Cables
Introduction
There's many different types of cable used in Networking, below we'll give a brief description of what they are and when they're used.
Twisted Pair
The main cable used in networking is the twisted pair, this is 2 copper cores twisted together with their own plastic insulation, one core carries the signal while the other is used as a ground. The benefit of these pairs being twisted together is that they reduce external electromagnetic interference and crosstalk from neighbouring pairs. These cables do have a limit on how far they can be run typically losing signal over 100M.
Fibre Optic
Fibre optic cables provide fast connections to the Internet via data signals in the form of light. Used primarily by broadband and telephone companies, the light channel consists of two major parts:
- Core
- Cladding – protective cover of the core
Fibre optic cable is lightweight, and unlike the other two data connections, it does not suffer from signal deterioration however it is more costly and more delicate due to the glass sections of the cable.
Coaxial
Coaxial Cable carries high frequency signals, and it is mostly used in CCTV Systems and television or radio cables. These types of cable have a solid wire core conductor that is enclosed in an insulator and covered by a metal foil outer conductor. The circuit is completed by this outer conductor, and the entire cable is secured by a plastic cover.
Coax cabling requires the use of a specific connection known as a BNC connector, which is used to connect the cable’s end to a device.
Types of twisted pair cable
The most commonly used twisted pair cable is Cat5e which is typically used in most residential homes and small offices and offers a data transfer rate of up to 1 Gbps. The next one up is Cat6 cable which offers a higher bandwidth up to 10Gbps, this would be used in a bigger office or maybe a business that requires a larger bandwidth. The next one up from this is Cat6a which also offers 10Gbps but can be used over longer distances for larger Network infrastructures. After this you can get Cat7, Cat7a and Cat8 cables which are more for specialised applications like data centres etc.