Cat6A Slim Patch Cord, 28 AWG S/FTP, Low-Profile Boot

Overview

A Cat6A slim patch cord is a filling-rate and airflow decision before it is an electrical one. In a fully loaded 48-port 10G switch the patch leads themselves become the problem: standard Category 6A cables are thick enough to block airflow across the panel and to make the rear of the rack impossible to work in. This cord is built around a 28 AWG S/FTP construction with a reduced outside diameter, so the same port count occupies materially less space.

Key Specifications

Product type	Slim Category 6A patch cord
Conductor	28 AWG stranded copper, S/FTP, 4 pairs
Outside diameter	Approximately 4.5 mm – confirm per build
Boot	Low-profile, snagless
Bandwidth	500 MHz – confirm per build
Lengths	0.15 m to 5 m
Power note	PoE++ derating to be confirmed before dense bundle use
Colors	Six standard colors

Diameter, fill rate and what the fans are trying to do

Every cable in a bundle displaces air that a switch fan was going to move. Stack forty-eight of them behind a patch panel and the bundle becomes a baffle. The table below is the arithmetic we run with customers who are deciding between standard and slim.

Factor	Standard Cat6A cord	Slim Cat6A cord
Outside diameter	Larger, typically well above 6 mm	Approximately 4.5 mm
Cross-sectional area per cord	Baseline	Materially lower, so more cords fit the same tray
Air path across the panel	Restricted at full port count	Open at the same port count
DC resistance per meter	Lower	Higher – the cost of the smaller section

The numbers that matter in your rack depend on the port count, the panel depth and the fill you are planning. Send those and we will work out the length mix rather than selling you a diameter.

The heat question, stated plainly

Thinner conductors mean higher DC resistance and higher insertion loss. That is physics, not marketing. The practical consequence is twofold. First, slim Category 6A leads are intended for short runs in the rack and need to be accounted for in the channel budget rather than treated as a free substitution for a 23 AWG cord. Second, where a bundle of leads carries significant PoE current, the resistive heating is concentrated in a smaller cross-section with less jacket material to dissipate it, and the bundle is tighter so there is less air to carry the heat away.

Condition	Guidance
Data only, short patch runs	Slim is the right choice; airflow and access improve
Moderate PoE loads, open bundle	Normally fine – confirm the load and the fill
Dense bundle of powered leads	Confirm derating against the data before filling the panel
Long run or horizontal cabling	Use standard 23 AWG instead

Derating guidance for powered bundles should be confirmed against the supplier data before filling a panel this way. We would rather tell you to use a thicker cord on the powered ports than have you find out from a thermal survey.

Shielded, not unshielded

Unlike the unshielded cord in this range, the slim version keeps the S/FTP construction: foil around each twisted pair plus an overall braid. At 10G in a dense bundle, that screening is what makes the alien-crosstalk margin comfortable, and it is the reason a slim cord can be thinner than a standard one without giving up the link. The screen has to be terminated at both ends to do its job, so a plug that leaves the braid floating gives you the diameter benefit without the electrical one.

Typical applications for this Cat6A slim patch cord

High-density 10G top-of-rack and end-of-row switches
Wi-Fi access point cabinets and edge compute enclosures
Panels where the rear cable management is sized for a smaller bundle
Retrofits where an existing manager is already overstuffed
Unpowered or lightly powered patch fields – for heavy PoE see our Cat6A shielded patch cord in 26 AWG
Flat installations using our flat slim Cat6 / Cat5e UTP patch cord

It is not a substitute for horizontal cabling runs. Keep it between the patch panel and the switch, or the switch and the server.

Ordering

Supplied in the standard color set with mixed-length packs available for a full cabinet build. Send the port count, panel depth and the equipment being patched, and the length mix can be worked out so that slack does not end up coiled in the management arms.

Workmanship and testing

Every build is assembled and inspected to IPC/WHMA-A-620 Class 3 workmanship under our ISO 9001 system. We terminate conductors from 32 to 12 AWG. Each unit is checked for continuity and pinout before packing, and where the build carries an ingress rating we can add seal checking on the production run.

Material declarations against RoHS and REACH are issued per project, alongside the dimensional and electrical reports agreed at quotation; see certifications, compliance and material declarations. Where your drawing names a UL style or another approval, the build follows your drawing and ships with the supporting document rather than a claim of our own. Where this build needs an overmold, the tool is designed, cut and maintained in our own shop under in-house mold making and overmold tooling, and it is never used for another customer’s program. The wider context is covered under cable assemblies for industrial automation and robotics.

Custom builds and ordering

Prototypes run from 1 to 50 pcs with a 3 working day turnaround; volume orders start at MOQ 500 pcs and ship 14 working days after sample sign-off. If the build needs tooling we do not already hold, add roughly 10 working days. OEM and ODM orders ship under your part number and labeling, and material certificates and first-article reports are available on request.