Copper Cables

Twisted Pair Cables

• Twisted pair cabling are commonly used to connect end devices such as computers to the network switch.

• The cabled twisted to improve the resiliency against Electro-magnetic Interference (EMI).

• The Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables has a total of 4 pairs of twisted wires.

• The Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cables has a shielding such as foil coating around the twisted pair wires to prevent EMI interference as compared to the UTP cables.

• STP cables are usually more expensive as compared to UTP cable.

• STP cables are commonly used within environments which has a lot of EMI within the room.

Plenum and Non-plenum cables

• The plenum area within your organization is the space where heating and ventilation air flow exists.

• Within the plenum spaces, it's recommended to use plenum-rated cables. 

• Plenum-rated cables are more expensive as compared to non-plenum cables.

• Plenum-rated cables are less toxic when it's being burnt during a fire incident.

Cable Types

• Cat 3 - Supports speeds up to 10 Mbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 5 - Supports speeds up to 100 Mbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 5e - Supports speeds up to 1 Gbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 6 - Supports speeds up to 1 Gbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 6a - Supports speeds up to 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 7 - Supports speeds up to 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps with a maximum distance of 100 meters.

• Cat 8 - Supports speeds up to 40 Gbps with a maximum distance of 30 meters.

• Coaxial - Usually has a foil coating around the copper core to protect it from EMI. Uses a BNC connector to terminal the end of a coaxial cable. The T-Connectors are also used to join 2 or more coaxial cables together. Coaxial supports the RG-59 grade for older devices while the RG-6 grade are used on new devices.

Connectors

• RJ11 - This jack is a 4 pin connector used for mostly telephone systems.

• RJ45 - This is a 8 ping connector used on common Ethernet cables.

• F-type - This connector is also used to terminate coaxial cable.

Termination standards

• The Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) 568 is a cabling standard used within the industry.

• Using the TIA 568 standard helps organizations to ensure there is consistency within their networks and buildings.

• The following are the 2 different standards:

  • TIA/EIA 568A

  • TIA/EIA 568B

Media convertors

• Copper to fiber

• Fiber to copper