| 1 | Shielded RJ45 Plug
(8P8C) | Cat6A F/UTP S/FTP | 10GBASE-T Ethernet at up to 10 Gb/s over a balanced copper channel. | Used with 100-ohm balanced cabling and compatible with the RJ45-style interface used by many Ethernet switches and network adapters. Shield continuity requires compatible cable, plug, and equipment bonding. | Up to 100 m for a standards-compliant Cat6A channel, normally including permanent link and patch-cord allowances. | Field-installable versions commonly support 22–26 AWG conductors, depending on the construction. Performance depends strongly on pair separation, termination quality, and alien crosstalk control. | New 10 Gb/s copper links, shielded industrial cabinets, and patch-cord assembly where a secure plug termination is required. |
| 2 | Cat6A Field-Termination Plug | Cat6A Solid Copper | 10GBASE-T and lower-speed Ethernet applications using solid horizontal cable. | Tool-less or low-tool designs are intended for field termination. The finished assembly must preserve the T568A or T568B pinout consistently at both ends. | Up to 100 m when installed as part of a compliant Cat6A channel and tested with suitable field-certification equipment. | Useful for direct equipment connections, especially where a solid cable must terminate without a conventional stranded patch lead. Cable outer diameter and conductor gauge must match the plug specification. | Rapid installation, maintenance work, temporary links, and sites where cable lengths must be customized on location. |
| 3 | Cat6A Shielded Keystone Jack | Cat6A Permanent Link Patch Panel | 10GBASE-T horizontal cabling with modular patch panels, outlets, and consolidation points. | Designed for 8P8C modular interfaces and structured-cabling installations. Correct termination geometry is important for maintaining insertion loss, return loss, and crosstalk margins. | Typically supports a 90 m permanent link, with the remaining channel allowance used for patch cords and equipment cords, up to a 100 m channel. | Commonly supports 22–26 AWG conductors, with exact ranges varying by construction. Shielded versions require a continuous grounding and bonding path. | Enterprise offices, data-center copper zones, patch panels, wall outlets, and installations requiring organized field termination. |
| 4 | LC Duplex Connector | OS2 Single-Mode OM3/OM4 Multimode | 10 Gb/s links and 100 Gb/s optical links using duplex transceivers, including long-reach single-mode designs. | Small-form-factor, two-fiber interface widely used on duplex optical modules. Typical applications include 10GBASE-LR, 100GBASE-LR4, and 100GBASE-FR4, subject to transceiver design. | Examples include 300 m over OM3 for 10 Gb/s multimode links, 400 m over OM4 for 10 Gb/s multimode links, about 2 km for 100G FR4, and up to 10 km for many 100G LR4 systems. | Duplex polarity must be maintained. Typical factory-polished assemblies may offer insertion loss around 0.2–0.5 dB per mated pair, but the guaranteed value depends on the connector grade and assembly specification. | High-density switches, telecom rooms, data-center leaf-spine links, and 100 Gb/s links that use two-fiber transmit/receive connectivity. |
| 5 | SC Duplex Connector | OS2 Single-Mode OM3/OM4 Multimode | 1, 10, and selected 100 Gb/s optical systems where the equipment uses duplex SC interfaces or breakout assemblies. | Push-pull, keyed interface with a larger footprint than LC. It is commonly found in premises networks, telecom equipment, test systems, and legacy fiber infrastructure. | Reach is determined by the optical standard and fiber type rather than the SC shell. Single-mode systems can support kilometer-scale links; multimode reach is normally limited to hundreds of meters. | Simple push-pull handling and good mechanical robustness. Typical insertion loss for a quality mated pair is often about 0.2–0.5 dB, with return-loss performance dependent on polish type and fiber mode. | Rugged or legacy installations, telecom distribution frames, laboratory environments, and upgrades where existing SC cabling should be retained. |
| 6 | MPO-12 Multifiber Connector | OM3/OM4 OS2 Parallel Optics | 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s parallel-multimode links; also used for 8-, 12-, or 24-fiber trunk and breakout architectures. | A single connector carries multiple fibers in one row. 100GBASE-SR4 commonly uses four transmit and four receive fibers, with the remaining positions managed according to the polarity and cabling design. | 100GBASE-SR4 is commonly specified to 70 m on OM3 and 100 m on OM4, subject to optical loss, transceiver, and installation conditions. | High fiber density and fast trunk deployment. End-face cleanliness, key orientation, gender, pin configuration, and polarity method are critical to successful installation. | Data-center backbone trunks, parallel 100 Gb/s multimode links, structured cabling, and pre-terminated high-density distribution systems. |
| 7 | MPO-16 Multifiber Connector | OS2 OM4 400G/800G Ready | 100 Gb/s and higher-speed parallel-fiber architectures, including selected 400 Gb/s and 800 Gb/s breakout designs. | Provides 16 fiber positions in a single row and supports higher lane counts than MPO-12. The actual data rate, lane allocation, and polarity depend on the optical module and system architecture. | Reach varies by optical standard. Short-reach multimode links are generally within the data-center range, while single-mode parallel systems can extend farther when supported by the transceiver specification. | Maximizes fiber density for high-radix switching. Requires matched connector gender, guide-pin configuration, polarity method, cassette design, and insertion-loss budget. | New high-density data centers, 400 Gb/s upgrades, structured parallel-optics cabling, and migration paths toward 800 Gb/s systems. |
