HOW NETWORK CABLES WORK?

Background
Network cables is plays an important role in todays communication as it acts as a medium for the data or signal to be transfers from a source to its destination. There are different types of network cable, and the appropriate type to use will depend on the structure and topology of your network. Most of todays communication depends on network cables. However, in the near future, cabling will probably be something old and outdated. This is because the implementation of wireless communication in which todays technology is focusing on this type of communication. The most commonly used types of network cable are the unshielded twisted pair, coaxial and fiber optic.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

TYPES OF NETWORK CABLE

UTP Cables
UTP stands for Unshielded Twisted Pair. It consists of different numbers of copper wire that have been twisted into matching pair. UTP cabling is used widely for telecommunications and computer networks. UTP cabling does not offer as high bandwidth or as good protection from interference as coaxial or fiber optic cables, but it is less expensive and easier to work with. It comes in many different types and sizes. TYPES UTP comes in different types called Categories (CAT) ranging from cat1 to cat6. Table 1.0 shows the all the types of UTP cable and its data rate and the usage of every categories.

UTP cable can be divided into two types of specific wiring convention namely 1) straight-through and 2) crossed over. Each of this wiring convention depends on different situation. UTP cable can transmit voice or data signals. Therefore it can be used in many different applications. In transmitting voice, it can be implement in telephone system and audio or even video. UTP cable is the most widely use wired medium within the field of computer networking.

HOW IT WORKS It sends data to the network and receives data sent from other computers on the network. Computers linked by Ethernet send data along the wire in small chunks called packets. In addition to the data itself, each packet carries a destination address and your computer's "home" address.

Coaxial Cable Coaxial cable, or coax, is another common type of network cable. It has a copper conductor in its center and a plastic coating serves as an insulator between the center conductor and a metal shield. The cable is then covered with a coating. The coating may be think or thick the thicker coating which less pliable provides extra protection.

HOW IT WORKS The signal a coaxial cable carries is transferred simultaneously through the central wire as well as the separated metal jacketing. This is done because both conductors generate a magnetic field, as any electrically charged wire does. However, when two opposite charged magnetic fields, as the ones generated by the two conductors are, come into contact with one another,

the fields cancel one another out. This allows the cables to be placed near other sensitive electronic equipment and other metal objects without the danger of the cables acting like magnets. It also prevents outside magnetic fields from altering the signal the cables carry. Coaxial cables are a type of cable that is used by cable TV and that is common for data communications. Taking a a round cross-section of the cable, one would find a single center solid wire symmetrically surrounded by a braided or foil conductor. Between the center wire and foil is a insulating dialectric. This dialectric has a large affect on the fundamental characteristics of the cable. In this lab, we show the how the permittivity and permeability of the dialectric contributes to the cable's inductance and capacitance. Also, these values affect how quickly electrical data is travels through the wire.

Data is transmitted through the center wire, while the outer braided layer serves as a line to ground. Both of these conductors are parallel and share the same axis. This is why the wire is called coaxial! Just like all electrical components, coaxial cables have a characteristic impedance. This impedance depends on the dialectric material and the radii of each conducting material As shown in this lab, the impedance affects how the cable interacts with other electrical components. In this lab we used a RG-580/U coaxial cable. This is just one of many types of cables that are used today to transmit data. The dialectric of the RG-580/U was made of polyethylene. The radius of our cable's inner copper wire was .42mm and there was 2.208mm of polyethylene between the inner wire and outer mesh conductors.

Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber optic network cables are used for networks that span large distances. As a result, this type of cabling has several layers of protective coating. It also transmits light as opposed to electrical signals like other cables. This makes it an ideal cable for network environments that are exposed to large amounts of electrical interference. It also transmits information at high speeds and is therefore used in large network environments like those used by big businesses. TYPES OF FIBER OPTICS Optical fibers carry light signals down them in what are called modes. That sounds technical but it just means different ways of traveling: a mode is simply the path that a light beam follows down the fiber. One mode is to go straight down the middle of the fiber. Another is to bounce down the fiber at a shallow angle. Other modes involve bouncing down the fiber at other angles, more or less steep.

The simplest type of optical fiber is called single-mode. It has a very thin core about 5-10 microns (millionths of a meter) in diameter. In a single-mode fiber, all signals travel straight down the middle without bouncing off the edges (red line in diagram). Cable TV, Internet, and telephone signals are generally carried by single-mode fibers, wrapped together into a huge bundle. Cables like this can send information over 100 km (60 miles). Another type of fiber-optic cable is called multi-mode. Each optical fiber in a multi-mode cable is about 10 times bigger than one in a single-mode cable. This means light beams can travel through the core by following a variety of different paths (purple, green, and blue lines)in other words, in multiple different modes. Multi-mode cables can send information only over relatively short distances and are used (among other things) to link computer networks together.

HOW IT WORKS

CONCLUSION

References http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-network-cable.htm http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/tutorial/Fiber-cableCabling-tips-for-network-professionals-lesson-6 http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/tutorial/Network-cablehistory-and-fundamentals-Cabling-tips-for-network-professionalslesson-1 http://www.phy.davidson.edu/stuhome/phstewart/IL/speed/cableinfo .html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/fiberoptics.html