Most Common Type of Network Cabling

When it comes to network cabling – or the connection and transfer of information between routers, computers, storage area networks, and switches – the most common type is the Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable, or UTP cable for short. Like other network cables, the UTP cable is used as a medium to carry data. It is a very common type of copper cabling and is mostly used in telephone wiring and local area networks (LANs) to transfer audio signals and electronic data.

As such, the UTP cable plays an important role in our everyday lives. It is the physical apparatus that allows us to connect to the internet or World Wide Web. Coaxial cable and fiber optic cable are alternatives to the UTP cable.

Why is the UTP Cable Common or Popular?

The UTP cable is the most popular or common of the network cables used in LAN technology because of several reasons. First, it is cheaper than STP (shield twisted pair) cables. The UTP cable is also easy to work with, i.e., it’s simple and quick to install. Another amazing thing about the UTP cable is it even works well at lesser data speed.

In addition, it has the ability to expand, thanks to its smaller size which saves a lot of space. The UTP Cable is a 100-ohm copper cable with a minimum of two up to 1,800 unshielded twisted pairs, i.e., the copper cable pairs have no metallic shield. Instead, an outer jacket surrounds it. As a result, the cable has a small diameter, but because it has no metallic shield, it doesn’t have any protection against electrical interference. The twists address this issue, so that grounding issues don’t affect the UTP cable and it can counter crosstalk, EMI, and RFI. Finally, the UTP cable is also fairly easy to troubleshoot.

How Does a UTP Cable Work?

When you use your device, whether that’s a computer or a smart device, data is transmitted as binary code that consists of 0s and 1s. This data travels along the cables in two different voltages - 0 and 5 volts.

In a UTP cable, this consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire. Each pair features two wires twisted together. This is typically the case with horizontal cables. But a UTP cable can have more pairs, with more pairs equating to more bandwidth. Multi-pair UTP cables are usually in 25-pair binder groups and appear in backbone cables. Different pair multiples are necessary for analog, digital, ethernet, and other uses.

These wire pairs are color-coded so that they can be easily identified. North America uses five colors: blue, green, orange, brown, and slate (gray) which are then paired with another set of colors: black, white, red, yellow, and violet. The typical setup is a cable with a solid color is paired with a striped one for easier matching.

Then at the end of these cables, a connector, commonly known as an RJ45 plug, is placed.

Once data reaches the receiving device, the binary codes will be interpreted and reconverted to the original format.

What Applications is the UTP Cable Used For?

In 1881, the famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell created the twisted pair, and so in the beginning, the UTP cable was used for voice applications, a.k.a., the telephone. Voice applications only used analog signals, which were not easily affected by electrical noise or EMI.

But as technology progressed, people began using the UTP cable for different systems. These new systems used digital signaling which required higher quality UTP cables. Eventually, as many applications for UTP emerged, so did different categories or grades of UTP cables (more on this below). However, in essence, these categories can be divided into voice grade UTP cables and data grade UTP cables.

Today, you’ll find UTP cables used in telephones, LAN networks, and slow- and high-speed data ethernet connections. The UTP cable is also used in connecting modems and printers to computers. It also connects dumb terminals to mainframe computers. Surveillance and security systems on network video recorders (NVR), digital video recorders (DVR), and hybrid video recorders (HVR) also use UTP cables as well as automation and control systems.

What are the Categories or Grades of UTP Cables?

As mentioned, UTP cables can be grouped into different categories or grades. According to the TIA/EIA 568 standard, a widely employed telecommunications cable standard, there are five types of UTP cables. These are:

  • CAT3 – supports 10 Mbps for a maximum range of 100 meters. It is typically used in phone lines – though rarely used today –  and can also support computer network traffic, specifically token ring and 10BASE-T ethernet applications. (Old telephones used CAT1 untwisted cable wires, which can’t be used to create computer network traffic.)
  • CAT4 – supports 16 Mbps for a maximum range of 100 meters. It is usually used in token ring networks, a data link for a LAN (local area network) where connected devices are in a ring or star topology.
  • CAT5 – supports 100 Mbps for a maximum range of 100 meters. It features two twisted cable pairs and is typically used in token ring, ethernet, and fast ethernet connections.
  • CAT5e – supports 1 Gbps for a maximum range of 100 meters. This popular UTP cable features four twisted cable pairs and can also be found in ethernet, gigabit ethernet, and fast ethernet connections.
  • CAT6 – supports both 1 Gbps for a maximum range of 100 meters and 10 Gbps for a maximum range of 50 meters. This high-grade UTP cable features four tightly wound twisted cable pairs and is used in ethernet-based LANs (gigabit ethernet and 10 ethernet (55m) connections) as well as data center networks. (CAT6a is also used for gigabit ethernet and 10 ethernet (55m) connections with data transfers of up to 10 Gbps.)

In addition, there are also CAT2 cables that can support 4Mbps for digital voice and data communication. CAT7 cables, which are top grade UTP cables, support 10 Gbps and are used for gigabit ethernet and 10 ethernet (100m).

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