Four Types Of Network Cabling
Network cable acts like a medium through which information travels from one network device to the other. The type of cable selected for a network depends on the network’s size, topology, and procedure. The various types of network cables act as the backbone of the network infrastructure.
Coaxial Cable
It has a single copper conductor in the middle. A plastic layer provides insulation between the braided metal shield and center conductor. The metal shield blocks outer interference from motors, fluorescent lights, and other computers.
Coaxial cabling is extremely resistant to signal obstruction though it is complex to install. It can handle great cable lengths between network devices than the twisted pair cable. The two types of coaxial cables are thin coaxial and thick coaxial.
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable
It is a special kind of copper telephone wiring used in business installations. An external shield which functions as a ground is added to the normal twisted pair telephone wires. Shielded twisted pair may be the answer if you 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.
Fiber Optic Cable
Fiber optic cabling consists of a center glass core surrounded by many layers of protective materials. 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. It has become the standard for connecting networks between buildings because of its resistance to lighting and moisture.
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Unshielded Twisted Pair
It is the most admired type of network cable in the world. UTP cable is used for both conventional telephone and computer networking.
The various wiring schemes for UTP are:
- CAT1 which is used for telephone wire. CAT2 supports speeds up to 4 Mbps and used frequently for token ring networks.
- CAT3 and CAT4 are both used for Token Ring networks for higher network speeds.
- CAT5 wire is now replaced by the CAT5e designs providing an enhanced crosstalk specification allowing it to support speeds up to 1 Gbps. It is the most used network cabling specification in the world.
- CAT6 support speeds of 1 Gbps for length up to 100 meters and 10 Gbps up to 55 meters. Organizations using CAT6 cabling should use a specialized cable analyzer to request a complete test report, to ensure that the the CAT6 guidelines and standards have been followed during the installation.
- The CAT7 is a fresh copper cable pattern which can support speeds of 10Gbps and length up to 100 meters.
