Structured Cabling¶
(Twisted pair cable): network cable composed of twisted pairs of conductors.
The conductors are twisted in order to reduce electromagnetic interference from outside the cable and crosstalk between conductors.
Shielding¶
- TP (twisted pair)
- U (unshielded)
- F (foil shielding)
- S (braided shielding)
Examples:
- U/UTP – unshielded twisted pair cable
- F/UTP – foil-shielded twisted pair cable
- U/FTP – twisted pair cable with foil shielding between conductor pairs(but unshielded on the perimeter)
- SF/UTP – foil- ands braided-shielded twisted pair cable
UTP Categories¶
Cat3 UTP 16 MHz 10BASE-T Ethernet Cat5 UTP 100 MHz 100BASE-TX 1000BASE-T Ethernet Cat5e UTP 100 MHz 100BASE-TX 1000BASE-T Ethernet Cat7 F/FTP, S/FTP 600 MHz 10GBASE-T Ethernet
Other:
Connector Types¶
- 8P8C (8 Position 8 Contact)
Standard T568A¶
| pin | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| conductor |  |
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UTP cable pinouts¶
- UTP standard cable: both ends T568A, connects computers to network devices
- UTP crossover cable: one end T568A, the other end T568B, connects computers to computers or devices with Auto MDI-X
Connection length¶
The TIA/EIA 568-5-A specifies the maximum length of 100Base-TX, 1000Base-T, and 10GBase-T cables at 100m.
There is no minimum connection length on copper UTP cables.
Connection quality¶
- Correct termination (correct instalation of connectors)
- Attenuation – a dissipation of signal on a transmission medium \(10 \cdot \log \frac{P_{input}}{P_{output}} [dB]\)
- Crosstalk – a signal on one conductor causes (undesired) signal change on another conductor