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1000' |
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| Order Online | MUTP5E-3 | CAT5 Jumper | 3' |
| Order Online | MUTP5E-5 | CAT5 Jumper | 5' |
| Order Online | MUTP5E-10 | CAT5 Jumper | 10' |
| Order Online | MUTP5E-15 | CAT5 Jumper | 15' |
| Order Online | MUTP5E-25 | CAT5 Jumper | 25' |
Data Communication Cable and Networks
Network Technologies
Local Area Network (LAN) and Ethernet
A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers that are connected together in a localized area to communicate with one another and share resources such as printers. Data is sent in the form of packets and to regulate the transmission of the packets, different technologies can be used. The most widely used LAN technology is the Ethernet and it is specified in a standard called IEEE 802.3. (Other types of LAN networking technologies include token ring and FDDI.)
Ethernet uses a star topology in which the individual nodes (devices) are networked with one another via active networking equipment such as switches. The number of networked devices in a LAN can range from two to several thousand.
The physical transmission medium for a wired LAN involves cables, mainly twisted pair or fiber optics. A twisted pair cable consists of eight wires, forming four pairs of twisted copper wires and is used with RJ-45 plugs and sockets. The maximum cable length of a twisted pair is 100 m (328 ft.) while for fiber optic cable, the maximum length ranges from 10 km to 70 km, depending on the type of fiber. Depending on the type of twisted pair or fiber optic cables used, data rates today can range from 100 Mbit/s to 10,000 Mbit/s.
A rule of thumb is to always build a network with greater capacity than is currently required. To future-proof a network, it is a good idea to design a network such that only 30% of its capacity is used. Since more and more applications are running over networks today, higher and higher network performance is required. While network switches (discussed below) are easy to upgrade after a few years, cabling is normally much more difficult to replace.
Types of Ethernet networks
- Fast Ethernet
Fast Ethernet refers to an Ethernet network that can transfer data at a rate of 100 Mbit/s. It can be based on a twisted pair or fiber optic cable. (The older 10 Mbit/s Ethernet is still installed and used, but such networks do not provide the necessary bandwidth for some network video applications.)
Most devices that are connected to a network, such as a laptop or a network camera, are equipped with a 100BASE-TX/10BASE-T Ethernet interface, most commonly called a 10/100 interface, which supports both 10 Mbit/s and Fast Ethernet. The type of twisted pair cable that supports Fast Ethernet is called a Cat-5 cable.
- Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet, which can also be based on a twisted pair or fiber optic cable, delivers a data rate of 1,000 Mbit/s (1 Gbit/s) and is becoming very popular. It is expected to soon replace Fast Ethernet as the de facto standard.
The type of twisted pair cable that supports Gigabit Ethernet is a Cat-5e cable, where all four pairs of twisted wires in the cable are used to achieve the high data rates. Cat-5e or higher cable categories are recommended for network video systems. Most interfaces are backwards compatible with 10 and 100 Mbit/s Ethernet and are commonly called 10/100/1000 interfaces.
For transmission over longer distances, fiber cables such as 1000BASE-SX (up to 550 m/1,639 ft.) and 1000BASE-LX (up to 550 m with multimode optical fibers and 5,000 m with single-mode fibers) can be used.
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet
10 Gigabit Ethernet is the latest generation and delivers a data rate of 10 Gbit/s (10,000 Mbit/s), and a fiber optic or twisted pair cable can be used. 10GBASE-LX4, 10GBASE-ER and 10GBASE-SR based on an optical fiber cable can be used to bridge distances of up to 10,000 m (6.2 miles). With a twisted pair solution, a very high quality cable (Cat-6a or Cat-7) is required. 10 Gbit/s Ethernet is mainly used for backbones in high-end applications that require high data rates.
Learn more about Multicom's CAT5E/6 Ethernet Cable
