types of network cables

MAIN TYPES OF CABLES

The vast majority of networks are connected by some type of wiring, which acts as a means of transmission where the signals pass between the equipment. A large number of cable types are available to meet the needs and sizes of different networks, from the smallest to the largest.

There are a lot of types of cables. Some manufacturers publish a catalog with more than 2000 different types that can be grouped into 3 groups:

COAXIAL CABLE

 

A coaxial cable consists of a core of copper wire surrounded by an insulator, a braided metal shield and an outer sheath. The term shielding refers to the braided or metal mesh that surrounds some types of cable. The shield protects the transmitted data by absorbing spurious electronic signals, called noise, so that they do not pass through the cable and do not distort the data. The cable containing an insulating sheet and a braided metal shielding layer is called a double shielded cable. For environments that are subject to large interference, a quadruple shield is available. This shield consists of two insulating sheets and 2 layers of braided metal shielding.


TYPES OF COAXIAL CABLES

There are two types of coaxial cable:


FINE CABLE (THINNET)

 THICKNET CABLE

THINNET CABLE: is a flexible coaxial cable about 0.64 cm thick. It can be used for most types of networks, it is a flexible cable and easy to handle. It can support a signal of an approximate distance of 185 m, before the signal begins to suffer attenuation. It is included in a group called THE RG-58 FAMILY and has an impedance of 50 ohm.

THICKNET CABLE: It is a 1.27 cm rigid coaxial, sometimes referred to as standard ETHERNET because it was the first type of cable with the Ethernet network. The greater the thickness of the copper core, the farther it can carry the signals. It can carry a signal of 500 meters. It is used as a central link or backbone to connect small networks based on thinnet.
A TRANSCEIVER designed for Ethernet, thicknet includes a connector known as VAMPIRO or FORADOR to establish the connection to the thicknet core.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF BRAIDED TORQUE CABLES

- UNPLASHED BRAIDED TORQUE CABLE (UTP)


SCREENED TWISTED TORQUE CABLE (STP)

 A series of twisted pair wires are often grouped together and enclosed in a protective sheath to form a cable. Braiding eliminates electrical noise from adjacent pairs and other sources such as motors, networks and transformers.



UNPLASHED BRAIDED TORQUE CABLE (UTP)With the 10baset specification, it is the best known type of twisted pair cable and has been the most used LAN wiring. The maximum cable length segment is 100 meters. It consists of 2 insulated copper wires the specifications dictate the number of interlocks allowed per cable foot; The number of interlocking depends on the purpose with which the cable is installed.

SCREENED TWISTED TORQUE CABLE (STP)Use a wrap with braided copper, more protective of higher quality than used in the utp cable. Stp also uses a foil surrounding each of the pairs of wires, offers excellent shielding in the stp to protect the transmitted data from external intermodulations, allowing it to withstand higher transmission rates than the utp at greater distances.



OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

This signals that are transported are digital data signals in the form of light modulated pulses. It is suitable for transmitting data at very high speeds and with large capacities. It consists of an externally thin glass cylinder, called a nucleus, covered by a concentric glass layer called a coating sometimes made of plastic.

Wireless transmission: they are radio waves are easy to generate, they can travel long distances and penetrate the building without problems, they are omnidirectional travel in all directions from the source, so the transmitter and receiver do not have to line up.
Microwave transmission: above 100 mhz the waves travel in a straight line can be focused on a narrow sickle. Concentrating all the energy in a small sickle with a satellite dish produces a much higher signal in relation to noise, but the transmitting and receiving antennas must align with each other.

Infrared waves: do not cross solids is an advantage so that an infrared system does not interfere with a similar system on an adjacent side. This system does not need a government license to operate in contrast to radio systems.
Transmission by light waves: it offers a very high bandwidth and a very low cost. Easy to install and does not require a license. The disadvantage is that laser beams do not penetrate rain and fog.

Wireless networks: they facilitate the operation where the computer cannot remain in one place, the current wireless networks offer speeds of 2mbps.