Cabling

Cabling

Assalammualaikum..

In networking, cabling is used as transmission media to exchange information between two or more devices. There are  4 types of cables which are unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable, shielded twisted pair (STP) cable, co-axial cable, and fibre-optic cable. 

1. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable.

This is called "twisted pair". This type of cable contains four pairs of wires and each of them are twisted so that it will avoid or prevent any interference from adjacent pair and other electrical devices. The standard connector for this cable is RJ-45 (Register Jack). 

The disadvantage of this type of cable is that it brings harm to radio and electrical frequency interference. 

2. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable

It is almost the same as the Unshielded Twisted Pair cable (above) because each of the wire is twisted. However, what makes it different is that each pair of the twisted wire is wrapped in a foil shielding so that it becomes more reliable for data communication. In addition, it is commonly used in a network that uses Token Ring topology.

3. Co-axial Cable

It consists of a single coopered wire with three layers which are: insulating material, waven/braided material, and outer plactic coating. The waven/braided material is to block any interference, while the outer plastic coating functions as insulator. This type of cable is usually used by Cable Television (CATV) because it can be cabled over long distance. It uses Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNC) as the connector. 

4. Fibre-optic Cable

These are dozens/hundreds of thin strands-glass/plastic in the fibre-optic cable which act as the core. 

This type of cable uses light to transmit signals from one device to another. It also consists of insulating glass caddling and protective coating. The advantages of this cable are faster, less susceptible to noise/interference, better security, smaller and carry more signals. However, the disadvantages are it will costs more, and difficult to be installed and modified.