There are few things more essential to a home or office than a good quality network. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to stay connected to the internet, our work, or our loved ones. A strong network starts with good wiring, and that’s where CAT 5 cable comes in.
CAT 5 is the most common type of twisted pair Ethernet cable used in networking today. It’s made up of four pairs of copper wire, with each pair capable of carrying data at up to 100 Mbps. If you’re looking to install or upgrade your home network, here’s a step-by-step guide to making your own CAT 5 cable.
Introduction To CAT 5 Cable
Cat 5 or category 5 is a network cable that consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire terminated by an RJ-45 connector. It is also known as an Ethernet cable or LAN cable. A Cat 5 cable is depicted in the image.
Cat 5 cable is used in residential and business networks to transmit data at rates of up to 100 Mbps. A Cat 5 cable should be no more than 100 meters in length. Extending this length without the assistance of a bridge or other network equipment may result in network difficulties such as data packet loss and transmission speed deterioration.
How to wire Cat5 Cable?
The Cat5 cable must be properly wired. Only a computer networking professional should be contacted for this reason. However, if you wish to connect a Cat5 cable to your home, you should carefully follow the procedures below.
- Peel off around 2 inches of the Cat5 cable’s outer coating.
- You will see four twisted pairs, which you must untwist such that they all stand alone.
- You must now configure them to meet your requirements. If you desire a crossover transmission, position them using the diagram below.
Picture Source: www.ertyu.org
If you desire straight-through transmission, position the colored wires as shown in the image below.
Picture Source: www.ertyu.org
Picture Source: www.ertyu.org
- Peel out those colorful wires so that the copper inside them is visible, around 1/2″ to 3/4″.
- Insert these wires into the RJ45 connector’s front to ensure that the cable is fully entered, and the sheath is extending the plug for about 12,” and this region will be placed within the crimp tool.
- Crimp the RJ45 connector with the crimper tool.
- Check that the wires are put in the right order as described above.
- When finished, disconnect the cord from this plug. It’s a good idea to cut more than you need.
- Follow the same procedure for the second RJ45 plug.
Cat5 Wiring Diagrams
What has been said above will become clearer after we view the wiring diagram templates.
First, we’ll look at a straight-through wiring schematic with 568-A and 568-B wiring.
Picture Source: www.lanshack.com
Now, look at the white and blue wires, which are placed in white/blue and blue/white sequence and are connected to pins 5 and 4. White and orange are organized in pairs of white/orange and orange/white and are inserted into pins 1 and 2. Wires white/green and green/white are connected to pins 3 and 6, and white/brown and brown/white are connected to pins 7 and 8.
Picture Source: www.lanshack.com
Wires white/blue and blue/white are connected to pins 5 and 4, respectively. Green/white and white/green wires are connected to pins 1 and 2. Pins 3 and 6 have orange/white and white/orange wires. Pins white/brown and brown/white are both present in pins 7 and 8.
Now we’ll look at the crossover transmission diagram.
The initial end of a crossover transmission has the orange/white and orange wires on pins 1 and 2. Pin 3 has green/white wires, and pin 4 has a blue wire. The blue/white wires are connected to pin 5, while the green wire is connected to pin 6.
Pins 7 and 8 are wired in brown/white and brown. Green/white and green wires are connected to pins 1 and 2 on the opposite end. Pins 3 and 4 have orange/white and blue wires. Pins 5 and 6 are blue/white and orange. Pins 7 and 8 have brown/white and brown wires.
Picture source: www.cctvcamerapros.com
Categories For Ethernet Cables
Several cables are available for Ethernet and other telecommunications and networking applications. These network cables, which are identified by their many Ethernet cable types, such as Cat 5 cables, Cat 6 cables, Cat 7, and Cat 8 cables, are frequently recognized by the TIA (Telecommunications Industries Association) and are summarized below:
- Cat-1: The TIA/EIA does not recognize this. It is the type of wire used for ordinary telephone service (POTS) or ISDN wiring.
- Cat-2: The TIA/EIA does not recognize this. It was the type of wiring used in 4Mbit/s token ring networks.
- Cat-3: cables are described in TIA/EIA-568-B. It is used in data networks with frequencies of up to 16 MHz. It was popular for usage with 10 Mbps Ethernet networks (100Base-T), but Cat-5 cable has since surpassed it.
- Cat-4: The TIA/EIA does not recognize this cable. It may, however, be utilized for networks carrying frequencies up to 20 MHz. On 16Mbps token ring networks, it was often employed.
- Cat-5: The TIA/EIA does not recognize this. This is the network cable that is commonly used for 100Base-T and 1000Base-T networks because it allows data at 100 Mbps and somewhat more (125 MHz for 1000Base-T). Cat 5 cable replaced Cat 3 cable and became the standard for Ethernet wiring for many years. Cat 5 cable is currently outdated and should not be used for new installations.
- Twisted pairs are used in Cat 5 cable to prevent internal crosstalk, XT, as well as crosstalk to exterior wires, AXT.
- Although it is not standardized, Cat 5 cable typically has 1.5–2 twists per cm.
- Cat-5e: This cable type is recognized by the TIA/EIA and is described in TIA/EIA-568, which was last amended in 2001. It has a slightly higher frequency standard than Cat-5 cable and has a maximum performance of 125 Mbps.
- Cat-5e may be utilized for both 100Base-T and 1000Base-T networks (Gigabit Ethernet). Cat 5e is an abbreviation for Cat 5 enhanced, and it is a type of Cat 5 cable that is produced to higher criteria while physically being the same as Cat 5. It is tested to a higher standard to guarantee that it can function at higher data rates. Twisted pairs within network cables have the same degree of twisting as Cat 5 cables.
- Cat-6: This cable, as defined in TIA/EIA-568-B, provides a substantial performance gain over Cat5 and Cat 5e. Cat 6 cables are more tightly coiled than Cat 5 or Cat 5e cables during manufacturing, and they frequently include an exterior foil or braided shield.
- The shielding covers the twisted pairs of wires within the Ethernet cable, reducing crosstalk and noise interference. Cat-6 cables may potentially handle rates of up to 10 Gbps, but only for up to 55 meters, making them rather lengthy Ethernet lines.
- Cat 6 Ethernet cables often feature two or more twists per centimeter, and some may have a nylon spline to prevent crosstalk. However, this is not specified by the standard.
- Cat-6a: Cat 6a is an abbreviation for “augmented,” and the standard was amended in 2008. Cat 6a cables can provide double the maximum capacity and sustain greater transmission speeds over longer network connection lengths. Crosstalk is effectively eliminated because Cat 6a cables are insulated. They are, however, less flexible than Cat 6 cable.
- Cat-7: is an informal designation for ISO/IEC 11801 Class F cabling. It consists of four independently protected pairs contained within an overall shield. It is intended for applications requiring transmission at frequencies up to 600 Mbps.
- Cat-8: Cat-8 cables have now been launched and enable a significant increase in data rate/bandwidth. As a result, Cat 8 cables are often more costly than previous versions, such as Cat 6, or even Cat 5.
What Is Included In A Cat5 Cable?
The basic structure of the cat5 cable is published below.
Picture Source: www.pcwdld.com
As the figure shows, the Cat5 cable includes four twisted pairs of internal cables used for data transmission. These four pairs are wrapped, making a thick wire. The ends of the Cat5 or Cat5e cable should use the RJ45 connectors. You can terminate the Cat5e cable in two ways.
- Straight-through termination
- Crossover termination
The twisted pair of wires’ colors:
Orange, green, red, blue, and white are among the colors. These wires are arranged differently depending on the termination technique you pick, either crossover or straight-through. The sequence of colors in straight-through transmission with T568A pinout is white/green, green, white/orange, blue, white/blue, orange, white/brown, and brown.
The color sequence of the T568B pinout is white/orange, orange, green/white, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, and brown. The color order for the first end of the crossover transmission is white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, and brown. On the other end of the spectrum, there are white/green, green, white/orange, white/brown, brown, orange, blue, and blue/white.
Twisted pairs of copper wires are used inside Cat5 or Cat5e cable to transmit data from one node to another using analog or digital signals. The cabling allows you to share data at speeds of up to 100MHz and supports both high-speed and gigabit ethernet.
Picture Source: www.fiber-optic-solutions.com
Conclusion:
If you’re looking to install a CAT 5 cable in your home or business network, be sure to follow the proper steps to ensure a successful installation. CAT 5 cables are an important part of any network, so it’s important to make sure they’re installed correctly. If you have any questions, be sure to contact a professional for help.
