Here, I described about Networking Cables. I described various types of cable such as Coaxial Cable, Twisted Pair Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, UTP & STP in details.

1. Course Title: Computer Networks lab.
Course Code: CSE 318
Submitted By:
Name: Md. Jiarul Islam
ID: 1834902595
Sec: B Batch: 49th
Dept. of CSE (DAY)
City University, Dhaka
Submitted To:
Name: Pranab Bandhu Nath
Senior Lecturer
CSE Department
City University, Dhaka
Submission Date: 29-05-2021

2. Networking Cable
Cable is the medium through which information usually moves from one
network device to another. There are several types of cable which are
commonly used with LANs. The type of cable chosen for a network is related to
the network's topology, protocol, and size. Understanding the characteristics of
different types of cable and how they relate to other aspects of a network is
necessary for the development of a successful network.
There are various types of cables used in network:-
 Coaxial Cable
 Twisted Pair Cable
 Fiber Optic Cable
Twisted Pair cable has two types:-
 Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable (UTP)
 Shielded Twisted Pair Cable (STP)
Specification Cable Type Maximum Length
10 Base T Unshielded Twisted Pair 100 meters
10 Base 2 Thin Coaxial 185 meters
10 Base 5 Thick Coaxial 500 meters
10 Base F Fiber-Optic 2000 meters
Coaxial Cable:
Coaxial cabling has a single copper conductor at its center. A plastic layer
provides insulation between the center conductor and a braided metal shield.
This cable contains a conductor, insulator, braiding, and sheath.

3. Fig: Coaxial Cable
Sheath:
This is the outer layer of the coaxial cable. It protects the cable from physical
damage.
Braided Shield:
This shield protects signals from external interference and noise. This shield is
built from the same metal that is used to build the core.
Insulation:
Insulation protects the core. It also keeps the core separate from the braided
shield. Since both the core and the braided shield use the same metal, without
this layer, they will touch each other and create a short- circuit in the wire.
Conductor:
The conductor carries electromagnetic signals. Based on conductor a coaxial
cable can be categorized into two types; single-core coaxial cable and multi-
core coaxial cable.
Coaxial cable has two types:-
Single Core Coaxial Cable
Multi Core Coaxial Cable

4. Single Core Coaxial Cable:
A single-core coaxial cable uses a single central metal conductor.
Fig: Single core Coaxial Cable
Multi-Core Coaxial Cable:
A multi-core coaxial cable uses multiple thin strands of metal wires.
Fig: Multi-Core Coaxial Cable
Twisted Pair Cable:
The twisted-pair cable was primarily developed for computer networks. This
cable is also known as Ethernet cable. Almost all modern LAN computer
networks use this cable.

5. Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable:
Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) is a four-pair wire medium used in a variety of
networks. UTP does not require the fixed spacing between connections that is
necessary with coaxial-type connections.
There are five types of UTP cabling commonly used as shown below:-
 Category 1: Used for telephone communications. It is not suitable for
transmitting data.
 Category 2: Capable of transmitting data at speeds up to 4 Mbps.
 Category 3: Used in 10BaseT networks and can transmit data at speeds up
to 10 Mbps.
 Category 4: Used in Token Ring networks. Can transmit data at speeds up
to 16 Mbps.
 Category 5: Can transmit data at speeds up to 100 Mbps.
Fig: Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable
Shielded Twisted Pair Cable:
Shielded twisted-pair (STP) is a two-pair wiring medium used in a variety of
network implementations. STP cabling has a layer of shielded insulation to
reduce EMI. Token Ring runs on STP.
 Speed is usually satisfactory for local-area distances.
 These are the least expensive media for data communication. UTP is
cheaper than STP.

6.  Because most buildings are already wired with UTP, many transmission
standards are adapted to use it to avoid costly re-wiring of an alternative
cable type.
Fig: Shielded Twisted Pair Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable:
This cable consists of a core, cladding, buffer, and jacket. The core is made
from thin strands of glass or plastic that can carry data over a long distance. The
core is wrapped in the cladding; the cladding is wrapped in the buffer, and the
buffer is wrapped in the jacket. Fiber optic cable is completely immune to EMI
and RFI. This cable can transmit data over a long distance at the highest speed.
It can transmit data up to 40 kilometers at the speed of 100Gbps.
Fig: Fiber Optic Cable

7.  Cladding reflects light back to the core.
 Buffer protects the light from leaking.
 The jacket protects the cable from physical damage
 Core carries the data signals in the form of light.
There are two types of Fiber-Optic Cable:-
 Single Mode Fiber or Mono Mode Fiber (SMF)
 Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF)
Single Mode Fiber (SMF):
A single-mode optical fiber (SMF) is an optical fiber designed to carry only a
single mode of light - the transverse mode. This cable carries only a single beam
of light. This is more reliable and supports much higher bandwidth and longer
distances than the MMF cable. This cable uses a laser as the light source and
transmits 1300 or 1550 nano-meter wavelengths of light.
Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF):
Multi-mode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for
communication over short distances, such as within a building or on a campus.
This cable carries multiple beams of light. Because of multiple beams, this cable
carries much more data than the SMF cable. This cable is used for shorter
distances. This cable uses an LED as the light source and transmits 850 or 1300
nano-meter wavelengths of light.
Fig: SMF & MMF
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