Choosing cables is a key part of network design. The required data rate, cost, and distance all determine the range...

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Choice of each connection. Certain connections require obvious cable options. But others can choose from a range of possible options.

Network services, such as file sharing, Internet access, printing, and e-mail, are provided to end users through the network infrastructure. The infrastructure usually includes switches, routers, and the network cabling that supports all of these. This is one of the oldest and most important components in the network architecture.

Digital communication is not a new idea. In 1844, Samuel Morse used his invention of the telegraph to send a message from 37 miles away from Washington, DC to Baltimore. This seems to be a far cry from the current computer network, but the principle is the same.

Morse code is a binary system that uses dots and dashes in different sequences to represent letters and numbers. Modern data networks use 1 and 0 to achieve the same result.

The biggest difference between now and then is the speed of data transmission. Telegraph operators in the mid-19th century could transmit four to five dots and strokes per second. Computers can now communicate at speeds up to 100 Gbps—or, in other words, 100,000,000,000 independent ones and zeros per second.

Although the telegraph and teletypewriter were the pioneers of data communication, the development of computers is getting faster and faster. This advancement has promoted the development of faster network equipment. In this process, higher specification cables and connection hardware are required.

Let's review the main types of network cabling and the different options available for these cables.

Coaxial cable or coaxial cable is an option for network wiring. The inner conductive core is surrounded by a conductive shielding layer. This shielding layer is then surrounded by an outer protective layer.

The core that carries the signal is solid copper, copper shielded steel cable or braided copper. The core and conductive shield operate in differential mode to prevent the emission of electromagnetic interference and the intrusion of external interference.

Coaxial cable has a long history. In the middle of the 19th century, it was used for submarine cables. Today, it has a wide range of applications, including residential broadband, telephone lines, and connections to radio and television broadcasting companies.

In data centers, coaxial cables are commonly used for Fibre Channel connections between servers and disk drives. Its resistance to electrical noise makes it valuable in noisy environments, such as industrial facilities.

The first Ethernet standard used coaxial cable. Ethernet was developed in the mid-1970s by Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California. In 1979, Digital Equipment Corp. and Intel and Xerox joined forces to standardize the Ethernet system. The first specification of these three companies, called the Ethernet Blue Book, was published in 1980. It is also known as the DIX standard, named after the company's initials.

The standard requires speeds of up to 10 Mbps-10 Mbps is equal to 10 million 1s and 0s per second. The Ethernet standard relies on large coaxial backbone cables running throughout the building, with smaller coaxial cables tapped at 2.5 meter (m) intervals to connect to workstations. The larger coaxial cable was usually yellow, and was later called Thick Ethernet or 10Base-5.

The following is a breakdown of 10Base-5 terminology:

In 1983, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published the official Ethernet standard. It is called IEEE 802.3, named after the working group responsible for its development.

IEEE 802.3a version 2 was released in 1985. The second version is usually called Thin Ethernet, or 10Base-2. In this version, the maximum length is 185 m, although 2 suggests that it should be 200 m. Since 1985, various Ethernet standards have been introduced.

Twinax cable is similar to coaxial cable, but instead of a single core, it consists of two wires. Twinax carries high data rate Ethernet at a lower cost than fiber optics.

Passive twinax supports short-distance connections. Active twinax includes components that enhance signal strength, enabling longer-distance connections.

Tri-coaxial cables and quad-coaxial cables are also similar to coaxial cables. They are most commonly used for TV connections, but can also carry Gigabit Ethernet.

The triaxial core is similar to a coaxial cable, but it has an additional layer of insulation and shielding. The four-wire core has four separate wires. Both triax and quadax have additional insulation and shielding layers, which can transmit additional signals or carry power.

Originally invented by Alexander Graham Bell to transmit telephone signals, twisted-pair cabling is the most common choice for network cabling.

Twisted-pair wires use copper wires. As the name suggests, copper wires are twisted together in pairs. The twisting effect of each pair in the cable ensures that any interference that appears or picks up on one cable is eliminated by the cable partner who twisted around the original cable. Twisting the two wires can also reduce the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the circuit.

There are two types of twisted-pair cabling:

In STP, the copper wire is first covered by a plastic insulation layer. A metal shield composed of metal foil or braid surrounds the insulated wire pair bundle. In the case where electromagnetic radiation is a serious problem, in addition to external shielding, each pair of wires can also be individually shielded. This is called foil twisted pair (FTP).

10 Mbps and 100 Mbps use two pairs of cables to transmit Ethernet. Gigabit throughput requires the use of all four pairs.

UTP cable is the most popular type of network cable. It is easy to use, install, expand, and troubleshoot. UTP cables usually consist of four pairs of copper wires, each pair consisting of two wires twisted together. These wire pairs are covered by a plastic insulation layer. They do not have any shielding, only a jacket.

Most types of twisted pair cables can be used as UTP. But some of the newer categories also offer combinations of shielded, foil shielded, and unshielded.

The American National Standards Institute and the International Electrotechnical Commission, a part of the International Organization for Standardization, have developed a series of standards or categories for twisted pair cables. Category 1 or Category 1 and Category 2 are not formally standardized, but are de facto standards developed over time. There are currently eight types of cables available.

These categories specify the type of copper wire and jack. The numbers-1, 3, 5, etc.-refer to the revision of the specification and the number of twists inside the wire-the quality of the connection in the jack.

Cat1 is usually used for telephone lines and voice communication. This type of wire cannot support computer network traffic, nor is it a twisted pair cable.

Telecommunications companies can use Cat1 to provide integrated services digital network and public switched telephone network services. In this case, the cabling between the customer site and the telecom operator's network uses Cat1 type cables. Cat1 is now also used in some low-data-rate IoT networks.

Cat2 cable is a network cable specification, using four pairs of twisted copper wires. These types of wires can support computer networks and telephone traffic. Cat2 is mainly used in token ring networks and supports speeds up to 4 Mbps. For higher network speeds-100 Mbps or higher-Cat5e or higher must be used.

Cat3 cables are four pairs of twisted copper wires. Cat3 was used to support the original 10 Mbps Ethernet and is usually used in token ring networks. Although 10 Mbps speeds are almost extinct, some deployments still use Cat3.

Cat4 cables are four pairs of twisted copper wires. Like Cat3 cables, Cat4 is used in token ring networks. Although Cat3 provides support up to 10 Mbps, Cat4 pushes the limit up to 16 Mbps. The length limit for both categories is 100 m. Cat4 is not widely used.

Cat5 cables are four pairs of twisted copper wires. Cat5 has more twist per inch than Cat3, so it can run at higher speeds and longer lengths.

The more popular Cat5 line has been largely replaced by the Cat5e specification. Cat5e provides improved crosstalk specifications, enabling it to support speeds up to 1 Gbps.

UTP-Cat5e is one of the more popular UTP cables. It replaces the old coaxial cable that cannot meet the growing demand for faster and more reliable networks. Cat5e is the most widely used network cabling specification type in the world and is cost-effective. Unlike the latter category of cables, it is forgiving when the cable termination and deployment guidelines are not met.

Cat5 and Cat5e are more widely used for 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Ethernet.

The Cat6 line was originally designed to support Gigabit Ethernet, but other standards support Gigabit transmission over the Cat5e line. Cat6 is similar to Cat5e line, but it includes a physical separator between the four pairs to further reduce electromagnetic interference.

Cat6 can support a speed of 1 Gbps, up to 100 m. It also supports 10 Gbps up to 55 m. It uses bandwidth frequencies up to 250 MHz.

When installing a new Cat6 cable, be sure to note that all wiring components (jacks, wiring boards, jumpers, etc.) must be Cat6 certified. This requires network professionals to be extremely careful about the correct termination of the cable ends. Organizations that use Cat6 cables for installation should use a certified cable analyzer to request a complete test report to ensure that the installation is performed in accordance with Cat6 guidelines and standards.

In 2009, Cat6a was launched as a higher specification cable, providing better immunity to crosstalk and electromagnetic interference. It uses frequencies up to 500 MHz to provide better bandwidth, supports 10 Gbps, and cable lengths up to 100 m.

Cat7 is a copper cable specification designed to support 10 Gbps speeds up to 100 m. To achieve this, the cable uses FTP to connect four individually shielded pairs, plus an additional cable shield to protect the signal from crosstalk and electromagnetic interference.

Due to the extremely high data rate, all components used in the installation of the entire Cat7 network cabling infrastructure must be Cat7 certified. This includes patch panels, jumpers, jacks, and RJ-45 connectors. The lack of Cat7-certified components will reduce overall performance and cause any Cat7 certification test to fail (for example, using a cable analyzer) because it is likely not to meet Cat7 performance standards.

Cat7 is usually used in data centers for backbone connections between servers, network switches, and storage devices.

Cat8 is a newer twisted-pair cabling category that can better compete with the speed and scale of optical fiber. It has a maximum data rate of 40 Gbps and uses RJ-45 connectors. It uses 2 GHz (or 2,000 MHz) frequency, which is an increase from Cat7's 600 MHz.

Cat8 cables are commonly used in data center environments. They are backward compatible with previous standards and support Power over Ethernet (PoE).

PoE does not require a separate power cord to be connected to equipment, such as ceiling-mounted access points. For low data rates, PoE cables use wire pairs that are not needed for Ethernet to supply power. For higher speeds using all four pairs of wires, PoE adds direct current to the wires that transmit the signal without disturbing the signal.

The data rate of the entire network is increasing, and in some cases, optical fiber is the only option. Although Cat8 twisted pair cable can transmit data up to 40 Gbps, optical fiber supports data rates up to 400 Gbps. 800 Gbps is currently being tested.

The optical cable consists of thin optical fibers surrounded by a cladding. The cladding is made of glass, which has a lower purity than the core and a lower refractive index than the core. The difference in refractive index causes light to be reflected at the boundary. Additional layers, such as buffer layers and sheath layers, surround the cladding to increase strength and protect the cable from damage.

The fiber error rate is low. The network data is encoded in the light beam. Unlike twisted-pair cables, the light beam neither generates nor is affected by electronic interference. In addition, multiple frequency data streams can be multiplexed on a single fiber to increase the total data rate.

The fiber type varies with fiber diameter. Multimode fibers range from 50 microns to 100 microns (10-4 m). In a single-mode fiber optic cable, the diameter of the fiber is only 8 microns to 10.5 microns.

The manufacturing and installation cost of a multimode cable is lower than that of a single mode cable, but it is limited in terms of data rate and distance. Multi-mode can transmit 100 Gbps within 150 m, while single-mode can transmit 400 Gbps over a range of up to 10 kilometers, and the rate can be reduced over longer distances.

The performance of multimode and singlemode fibers differs depending on how light passes through them. The larger fiber used in multimode causes the beam to reflect from the fiber and cladding boundary at a steeper angle than the thinner core in single mode. The single-mode thinner core results in a smaller distance between reflections. When reflections are more frequent, the loss at the boundary is greater.

No kind of cable can be used anywhere. Each application must consider the supported data rate, installation cost, and future sufficiency. Continuous maintenance costs should also be a factor.

Remember, no choice is permanent. Just as organizations regularly replace servers and workstations, they can reconsider the connection technology they choose with each network upgrade.

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