Category 5 cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Category 5 cable
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5 or "Cable and Telephone", is a twisted pair cable type designed for
high signal integrity. Many such cables are unshielded but some are shielded. Category 5 has been superseded by
the Category 5e specification. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as
Ethernet, and is 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).

Contents
Cat5 patch cable

1 Usage and wiring methods

1.1 Category 5
1.2 Category 5e
1.3 Connectors and other information
2 See also
3 External links

Usage and wiring methods

Category 5
The original specification for category 5 cable was defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB95. These documents specified performance characteristics and test requirements for frequencies of up to 100
MHz.
Category 5 cable includes four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. This use of balanced lines helps preserve a
high signal-to-noise ratio despite interference from both external sources and other pairs (this latter form of
interference is called crosstalk). It is most commonly used for 100 Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX
Ethernet, although IEEE 802.3ab defines standards for 1000BASE-T - Gigabit Ethernet over category 5 cable.
Cat 5 cable typically has three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 24 gauge copper wires within the cable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

TIA/EIA-568-A T568A
Wiring
Pin Pair Wire
Color
1

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Category 5e
Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. It was formally
defined in 2001 in the TIA/EIA-568-B standard, which no longer recognizes the original Cat 5 specification.
Although 1000BASE-T was designed for use with Cat 5 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e
cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000BASE-T. Despite the stricter performance
specifications, Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: cables are still limited
to a maximum of 100 m (328 ft) in length (normal practice is to limit fixed ("horizontal") cables to 90 m to
allow for up to 5 m of patch cable at each end). Cat 5e cable performance characteristics and test methods are
defined in TIA/EIA-568-B.2-2001.

Connectors and other information

The cable exists in both stranded and solid conductor forms. The stranded form is more flexible and withstands
8P8C modular plug pin positioning
more bending without breaking and is suited for reliable connections with insulation piercing connectors, but
makes unreliable connections in insulation-displacement connectors. The solid form is less expensive and
makes reliable connections into insulation displacement connectors, but makes unreliable connections in
insulation piercing connectors. Taking these things into account, building wiring (for example, the wiring inside
the wall that connects a wall socket to a central patch panel) is solid core, while patch cables (for example, the
movable cable that plugs into the wall socket on one end and a computer on the other) are stranded. Outer
4 1
2
insulation is typically PVC or LSOH.
blue
Cable types, connector types and cabling topologies are defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. Nearly always, 8P8C
modular connectors, often incorrectly referred to as "RJ-45", are used for connecting category 5 cable.

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The cable is terminated in either the T568A scheme or the T568B scheme. It doesn't make any difference which
is used as they are both straight through (pin 1 to 1, pin 2 to 2, etc); however mixed cable types should not be
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connected in series as the impedance per pair differs slightly and could cause signal degradation. The article
Ethernet over twisted pair describes how the cable is used for Ethernet, including special "cross over" cables.
8

See also

white/blue
orange
white/brown
brown

Category 6 cable

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Category 5 cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

External links
Cable your own house (http://www.linux.ie/articles/tutorials/networking.php) - written in 1999 and does
have some out-of-date information.
Wiring up Cat 5 (http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=5&ArticleID=485&P=1)
Ethernet pinout guide (http://www.incentre.net/incentre/frame/ethernet.html)
Structured cabling instructions (http://www.netday.org/install.htm)
How to wire your own Ethernet cables (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Network-Cable)
Wiring telephones over structured cabling (http://www.evonet.com/evonet/index.asp?Page=15)
How to Punch Down 110 Style Jacks (http://www.computercablestore.com/Punch-Down.aspx)
How to wire Ethernet Cables - includes information on PoE, cable categories and Ethernet
(http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/ethernetcables.html)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable"
Categories: Ethernet | Networking hardware | Signal cables

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TIA/EIA-568-B T568B
Wiring
Pin Pair Wire
Color
1

white/orange
orange
white/green
blue
white/blue
green
white/brown
brown

Image of partially stripped

cable showing the twisted

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pairs.

Image of a Cat 5E Wall outlet

showing the two wiring
schemes: A for T568A, B for
T568B.

This page was last modified on 18 February 2008, at 04:11.

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