This is a notes about Cables & Connectors of computer networks. It contain details about the information of different types of cables- twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, fiber optical cable, crossover cable , straight through cable, STP/UTP cables & about their connectors.

1. NETWORKING
CABLES &
CONNECTORS
..Different types of Computer networking cables….
ABSTRACT
This is a notes about Cables & Connectors of
computer networks. It contain details about the
information of different types of cables- twisted
pair cable, coaxial cable, fiber optical cable,
crossover cable , straight through cable, stp/utp
cables & about their connectors.
Supervised By
Pranab Bandhu Nath
(Senior Lecturer)
CSE Department
City University, Dhaka
Submitted By
Shamima Akther| ID - 1834902616
CSE 317 : Computer Networks

2. “CABLES & CONNECTORS”
Network Cabling:
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 choosen 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 each other
aspects of a network is necessary for the development of a successful network. There are three
Types of Cables. They are:-
Twisted Pair Cable: A twisted-pair caible is a cable made by interwinning two separate
insulated wires. There are two twisted pair types: shielded and unsheilded.
❖ STP & UTP:
A STP(Sheilded Twisted Pair) Cable has a fine wire mesh surrounding the wires to
protect the transmission and a UTP(Unsheilded Twisted Pair) cable does not. Both can
transmit data at 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps and 10Gbps & both cables use the same RJ-
45(registered jack) modular connectors. The maximum segment length for both cables is
100 meters or 328 feet & both cables can accommodate a maximum of 1024 nodes in
each segment.
For STP, It is a special kind of copper telephone wiring used in business installations. An
external sheild which functions as a ground is added to the normal twisted pair telephone
wires. It provides more noise and EMI resistance than UTP cable. Shielded twisted pair
maybe the answer if we want to place the cable in an area with potential interference and
risk to the electrical current in the UTP. Shielded cables can also help in expanding the
distance between the cables.Shielded Cable is used in older telephone networks and
network and data communications to reduce outside interference.
On the other hand, UTP cable is the most admired type of network cable in the world.
UTP cable is used for both conventional telepphone and computer networking. The
quality of UTP may vary from telephone-grade wire to extremely high speed cable. The
cable has four pairs of wires inside the jacket. Each pair is twisted with a different
number of twists per inch to help eliminate interference from adjacent pairs and other
electrical devices. The tighter the twisting, the higher the supported transmission rate and
the greater the cost per foot.
The illustration gives an example of how it looks:

3. Unshielded Twisted Pair Connector:
The standard connector for unshielded twisted pair cabling is an RJ-45 connector. This is a
plastic connector that looks like a large telephone-style connector (fig.2). A slot allows The RJ-
45 to be inserted only one way. RJ stands for Registered Jack, implying that the connector
follows a standard borrowed from the telephone industry. This standard designates which wire
goes with each pin inside the connector.
Coaxial cable: Coaxial cable is a type of cable that has an inner conductor surrounded by an
insulating layer, surrounded by a conductive sheilding. Many also have an insulating outer
jacket. The term “coaxial” refers to the inner conductor and the outer sheild sharing a geometric
axis. The following image & further details shows these components:-

4. ❖ Outer Jacket/Sheath:
The outer jacket of the co-axial cable is also called as Sheath. It protects the cable from
physical damage.
❖ Braided Shield:
This shield protects signal 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 separate from the braided sheild. Since both the core and the braided shield
use the 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 co-axial cable can
be categorized into two types:- single-core coaxial cable & multi-core coaxial cable.
A single-core coaxial cable uses a single central metal (usually copper) conductor, while
a multi-core coaxial cable uses multiple thin strands of metal wires.
Coaxial Cable Connectors:
The most common type of connector used with coaxial cables in the Bayone-Neill- Concelman
(BNC) connector (fig.4). Different types of adapters are available for BNC connectors, including
a T-connectors, barrel connector & terminator. Connectors on the cable are the weakest points in
any network. To help avoid problems with your network, always use the BNC connectors That
crimp, rather screw, onto the cable.

5. Fiber-Optic Cable: A fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains strands of glass fibers
inside an insulated coating. It removes the problem of electrical obstruction by transmitting light
rather than electronic signals. This makes them perfect for certain atmospheres which contain
huge amount of electrical interference.They’re designed for long-distance, high-performance
data networking, and telecommunicatons. Compared to wired cables, fiber optic cables provide
higher bandwidth and transmit data over longer distances. It has become the standard for
connecting networks between buildings because of its resistance to lighting and moisture.Fiber
optic cables support much of the world’s internet, cable television, and telephone systems.
As we know fiber optic cable uses light to send data. Based on how many beams of light are
transmitted at a given time, there are two types of fiber optical cable:- SMF & MMF.
❖ SMF (Single-mode fiber) optical cable:
This cable carries only 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.
❖ MMF (multi-mode fiber) optical cable:
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 to 1300 nano-meter wavelengths of
light.

6. Universal Serial Bus (USB) Cables:
Although these types of cables are typically used to connect external devices to the computer for
personal use, there are special adapters that will allow an Ethernet cable to indirectly connect to a
USB port and function normally. These tend to be used as temporary setups in network cabling
until a more reliable type of cabling, such as STP/UTPs or fiber optics, can be properly installed.
As you can see, there is little variety in the different types of network cables that are commonly
used. The current trend is trying to re-design these cables to squeeze as much performance and
speed out of them as possible. Efforts are being made to kill the world of cables and enter a
completely wireless world, but it is difficult to say when this time will come.
Straight Through Cable:
This type of cable also known as patch cable. A patch cable is an electrical or optical cable used
to connect one electronic device to another towards building infrastructure for signal routing.
Devices of different types (ex- a switch connected to a computer or a switch connected to a
router) are connected with patch cables. Patch cables are usually produced in many different
colors so as to be easily distinguishable and most are relatively short, no longer than a few
meters. In contrast to on-premises wiring, patch cables are more flexible.
For the following cabling straight through cables are used:
• Switch to Router.
• Switch to PC or server.
• Hub to PC or server.

7. Crossover Cable:
An Ethernet crossover cable is a type of Ethernet cable used to connect computing devices
together directly. Unlike straight through cable ,crossover cables use two different wiring
standards; one end uses the T568A wiring standard & the other end uses the T568B wiring
standard. The internal wiring of ethernet crossover cables reverses the transmit and receive
signals. It is most often used to connect two devices of the same type: ex- Two computers (via
network interface controller) or two switches to each other.
For the following cabling crossover cables are used:
• Switch to switch.
• Switch to hub.
• Hub to hub
• Router to router.
• Router Ethernet port to PC NIC.
• PC to PC.
Basic Diffences between straight through & cross-over cable:
Straight through and crossover cables are wired differently from each other. So, If the order of
the wires is the same inside on both ends, then that is a straight through cable. If not then its most
likely a crossover cable or was wired wrong.
Usually, straight through cables are primarily used for connecting unlike devices. And crossover
cables are use for connecting unlike devices alike devices.

8. References:
https://dimtech.com.au/types-of-network-cabling/
https://www.computernetworkingnotes.com/networking-tutorials/network-cable-types-and-
specifications.html?fbclid=IwAR099-
nVIuhaZKDhVTFDqhYUMl8XV46mBtynM_ZiNNB8MwsgvmZRtHjzXLw
https://fcit.usf.edu/network/chap4/chap4.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Networking_cables&action=edit&section=4
https://networkencyclopedia.com/cabling/
https://www.firefold.com/blogs/news/common-types-of-networking-cables
https://i2.wp.com/www.fiber-optic-equipment.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/UTP-vs-
STP.jpg
https://bilbyyang.wordpress.com/category/utpstp-cable/