What is a Cable?
- It is a medium that connects computer in a network. Alternatively referred to as a cord, connector or plug, a cable is one or more wires covered in a plastic covering that allows for the transmission of power or data between devices. Cable is called a rollover because the pins on one end are all reversed on the other end as though one end of the cable was rotated or rolled over
Types of Cables :
1. Twisted-Pair Cable
- It is the most common type of cable. It has 8 individual copper wires bundled together and covered with an insulting material. A type of cable that consists of two independently insulated wires twisted around one another. The use of two wires twisted together helps to reduce crosstalk and electromagnetic induction. Most networks contain some twisted-pair cabling at some point along the network. A Twisted-Pair Cable has two types :
a. STP (Shielded Twisted Pair)
- Often used in "noisy" environments where a shield of metallic foil is wrapped around each of the wire pairs, with an additional overall shielding to protect against excessive electromagnetic interference.
b. UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)
- Is the most common form of twisted pair wiring. It is less expensive and easier to work with than STP. Due to its low cost, UTP cabling is used extensively for local-area networks (LANs) and telephone connections. 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.
The copper wire is always color-coded with an insulations and they are twisted in pairs for a total of four pairs.
2. Coaxial Cable
- The standard media used by Cable TV Operators. It consist of a plastic insulator that separates the solid copper inner conductor and the woven, copper braid outer conductor. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing a geometric axis. Coaxial cable was invented by English engineer and mathematician Oliver Heaviside, who patented the design in 1880. Coaxial cable differs from other shielded cables because the dimensions of the cable are controlled to give a precise, constant conductor spacing, which is needed for it to function efficiently as a transmission line.
3. Fiber-optic Cable
- has a reflective coating that
allows light beans to travel without outer interference. It is a
high-speed data transmission medium. Because it transmit data via light waves, they can transfer information at
the speed of light. Not surprisingly, fiber optic cables provide the fastest data transfer rates of any data transmission medium. They are also less susceptible to
noise and interference compared to copper wires or telephone lines. However,
fiber optic cables are more fragile than their metallic counterparts and
therefore require more protective shielding.
Sources :
https://techterms.com/definition/fiber_optic_cable
http://networking.layer-x.com/p070300-1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable
https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/UTP.html
https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/twisted_pair_cable.html
