Twisted Pair Cables

Defined by TIA 568-B

UTP is for UNshielded, twisted pair, while STP is for SHIELDED, twisted pair. UTP is what's typically installed by phone companies (though this is often not of high enough quality for high- speed network use) and is what 10BaseT Ethernet runs over. UTP is graded according to its data carrying ability (e.g., Level 3, Level 4, Level 5). 10BaseT Ethernet requires at least Level 3 cable. Many sites now install only Level-5 UTP, even though level 4 is more than sufficient for 10BaseT, because of the greater likelihood that emerging high-speed standards will require cable with better bandwidth capabilities. Crossover Cable - standard Ethernet cables are "straight-thru". Pin 1 on one end connects to Pin 1 on the far end, Pin2 to Pin2, and so on. There are only 4 pins that are used, since you only need two wires for transmit, and two for receive. The two pairs used ar 1-2, and 3-6. With a crossover cable, the wires connected to Pins 1-2 on one end are "crossed over" and connected to Pins 3-6 on the far end. The same is done with the wires connected to Pins 3-6 - they are crossed over and connected to Pins 1-2 on the far end.

Why the Twists ? (noise and crosstalk cancellation)

It is extremely important that each pair is twisted together for the duration of the cable length. At low frequencies this is not a problem, but at high frequencies, noise and crosstalk become a major problem: Noise - extraneous inductance, capacitance, and electromagnetic signals from the outside world Crosstalk - when wires are laid side-by-side, the actual data traveling through them causes tiny external electromagnetic signals, that work their way into the adjacent wire. This is called crosstalk. These unwanted high-frequency have an equal effect on both wires in the same direction (polarity). It was found that by twisting the wires together, the electro-magnetic polarity of the unwanted signals is skewed as the wire bends and twists. This has a canceling effect. The more twists per inch of wire, the better the cancellation effect !!

The RJ-45 Jack

Most twisted pair cable consists of 4 color-coded pairs, and they terminate into an RJ-45 plug-in connector, which has 8 copper leads :

STP (Sheilded Twisted Pair)

STP is typically used for Token-Ring networks, where it is commonly referred to IBM Type 1 (or 2, 3, 6, 8, etc); however there are several manufacturers of Ethernet equipment and interfaces that support Ethernet over STP. Nevertheless, Ethernet over STP is not officially defined in any standards. While there is a good level of interoperability with Ethernet over STP, (Lattisnet, developed by Synoptics, is the recognized de facto standard in this area), one should consider the long-term availability and cost of this non-standard scheme before planning new networks around it.

TIA/EIA 568-A and 568-B Color Schemes (Twisted Pair )

There are two wiring sequences, where the wires and color codes are matched to the RJ-45 pins. Which of these two wiring pin and coloring standards you need to use will depend mostly on your locale. For example, Virginia stipulates that 568-A must be used. Actually, 568-A is more common and is even called "preferred". Just be aware that you need to check with the building manager before installing cables. Preferred - TIA/EIA 568-A Optional - TIA/EIA 568-B (comes from the old AT&T standard, 258A)

RJ45 Receptacle - not plug !! These are DTE Color Schemes (DCE send/receive pairs are reversed) Ethernet Send/Receive Pairs 2 and 3 positions are reversed. However - in both cases: Pair 2 = White/Orange and Orange Pair 3 = White/Green and Green NOTE: the TIA/EIA standard calls for the second wire of Pair 2 to be Orange/White - but is shown

as solid Orange to identify it easier. Also, many manufacturers actually use solid Orange wire instead of Orange/White. The same is true for the solid Green wire (see "Color Schemes in the Real World" below) The colors schemes are listed below with traditional nomenclature of Base/Stripe, where the Base coat color is listed first, followed by the Stripe color. For example, White/Blue means the insulated sheath base color is white (not paint - the actual material is white), with stripes or dashes of the secondary color, Blue, painted on. Here are the Preferred color pairs - they are not shown in any particular order:

How can you tell if a wire is white/blue or blue/white? Simply - the predominant color is the first color. So white/blue will have long stripes of white, and short stripes of blue - blue/white will have long stripes of blue and short stripes of white. Here are the Preferred color scheme pinouts. Pair 4-5 has always been used for voice, so the Ethernet standards left that pair alone - however, most buildings use separate cables for data and voice !! Therefore, for Ethernet, 4-5 and 7-8 are not normally used. The Ethernet transmit/receive pairs are shown as 1-2, and 3-6. NOTE: all pairs have the first wire with primary color white except for the Voice pair, which has the first wire with primary color Blue !!

TIA/EIA 568-A Color Scheme

Transmit/Receive Pairs shown are for DTE - DCE will be reversed !!

Color Schemes in the Real World

Cable using Solid Colored Wires Following the TIA 568 standard color scheme proved difficult for many manufacturers. Their insulation plant just was not setup for it and it woul have required major changes. But nobody really enforces the standards, so they changed the method of coloring slightly. Nobody has complained !! Their cables are still approved as Cat5. There are 3 common Ethernet wiring color schemes in the real world. 1) the TIA/EIA 568 A/B standard - all wires are striped, with the primary color having long stripes and the secondary color having short stripes. 2) each pair has one solid colored wire, and one striped wire. They use BaseCoat with Stripe for Pins 1,3,5,7 and they use BaseCoat only for Pins 2,4,6,8. The following shows the striped wires, as corrrectly having white as the primary color as a long stripe - but the actual cables vary a lot. In many cases it will be a short white stripe, or a medium length stripe - but either way it serves to identify the wire as having a primary color of white :

3) each pair has one solid colored wire, and one wire with a continues white stripe along the entire length. They use BaseCoat with Stripe for Pins 1,3,5,7 and they use BaseCoat only for Pins 2,4,6,8 :

USOC (Universal Service Order Code) Color Schemes (Twisted Pair )

There is no need to show this older color scheme. But in short, DO NOT USE IT !!! This is an older standard that pairs the wires differently. Although it will "work", since the pairs are not the same, the TIA/EIA Pair 3, pins 1-2

wires are not a pair with USOC, and each wire is twisted with a different wire (the Pin1 wire is twisted with the Pin8 wire - and the Pin2 wire is twisted with the Pin7 wire). Since the wires, same as TIA/EIA are all straight-thru, the sgnals are transmitted and received on the correct pins - but since the transmit & receivs pairs are not twisted, it results in a noisy connection with unacceptable crosstalk.

DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) vs DCE (Data Communications Equipment)

Many people have questioned the need fo this distinction. Who cares? Both units are connected together, and both have a send and a receive pair of wires. Well, the only reason that these two types of equipment require distinction from one another, is because the send and receive pairs are reversed. If you were to make a patch cable with a crimping tool it does not matter, because the wires are straight-thru. But if you were manufacturing a hub, you had better know the distinction !! By labeling one unit DTE and the other DCE, manufacturers will know which pins transmit and which receive, as shown below:

ANSI TIA/EIA 568-B2 - Twisted Pair Categories of Cable Standards

Describes cable standards Level 1 through Cat5e - *** do not confuse this with the 568-B standard, which describes RJ45 wiring pinouts, and color schemes NOTE: ANSI is the original standards producer for twistedpair cables, but the ISO has also gotten into the act. ANSI defined "categories" of cables, and ISO defined "classes" of cabling. ISO/IEC 11801 is the international equivalent of EIA-568 and of the Canadian standard CSA T-529. But ISO 11801 also includes 120 ohm Screened Twisted Pair cable. In the mid 1980s, companies representing the telecommunications and computer industries were concerned with the lack of a standard for building telecommunications cabling systems. In response to that concern, the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) developed a standard called TIA/EIA-568-A. The higher the standard, the more twists per inch the pairs have, and the better the quality of the jack (RJ-45 typically). ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards that specify "categories" (the singular is commonly referred to as "CAT") of twisted pair cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms of the data rates that they can sustain. The specifications describe the cable material as well as the types of connectors and junction blocks to be used in order to conform to a category. These categories are:

ANSI Category CAT 1 CAT 2 CAT 3 CAT 4 CAT 5 CAT 5E (ISO Class D)

Maximum data rate

Usual application analog voice (POTS) Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface in ISDN Doorbell wiring Mainly used in the IBM Cabling System for Token Ring networks Voice and data on 10BASE-T Ethernet Used in 16 Mbps Token Ring Otherwise not used much 100 Mbps TPDDI 155 Mbps ATM 100 Mbps TPDDI 155 Mbps ATM Super-fast broadband applications (proposed standard). Used with GigE (1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps) Even faster broadband applications (proposed standard)

Up to 1 Mbps (1 MHz ) 4 Mbps 16 Mbps 20 Mbps 100 Mbps 1000 Mbps (4 pair)

CAT 6 Up to 400 MHz (ISO Class E) CAT 7 600-700 MHz (ISO Class F)

Note: There is also a standard called 100Base-T4, intended for fast-ethernet over non-Cat.5 cable. This one uses all four pairs. It is not very common and not supported by nowadays "standard" hardware. HP invented yet another thing called 100Base-VG "AnyLan", which also uses all four pairs. It's not very common either. While longer connections for Gigabit Ethernet use optical fiber, the goal is to leverage the CAT 5 twisted-pair wiring most organizations already have in place for connections out to the desktop. (Four pairs of twisted pair are used.) The two most popular specifications are CAT 3 and CAT 5. While the two cables may look identical, CAT 3 is tested to a lower set of specifications and can cause transmission errors if pushed to faster speeds. CAT 3 cabling is near-end crosstalk-certified for only a 16 MHz signal, while CAT 5 cable must pass a 100 MHz test. The CAT 6 specification is able to support GbE (GigE, or GigaBit Ethernet) which runs at 1000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps. GigE uses fiber typically but can also use Cat6.

Category 1 (Cat1 - Level 1) This category consists of basic telecommunications and power-limited circuit cables. There are no electrical performance test or bandwidth requirements for this classification. Level 1 cabling may not be used in horizontal cabling systems. Category 2 (Cat2 - Level 2) This category consists of cables specified to 1 MHz. Level 2 cabling may not be used in horizontal wiring cabling systems. Category 3 (Cat 3) 3-4 twists per foot of cable. This is a performance designation for twisted-pair cable and connecting hardware that can support frequency transmission up to 16 MHz, and data rates of 10 Mbps. Category 3 has the capability to support low speed data applications, performing to the acceptable minimum for 100 ohm cabling systems; however it is now primarily used for telephone wiring. Category 4 (rarely used)

This category consists of cables and connectors specified up to 20 MHz and data rates of 16 Mbps. Since the development of Category 5, however, Category 4 wiring systems are rarely used. Category 5 (Cat 5) 3-4 twists per inch of cable (12 times more twists than Cat 3). This category consists of cables and connectors specified up to 100 MHz and data rates of 100 Mbps, providing optimal performance for all data and phone systems. These systems are quickly becoming the standard because they provide a "safety net" to help ensure that current and future high-speed applications will run with peak accuracy, efficiency and throughput. Ethernet cable standard defined by the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (commonly known as EIA/TIA). CAT5 is the 5th generation of twisted pair Ethernet cabling and the most popular of all twisted pair cables in use today. Cat5 cable contains four pairs of copper wire. CAT5 supports Fast (100 Mbps) Ethernet and comparable alternatives such as ATM. As with all other types of twisted pair EIA/TIA cabling, CAT5 cable runs are limited to a maximum recommended run rate of 100m (328 feet). Although CAT5 cable usually contains four pairs of copper wire, Fast Ethernet communications only utilize two pairs. Solid and Stranded Cat5 Cable - Twisted pair cable like CAT5 comes in two main varieties, solid and stranded. Solid Cat5 cable supports longer runs and works best in fixed wiring configurations like office buildings. Stranded Cat5 cable, on the other hand, is more pliable and better suited for shorterdistance, movable cabling such as on-the-fly "patch" cabling. Though newer cable technologies like CAT6 and CAT7 are being developed, CAT5 cable remains the popular choice, because it is both affordable and plenty fast enough for today's LANs.

Category 5 Enhanced (Cat 5E ) More twists per inch than Cat5 - supports short-run Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) networking by utilizing all four wire pairs and is backward-compatible with ordinary CAT5. Category 6 (Cat 6) Cat6 is an Ethernet cable standard defined by the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (commonly known as EIA/TIA). CAT6 is the 6th generation of twisted pair Ethernet cabling. Cat6 cable contains four pairs of copper wire. Unlike CAT5 but like Cat5e, Cat6 utilizes all four pairs. CAT6 supports Gigabit (1000 Mbps) Ethernet and supports communications at more than twice the speed of CAT5e, the other popular standard for Gigabit Ethernet cabling. As with all other types of twisted pair EIA/TIA cabling, CAT6 cable runs are limited to a maximum recommended run rate of 100m (328 feet). Twisted pair cable like CAT6 comes in two main varieties, solid and stranded. Solid CAT6 cable supports longer runs and works best in fixed wiring configurations like office buildings. Stranded CAT6 cable, on the other hand, is more pliable and better suited for shorter-distance, movable cabling such as "patch" cables. CAT6 comes at a significantly higher price tag than CAT5 or CAT5e, and today's applications simply can't take advantage of CAT6's better performance. However, if wiring a home or building for the long term, one may still consider using CAT6. Category 7 (Cat 7)

This category is still in the development stage and will use a braided shield surrounding all four foil shielded pairs to reduce noise and interference. The connector is RJ45, delivered only through pins 1/2 and 7/8. The cable is ISO Class F, and is defined in IS11801 2ndEdition, 2002. Performance is characterized to 600MHz and Crosstalk isolation is >20dB more than Class D cables (cat5e). Each of the conductor pairs has its own shielding, in addition to the outer shielding.

Initially, the default Cat7 connector was RJ45, but several new connector designs came out to challenge this. Several new "Cat. 7" connectors are under Development. (e.g.: AMP, BKS, Siemon, Telesafe, T&B) z IEC/TC48 is currently discussing new standard proposals.

The Cat7 Tera Connector - the IEC vote of 18 countries represents a significant achievement for structured cabling. For the first time, a non-RJ-style connector interface has been internationally standardised for four pair connections in a structured cabling system. During the interface selection conducted by ISO/IEC, an independent panel was asked to judge six different non-RJ-style connector proposals. Based on 48 separate criteria, including size, complexity, manufacturability, user-friendliness and transmission performance, the TERA interface was ranked the best overall choice for delivering the demanding bandwidth specified in the standard.

Finally, the Siemon "Tera" connector was chosen by the IEC as the official Cat7 connector and is described in IEC 61076-3-104. It is now the standard interface for Category 7/Class F and broadcast communications technology (BCT) cabling and is commercially available. "TERA system offers enhanced performance to 1.2 GHz that constitutes an electrical superset of all other balanced cabling categories and classes. It has the unique ability to replace other high-speed media such as 50- and 75-ohm coaxial media used for broadband video, as well as 150-ohm Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). Its innovative design allows for up to four individual 1.2 GHz balanced pair connections in the same space as a single keystone jack permitting users to integrate video, voice and data services over a single cabling link. The outstanding pair isolation that makes this capability possible provides for unsurpassed alien crosstalk performance - an important consideration for emerging applications like 10GBASE-T. It is positioned to revolutionize structured cabling systems both for commercial and residential applications." In addition to this ISO/IEC approval , the Siemon TERA connector interface has been chosen by ISO/IEC as the primary interface for the Broadcast and Communications technology (BCT) and Small Office Home Office (SOHO) standard being developed by draft standard ISO/IEC 15018 (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 N822) Siemon offers a complete line of TERA products including cable, outlets, patch panels, modular patch cords and more. TERA is a fully shielded (S/FTP) cabling solution that virtually eliminates emissions and susceptibility to electromagnetic interference.

ISO Classes of Twisted Pair Cable

ISO cabling standards are the international equivalent of the American ANSI standards. ANSI defined "categories" of cables, and ISO defined "classes" of cabling. Screened Twisted Pair - the ISO standards also define "screened twisted pair" (ScTP). ScTP is a type of cable similar in construction to UTP data cabling. The difference is that ScTP has a foil shield between the conductors and the outer jacket, as well as a drain wire. ScTP cable is used when regular UTP will not overcome interference that would degrade the transmission.

The standard, pIS11801 2ndEdition, 2002oISO/IEC/JTC1/SC25/WG3p defines balanced cabling Classes implemented using component Categories. Class D cabling uses Category 5e components Class E cabling uses Category 6 components Class F cabling uses Category 7 components