones without a computer 7
- USB flash drives Nearly every listing states a read figure and far fewer state a write figure 7
- Card readers The host link and the slot layout decide the reader 7
- UPS batteries The cell rating, the terminal width and the case size, all three or none 6
- Surge protectors Joule rating, clamping voltage, and a light that says the protection is still there 3
- Rack shelves Rack units, mounting depth, and how the shelf is held at the back 7
- Cable trunking The internal section decides how many cables actually fit inside 7
- Rack cooling fans Air moved against noise made, and the direction the panel pushes 7