COMMON

NETWOR
K CABLES
■Coaxial cable ■Fiber optic

■ Twisted
Pair
COAXIAL
CABLE
■Coaxial cable is a copper-cored cable
surrounded by a heavy shielding.
Coaxial cable is used to connect the
computers to the rest of the network.
■Consist of a solid copper core
surrounded by an insulator mainly
made up of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
or Teflon
■Coaxial cables are less prone to
interference (both internal and
external)
■ Coaxial cable uses “British Naval Connectors
(BNC)” or “Bayonet Neill- Concelman”
connectors, at the ends of the cables to make
the connection. Several types of coaxial cable
exist:
 Thicknet (10BASE5) is a coaxial cable used
in networks operating at 10 Mbps, with a
maximum length of 500 meters.
 Thinnet (10BASE2) is a coaxial cable used in
networks operating at 10 Mbps, with a
maximum length of 185 meters.
 RG-59 is most commonly used for cable
television in the U.S.
 RG-6 is higher-quality cable than RG-59,
with more bandwidth and less susceptibility to
interference.
FIBER OPTIC CABLE
■An optical fiber is a glass or plastic conductor
that transmits information using light.
■Fiber optic cable has one or more optical fibers
enclosed in a sheath or jacket.
■Because it is made of glass, fiber-optic cable is
not affected by EMI or RFI.
■All signals are converted to light pulses to enter
the cable and are converted back into electrical
signals when they leave it.
■This means that fiber-optic cable can deliver
signals that are clearer, and can go farther,
without compromising the clarity of signals.
■Fiber-optic cable can reach distances of
several miles or kilometers before the
signal needs to be regenerated.
■Fiber-optic cable usually is more
expensive to use than copper cable,
and the connectors are more costly and
harder to assemble.
■Types of glass Fiber Optic Cables:
– Single-mode is the
cable that has a
very thin core. It is
harder to make,
uses lasers as a
light source, and
can transmit signals
dozens of
kilometers with ease
– Multimode is the
cable that has a thicker
core than single-mode
cable. It is easier to
make, can use simpler
light sources such as
Light Emitting Diodes
(LEDs), and works well
over distances of a few
kilometers or less.
TWISTED
PAIR
CABLE
 TWISTED PAIR CABLE
■A pair of cables twisted around each other forms a
twisted pair cable. 
■Twisted pair is a type of copper cabling that is
used for telephone communications and most
Ethernet networks. A pair of wires forms a circuit
that transmits data. The pair is twisted to provide
protection against crosstalk, the noise generated
by adjacent pairs of wires in the cable. Pairs of
copper wires are encased in color-coded plastic
insulation and are twisted together. An outer
jacket protects the bundles of twisted pairs.
■Types of Twisted Pair cables:
– Unshielded Twisted pair (UTP)
– Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
 Unshielded Twisted Pair
■UTP is the cable that (UTP)
has two or four pairs of wires.
■UTP is the most commonly used cabling in networks.
■UTP cables have a range of 328 feet (100 m).
■Cheapest form of cables available for networking
purpose
■Highly used in LAN environments
■Easy to install
■Easily gets affected by Electromagnetic Interference
(EMI) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)
Characteristics of UTP
■Maximum cable length – 100m
■Bandwidth – 100 Mbps
■Connector – RJ45
■Bend Radius – 360 degree/fee
■ Resistance – 50 ohm
■Signal Transmission Mode -
Baseband
 UTP Category Rating
UTP comes in several categories that are based on two
factors:
 The number of wires in the cable
 The number of twists in those wires
• is the wiring used for telephone systems and
Category Ethernet LAN at 10 Mega byte per second
3 (Mbps).
• has four pairs of wires.
Category
• have four pairs of wires with a transmission rate of 100
Mbps.
5 • is the most common network cables used
Category • Category 5e has more twists per foot than Category 5
5e wiring.
• use a plastic divider to separate the pairs of
Category wires, which prevents interference
6 • pairs also have more twists than Category 5e
Shielded Twisted Pair
■Each pair (STP)
of wire is wrapped in
metallic foil to better shield the
wires from noise.
■ STP reduces electrical noise
from within the cable.
■It also reduces EMI and RFI
from outside the cable.
 Shielded Twisted Pair
■Although (STP)
STP prevents
interference better than UTP,
STP is more expensive because
of the extra shielding.
■It is more difficult to install
because of the thickness.
Shielded Twisted Pair
(STP)
■In addition, the metallic
shielding must be grounded at
both ends.
– If it is improperly grounded,
the shield acts like an
antenna, picking up unwanted
 What is Ethernet?
■Ethernet is a type of network
cabling and signaling specifications
developed by Xerox in the late
1970.
■While Internet is a global network,
Ethernet is a local area network
(LAN).
 What is Ethernet?
■No computer should be an island. With
Ethernet, file sharing and printer sharing
among machines became possible.
■The term "ether" was coined by Greek
philosopher Aristotle to describe the "divine
element" in the heaven. In the 17th century,
French philosopher and mathematician
Rene Descartes theorized that the universe
has no void; all space, including the heaven
and the earth, is filled with ether, which is
 What is Ethernet?

■In short, "ether" is said to be a

kind of substance that exists
everywhere.
■Although this is a
misconception, network
developers still adopted the
term "ether" and therefore
QUI
 Assignment:
■Bring any the following:

Wire stripper Wire cutter Scissor Cutter