Network Media - Communication Channels

Network Cables are the hardware that used to connect one device to other network device or to connect two or more computers to share printers, scanners and other peripherals. In the market, many types of network cables are available, such as coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, and twisted pair cables, fiber cables are used depending on the network's physical layer, topology, and size.

The cable plays a big role in infrastructure, it becomes very important for the administrators and engineers to select appropriate cable types so as to meet and fulfill the requirements of the organizations.

Below are the most popular cables used in an infrastructure

Categories of UTP cables

Twisted Pair Cables
These cables are mostly used preferred by the network design team and network administrators in most small, medium and large-scale organizations. Since twisted pair cables are quite cost-effective and easy to install, they are the most demanded cables in any IT-oriented organization. Twisted pair cables are further divided into two categories, namely Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). UTP cables are mostly used in organizations because they are much cheaper as compared to STP cables.

Category	Data Transfer	Length
CAT1	Up to 1 Mbps	N/A
CAT2	Up to 4 Mbps	N/A
CAT3	Up to 10 Mbps	100M
CAT4	Up to 16 Mbps	100M
CAT5	Up to 100 Mbps	100M
CAT5e	Up to 1 Gbps	100M
CAT6	Up to 10 Gbps	100M
CAT6a	Up to 10Gbps	100M
CAT7	Up to 10Gbps	100M

Cable Connections

Patch Cables / Straight Through

The patch cable is configured with all 8 wires in the same order on both ends of the cable. There are two standard wiring configurations used for patch cables. They are 568A and 568B. Either configuration can be used, so long as the same configuration is used at both ends of the cable.

Application - Two devices in the different category use a straight-through cable

Cross Over Cable

The cross over cable is configured with 4 of the wires in the same order on each end. The other four wires are crossed (hence the name). One end gets wired with the 568A configuration, while the other gets wired with the 568B configuration.

Rollover Cable

The rollover cable is wired with each pin on one end of the cable connected to the reverse pin on the other end. So the cable on Pin 1 on one end of the cable connects to Pin 8 at the other end, etc. Rollover cables are used to connect the serial port of a computer to the serial port of a network switch so that you can configure the network switch. These cables are not used for network connectivity.

Application - Two devices in the same category use a crossover cable

Device	Hub	Switch	Router	Workstation
Hub	Crossover	Crossover	Crossover	Straight
Switch	Crossover	Crossover	Crossover	Straight
Router	Straight	Straight	Crossover	Crossover
Workstation	Straight	Straight	Crossover	Crossover

Crimping Color Code – Ethernet Cables

RJ45 Pin Connections - Straight
Orange White	Pin 1	Pin 1	Orange White
Orange	Pin 2	Pin 2	Orange
Green White	Pin 3	Pin 3	Green White
Blue	Pin 4	Pin 4	Blue
Blue White	Pin 5	Pin 5	Blue White
Green	Pin 6	Pin 6	Green
Brown White	Pin 7	Pin 7	Brown White
Brown	Pin 8	Pin 8	Brown

RJ45 Pin Connections - Cross
Orange White	Pin 1	Pin 3	Green White
Orange	Pin 2	Pin 6	Green
Green White	Pin 3	Pin 1	Orange White
Blue	Pin 4	Pin 4	Blue
Blue White	Pin 5	Pin 5	Blue White
Green	Pin 6	Pin 2	Orange
Brown White	Pin 7	Pin 7	Brown White
Brown	Pin 8	Pin 8	Brown

Fiber Optic Cables

These cable types are the most expensive one. Data in these cables do not flow in the form of current but in the form of light. Because of this reason, the attenuation of data signals are highly reduced while using fiber optic cables. Moreover, fiber optic cables allow data to transmit at a distance of 2 KM – 50 KM, depending on the type of cable used. One of the biggest advantages that fiber optic cables have over copper cables is that the data signals that fiber optic cables transmit are not affected by electromagnetic interference (EMI) and therefore fiber optic cables can be installed even near very high electric voltage areas.

Categories of Fiber cables

Single-Mode Fiber Cable: Single-mode Fiber Patch Cables are the best choice for transmitting data over long distances. They are usually used for connections over large areas, such as college campuses and remote offices. They have a higher bandwidth than Multi-mode cables to deliver up to twice the throughput.

Single-Mode to transmit data over long distances (MORE than ~500 meters, 1,600 feet, 1/3 of a mile)

Multi-Mode Fiber Cable: Multimode Fiber Patch Cables are a good choice for transmitting data and voice signals over shorter distances. They are typically used for data and audio/visual applications in local-area networks and connections within buildings or remote office in close proximity to one another.

Multi-mode to transmit data over short distances (LESS than ~500 meters, 1,600 feet, 1/3 of a mile)

Plastic Optical Fiber (POF): is a large core (about 1mm) multimode fiber that can be used for short, low-speed networks. POF is used in consumer Hi-Fi and starting to be used as part of a new standard for car communication systems called MOST.

Topic Conclusion

In network communication, the cables play an important role because of the connectivity, data speed, packet loss all are depending on the cable type and length so the network/ system/network design team need to study the current market before laying the cables. This will help for avoiding future troubles and additional upgrading costs.