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Chapter 6: Technical Glossary
6. Technical Glossary
Category 5 (CAT5) Network Cabling —
Category 5 cable is commonly also referred to as CAT5. This cabling is available in
either solid or stranded twisted pair copper wire variants and as UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) or STP (Shielded Twisted Pair). UTP
cables are not surrounded by any shielding, making them more susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI). STP cables
include shielding over each individual pair of copper wires that provides better protection against EMI. Category 5 has been
superseded by CAT5e cabling, which includes improved data integrity to support high-speed communications.
USB Cables —
USB cables have two distinct connectors. The Type A connector is used to connect the cable from a USB device to
the Type A port on a computer or hub. The Type B connector is used to attach the USB cable to a USB device.
USB Type A USB Type A
USB Type B USB Type B
port connector
port
connector
Figure 5-1. USB cables.
RJ-45 —
The Registered Jack (RJ) physical interface is what connects the network cabling (CAT5) to the local extender and
remote extender. You may use either the T568A scheme (Table 5-1) or the T568B scheme (Table 5-2) for cable termination
because the extender uses all four pairs of the cable. RJ-45 connectors are sometimes also referred to as 8P8C connectors.
RJ-45 Pin Positioning —
Table 5-1. T568A wiring.
Pin
Pair
Wire Cable Color
1
3
1
White/Green
2
3
2
Green
3
2
1
White/Orange
4
1
2
Blue
5
1
1
White/Blue
6
2
2
Orange
7
4
1
White/Brown
8
4
2
Brown
Table 5-2. T568B wiring.
Pin
Pair
Wire Cable Color
1
2
1
White/Orange
2
2
2
Orange
3
3
1
White/Green
4
1
2
Blue
5
1
1
White/Blue
6
3
2
Green
7
4
1
White/Brown
8
4
2
Brown
Figure 5-2. T568A connector pinout.
Figure 5-3. T568B connector pinout.
