3.2a - Network Cables: Professor Messer

Category 5 (Cat 5)

Uses the 1000BASE-T (1Gbit/s) ethernet standard, with a supporting distance of up to 100 meters.

Category 5 enhanced (Cat 5e)

Uses the 1000BASE-T (1Gbit/s) ethernet standard, with a supporting distance of up to 100 meters.

Category 6 (Cat 6)

Uses the 10GBASE-T (10 Gbit/s) ethernet standard, supporting distances of up to 55 meters (unshielded) or 100 meters (shielded).

Category 6 augmented (Cat 6A)

Uses the 10GBASE-T (10 Gbit/s) ethernet standard, with a maximum supporting distance of up to 100 meters.

Coaxial cable

Typically used for cable modems and cable television; RG-6 is the most common form.

Shielded twisted pair (STP)

Balanced wire pair with additional shielding to protect against interference, wires MUST BE TWISTED

Why STP wires should be twisted

Twisting wires minimizes electromagnetic interference and crosstalk between pairs, enhancing signal integrity.

Plenum

An area inside a commercial building designated for storing warmer air; network cables in this area may produce smoke in case of fire.

Example plenum-rated cables

Fluorinated ethylene polymer (FEP) or low-smoke polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Types of shielding for twisted pair cables

U = unshielded

S = braided shielding

F = foil shielding

Format for classifying STP wire shielding

[overall shielding]/[wire shielding]TP

Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)

Cables that have no additional shielding; the most common type of twisted pair cabling.

Direct burial STP

Network cable placed underground as an alternative to overhead cabling.

T568A/T568B standard

Cabling standard for pin/pair assignments in twisted pair cabling, with T568A for residential and T568B for commercial applications.

Single-mode optical fiber

Type of optical fiber designed for long-distance communication; uses a single light path.

Multimode optical fiber

Type of optical fiber ideal for short distances; allows multiple light paths for greater bandwidth.