1.4
Recognize the following media connectors and describe their uses:
> RJ-11 (Registered Jack)
Standard
telephone cable connectors, RJ-11 has 4 wires (and RJ-12 has 6 wires).
Pinout
of the 1-Wire plug
that connects to the socket on a TINI E20 Revision C board, or a 9097U adapter. |
RJ-11
Pin
|
Signal
Name
|
|
1
|
VCC (5
volts regulated)
|
|
|
2
|
Power
Ground
|
|
|
3
|
One
Wire Data
|
|
|
4
|
One
Wire Ground
|
|
|
5
|
No
Connect
|
|
|
6
|
V+
(unregulated DC)
|
> RJ-45 (Registered Jack)
RJ-45 The
"RJ" stands for Registered Jack. These connectors are used with
10-100BaseT cables, and resemble telephone RJ-11 connectors, but are larger.
They are connected to the cable by crimping.
Used for
Ethernet cable connectors, where usually 8 pins (4 pairs) are used, e.g., a
male-to-male cable to connect a cable or ADSL modem to the computer Ethernet
network card. Applications include other networking services such as ISDN and
T1.
25 Pair Color Code Chart
|
RJ-45 Wiring (EIA/TIA-568B)
|
||||
|
Pin
|
Pair
|
Wire
|
Color
|
Pins
|
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
 |
 |
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
 |
|
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
 |
|
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
 |
|
|
5
|
1
|
1
|
 |
|
|
6
|
3
|
2
|
 |
|
|
7
|
4
|
1
|
 |
|
|
8
|
4
|
2
|
 |
|
> F-Type
The F connector
is a type of RF connector commonly used for cable and universally for satellite
television. They are also used for the cable TV connection in DOCSIS cable
modems, usually with RG-6 tri-shield cable. The F connector is inexpensive, yet
has good performance up to 1 GHz. One reason for its low cost is that it uses
the center wire of the coaxial cable as the pin of the male connector. The male
connector body is typically crimped onto the exposed outer braid. Female
connectors have a 3/8-32 thread. Most male connectors have a matching threaded
connecting ring, though push-on versions are also available.
> ST (Straight Tip) and SC (Subscriber Connector
or Standard Connector)
Fiber network
segments always require two fiber cables: one for transmitting data, and one
for receiving. Each end of a fiber cable is fitted with a plug that can be
inserted into a network adapter, hub, or switch. In the North America, most
cables use a square SC connector (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector)
that slides and locks into place when inserted into a node or connected to
another fiber cable, Europeans use a round ST connector (Straight Tip) instead.
SC connector (Subscriber Connector or Standard
Connector)
ST connector (Straight Tip)
Both connectors
offer the same features as far as distance and reliability, Connectors of
different types can communicate with the use of adapters or couplers, but it is
best to choose one type of connector and stick with it over your entire
network.
> IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
Is a personal
computer (and digital audio/video) serial bus interface standard, offering
high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data services. FireWire can
be considered a successor technology to the obsolescent SCSI Parallel
Interface. Up to 63 devices can be daisy-chained to one FireWire port.
IEEE 1394
connectors are used to connect FireWire devices such as host controllers,
adapters, hard drives, hubs, repeaters, and card readers. FireWire, a
registered trademark of Apple Computer, is a communications protocol for the
transmission of data, video, and audio over a single cable at very high bit
rates. IEEE 1394 is an interface standard adopted by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for digital data transfers at 400
Mbps. The popularity of IEEE 1394 is due in part to its use of a bus-powered
architecture that does not require peripherals to supply their own power.
Products that support the IEEE 1394 standard adhere to its specifications, but
often use proprietary trade names. For example, Sony uses the term iLink to
describe its FireWire products. iLink is a registered trademark of the Sony
Corporation.
There are two
basic types of IEEE 1394 connectors: four-pin and six-pin. Four-pin or
four-position FireWire connectors are used with digital video camcorders and
other devices that have a small footprint and do not require external power. By
contrast, six-pin or six-position connectors are used with personal computers (PCs),
rewritable compact disc rewritable drives (CDRWs), external hard drives,
digital audio stations, and other larger, more durable FireWire devices that
use external power. Four-pin connectors are rectangular, 1/4” by 1/8” devices
in which one of the longer sides is indented. Six-pin connectors are
rectangular, 1/2” by 3/16” devices in which one of the smaller sides is
rounded. Four-pin and six-pin IEEE 1394 connectors are either straight or
right-angled.
> Fiber LC (Local Connector)
These connectors
are used for single-mode and multimode fiber-optic cables. FC connectors offer
extremely precise positioning of the fiber-optic cable with respect to the
transmitter's optical source emitter and the receiver's optical detector. FC
connectors feature a position locatable notch and a threaded receptacle.
> MT-RJ (Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack)
MT-RJ connectors
are used with single-mode and multimode fiber-optic cables. The MT-RJ
connectors are constructed with a plastic housing and provide for accurate
alignment via their metal guide pins and plastic ferrules.
Used for Gigabit
ethernet. To connect to modules with MT-RJ interfaces, use multimode
fiber-optic cables.
> USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Universal Serial
Bus, or USB, is a computer standard designed to eliminate the guesswork in
connecting peripherals to a PC. It is expected to replace serial and parallel
ports. A single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices,
such as mice, modems, keyboards, digital camera's, printers, scanners, MP3
players and many more. USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot
plugging.
· USB 1.1 standard supports data transfer rates of
12 Mbps.
· USB 2.0 (Also referred to as Hi-Speed USB)
specification defines a new High-speed transfer rate of 480 Mb/sec.
USB 2.0 is fully
compatible with USB 1.1 and uses the same cables and connectors.
USB has with two
connector types. The first is Type A (on the right), This connector connects to
the PC's USB port.
The Type B (on
the left) connector and is for connecting to the relevant peripheral.
Where as the
type A connector is truly standard, the Type B connector could be changed in
size etc. with individual peripherals meaning they require there own unique
cables.
> Coaxial Connectors
BNC
connector for coaxial cables. These are either soldered, or crimped to the
end of the cable.
|
 |
 BNC
barrel connector, used to connect two cables together. It is better to use
one continuous length of cable, as these connectors weaken the signal
strength. |
A thicknet network connection
uses a 15 pin attachment unit interface (AUI) to connect the 15 pin DB 15
connector on the back of the network adapter card to an external transceiver
(shown left). The transceiver for thicknet Ethernet includes a vampire tap
(shown on top of the transceiver) which pierces the thicknet cable to make
the network connection. From the transceiver to the network card a drop cable
is attached.
|
1.5
Recognize the following media types and describe their uses:
> Category 3 cable, commonly known as Cat-3, is an unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
cable designed to reliably carry data up to 10 Mbit/s, with a possible
bandwidth of 16 MHz. It is part of a family of copper cabling standards defined
jointly by the Electronic Industries Alliance and the Telecommunications
Industry Association. Category 3 was a popular cabling format among computer
network administrators in the early 1990s, but has since been almost entirely
replaced by the very similar Cat-5 standard, which offers higher top speeds.
> Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an
unshielded twisted pair type cable designed for high signal integrity. The
actual standard defines specific electrical properties of the wire, but it is
most commonly known as being rated for its Ethernet capability of 100 Mbit/s.
Its specific standard designation is EIA/TIA-568. Cat 5 cable typically has
three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 24 gauge copper wires within the
cable. The twisting of the cable reduces electrical interference and crosstalk.
Another important characteristic is that the wires are insulated with a plastic
(FEP) that has low dispersion, that is, the dielectric constant of the plastic
does not depend greatly on frequency. Special attention also has to be paid to
minimizing impedance mismatches at connection points.
Cat 5 cables are
often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Fast Ethernet,
although they are also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice
services, token ring, and ATM (at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances).
> RJ-45 electrical connectors are nearly always used for connecting category 5
cable. Generally solid core cable is used for connecting between the wall
socket and the socket in the patch panel whilst stranded cable is used for the
patch leads between hub/switch and patch panel socket and between wall port and
computer. However it is possible to put plugs onto solid core cable and some
installations save on the cost of patch panels and/or wall ports by putting
plugs directly onto the fixed category 5 wiring and plugging them straight into
the computers and/or hub/switches.
> Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 for use
with 1000BASE-T (gigabit) networks, or for long-distance 100 Base-T links (350
m, compared with 100 m for Cat 5). It must meet the EIA/TIA 568A-5
specification. Virtually all cables sold as Cat 5 are actually Cat 5e. The markings
on the cable itself reveal the exact type.
> Category - 6 cable, (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1) A cable standard for
Gigabit Ethernet and other interconnect that is backward compatible with
Category 5 cable, Cat-5e and Cat-3. Cat-6 features more stringent
specifications for crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard is suitable
for 10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet) connections.
The cable
contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like earlier copper cable
standards, although each twisted pair is made up of slightly larger 23 gauge
copper wire as opposed to Cat 5's 24 gauge wire. When used as a patch cable,
Cat-6 is normally terminated in RJ-45 electrical connectors. If components of
the various cable standards are intermixed, the performance of the signal path
will be limited to that of the lowest category. The distance without losing
data is 220 m.
> Category 7 cable (CAT7), (ISO/IEC 11801:2002 category 7/class
F), is a cable standard for Ultra Fast Ethernet and other interconnect
technologies that can be made to be backwards compatible with traditional CAT5
and CAT6 Ethernet cable. CAT7 features even more stringent specifications for
crosstalk and system noise than CAT6. To achieve this, shielding has been added
for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole.
The CAT7 cable
standard has been created to allow 10-gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper
cabling. The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the
earlier standards. CAT7 can be terminated in RJ-45 compatible GG45 electrical
connectors which incorporate the RJ-45 standard, and a new type of connection
to enable a smoother migration to the new standard. When combined with GG-45
connectors, CAT7 cable is rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz.
Also being
considered is a non-RJ-45-compatible standard developed by Siemon which forgoes
compatibility in exchange for performance, and doubles the transmission
frequencies of RJ-45.[1] The TERA interface is the only non-RJ category 7/class
F industry-standard connector recognized within ISO/IEC 11801 Ed. 2.0.
> UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)
UTP is the most
commonly used type of networking cable. UTP cables are often called
"ethernet cables" after Ethernet, the most common data networking
standard that utilizes UTP cables, although not the most reliable.
In contrast to
FTP and STP cabling, UTP cable is not surrounded by any shielding. It is the
primary wire type for telephone usage and is very common for computer
networking, especially in patch cables or temporary network connections due to
the high flexibility of the cables.
> STP (Shielded Twisted Pair)
This cable has a
conductive braided or foil casing for each pair and theoretically offers very
good protection from interference and crosstalk. It was commonly used for token
ring networks. Shielded Twisted Pair is rarely used due to the fact that the
potential performance increase over UTP is not worth the much greater cost of
STP.
> Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable is
an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an
insulating spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, and usually
surrounded by a final insulating layer.
The cable is
designed to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal, as a high-frequency
transmission line. Because the electromagnetic field carrying the signal exists
(ideally) only in the space between the inner and outer conductors, it cannot
interfere with or suffer interference from external electromagnetic fields.
They used to be
common for implementing computer networks, in particular Ethernet, but twisted
pair cables have replaced them in most applications.
> SMF (Single Mode Fiber) optic cable
Single-mode
optical fiber is an optical fiber in which only the lowest order bound mode can
propagate at the wavelength of interest. Single mode fibers are best at
retaining the fidelity of each light pulse over longer distances and exhibit no
dispersion caused by multiple spatial modes; thus more information can be
transmitted per unit time giving single mode fibers a higher bandwidth in
comparison with multi-mode fibers. A typical single mode optical fiber has a
core radius of 5-10 micrometers and a cladding radius of 120 micrometers.
Currently, data rates of up to 10 Gigabits/second are possible at distances of
over 60 km with commercially available transceivers.
Equipment for
Single mode fiber is more expensive than equipment for Multi-mode optical
fiber, but the single mode fiber itself is usually cheaper in bulk.
> MMF (Multimode Fiber) optic cable
Multi-mode
optical fiber (multimode fiber or MM fiber) is a type of optical fiber mostly
used for communication over shorter distances, e.g. within a building. It can
carry 1 Gbit/s for typical building distances; the actual maximum speed (given
the right electronics) depends upon the distance. It is easier to connect to
than single-mode optical fiber, but its limit on speed x distance is lower.
Multi-mode fiber has a larger center core than single-mode fiber, which allows
it to support more than one propagation mode, or path within the fiber.
The equipment used for communications over
multi-mode optical fiber is less expensive than that for single-mode optical
fiber. Typical transmission speeds/distances limits are 100 Mbit/s up to 2 km
(100BASE-FX), 1 Gbit/s for distances up to 500-600 meters (1000BASE-LX,
1000BASE-SX), and 10 Gbit/s for distances up to 300 meters (10GBASE-SR).
