It's fair to say that without the humble Ethernet cable, there would be no digital society.
This simple twisted pair cable allows us to create a network and ultimately connect to the internet.
Simple as they are, what are they intended to do, and how do they work.
What is Ethernet?
Ethernet is the method of connecting any PC or network printer and is often referred to as a Local Area Network or LAN. The purpose of connecting all these devices is to enable them to share information between themselves or upload or download data from a repository or "server."
Although Ethernet was standardised in 1982 (Created by the IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the way we use Ethernet today over twisted pair cable on really came about in the 1990s.
Ethernet's standardisation allowed the manufacturers to create a common cable type to srict performance parameters and allow for a standard eight-pin plug to be produced to enable connectivity to routers, switches, TV's, and any Network enables the device.
Using an Ethernet cable has its advantages over WiFi in that it suffers no overheads so is consequently faster in speed but only suits static Ethernet devices.
What do Ethernet Cables look like?
If you were to look at an Ethernet cable, you would notice it is very similar in appearance to a telephone cable, but on closer inspection, you would see that the Ethernet cable is slightly in size and has eight cables rather than 4. Of course, you cannot stick wires into the back of your router, so it is terminated into an RJ45 Plug, which is modular in appearance. It merely pushes into the Ethernet switch's router and provides the perfect method of connecting the two mediums.
The Ethernet cables themselves are available in various colours but have no effect on its performance and can be used to distinguish between the different services that are running over the cables. However, that is hardly necessary for a home environment.
What does an Ethernet cable do?
It will typically connect to the internet via your broadband provider who will provide that in the form of a router in the home environment. Usually, the router they provide also has between two and four RJ45 Ethernet ports to connect other devices such as PCs, media, heating or home automation controllers.
Ethernet cable structure
The most common form of Ethernet cable is the Twisted pair cable, and the Ethernet cable has four twisted pairs (8 cores in total).
The cable's exact twisting allows it to carry the Ethernet signal for the maximum distance and data rate achievable for stable performance with only fibre optic cable ale to provide faster speeds and distance.
There are many obstacles in high-speed data on a copper cable as Electrical interference can corrupt the data signal. But by innovative design on how the signal is transmitted, i.e. a transmit and receive signal is sent on the twisted pair cable so that the two opposite signals can almost cancel out each other's interference. There are many sources of electrical interference. Consider how many electrical products are in the home or office. Any of these can harm the data carried in the cable and lower the quality of the signal, meaning the speed is reduced, or the distance it can travel is decreased.
There are two types of Twisted pair cable and is commonly available in shielded and unshielded versions.
The unshielded type has a regular PVC jacket. The shielded has a foil jacket (although this can sometimes be a braided type) and will help protect against external electrical influences that can degrade the signal.
Different Variants Of Ethernet Cables
There is more than one type of Ethernet Cable:
Cross-Over Cables
Crossover cables are used to connect two devices of the same type, such as connecting two computers.
Straight Through Or Cross Over Patch Cables
Straight-through cables are usually known as patch cables, used to connect different devices, such as a computer to a data outlet or direct to a router.
Solid Or Stranded Cables
Solid Cables
Solid cables are usually used to provide the network's backbone whereas stranded cable is only suitable as a patch lead due to its lower performance over a long distance. They consist of a single solid copper strand of wire.
Stranded Cables
Stranded cables are manufactured using multiple small strands of copper cable, allowing for greater flexibility, and they are more robust in terms of breakage. That is why all patch leads are usually manufactured to this standard.
Categories of Cable
Ethernet cables are available in multiple variations, known as Categories or Cat. Each category of cable refers to a different set of standards. As new standards evolve, new categories are added by the IEEE committee
Presently, the standard applicable to Ethernet cable begins with Cat5e and extends to Cat7. Any lower rating is now obsolete.
Category 5 (Cat5) – an older version of Ethernet cable that enables speeds of up to 100 Mbps. (Megabits per second)
Category 5e (Cat5e) – enables data rates of 100Mbps over 100m distance.
Category 6 (Cat6) – replaced Cat5e as the most commonly used cable in structured cabling. It will enables speeds of up to 10 gigabits, depending on the cable length. Cat6 cable has thin cores, helping to improve its signal to noise ratio. The cables are also stiffer than Cat5 cables, which can make them harder to run around tight corners. It is terminated in an RJ45 plug.
Category 6A (Cat6A) – a further improvement over Cat6 cable. It affords data speeds of up to 10 gigabits up to 100m. Most Cat6a cables are shielded to reduce electrical noise and electromagnetic radiation from affecting the signals. Cat6 cables use a specific termination plug and are unsuitable for the RJ45 modular type.
Category 7 (Cat7) – Promising up to 10Gbps (Gigabits per second) up to a 100 metres distance. Cat 7 cable is a fully shielded cable, which will eliminate crosstalk and improve electrical noise resistance. Cat7 cables use a specific termination plug and are unsuitable for the RJ45 modular type.
Category 8 (Cat8) – enables speeds of 40Gbps and 2000MHz bandwidth. Designed for use in both Data Centres and enterprise networks, and so are a lot more expensive than lower grades.
For a business network, go for the highest type of cable to get the best results. A home network should go for the highest grade of cable you can justify buying that delivers the speeds promised by your internet service provider.
