Network Cabling and Wireless Network Prepared by: Arjane A. Cabansag Manilyn Atienza Quenny Burgos

Objectives: After this lesson, you will be able to: Determine which type of cabling is best for any networking situation. Identify the primary types of network cabling.

What is Network Cabling? is the medium through which information usually moves from one network device to another. There are several types of cable which are commonly used with LANs. In some cases, a network will utilize only one type of cable, other networks will use a variety of cable types.

The type of cable chosen for a network is related to the network's topology, protocol, and size. Understanding the characteristics of different types of cable and how they relate to other aspects of a network is necessary for the development of a successful network.

Types of cables used in Networks Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable Coaxial Cable Fiber Optics Cable

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable Twisted pair cabling comes in two varieties: shielded and unshielded. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) is the most popular and is generally the best option for school networks.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable

Connectors RJ11

RJ45

Advantages Fastest copper-based medium available. Less expensive than STP cables, costing less per meter than other types of LAN cabling. Have an external diameter of approximately .43 cm, making it a smaller cable than STP cable and easier to work with during installation, as it doesn't fill the wiring ducts as fast as other cables.

Disadvantages Susceptible to radio frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) such as is caused from the microwave. More prone to electronic noise and interference than other forms of cable

Categories of Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable Type Use Category 1 Voice Only (Telephone Wire) Category 2 Data to 4 Mbps (LocalTalk) Category 3 Data to 10 Mbps (Ethernet) Category 4 Data to 20 Mbps (16 Mbps Token Ring) Category 5 Data to 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet)

Shielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable a type of copper telephone wiring in which each of the two copper wires that are twisted together are coated with an insulating coating that functions as a ground for the wires. The extra covering in shielded twisted pair wiring protects the transmission line from electromagnetic interference leaking into or out of the cable.

Shielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable

Advantages Less susceptible to electrical interference caused by nearby equipment or wires. Less likely to cause interference themselves. Faster speed in carrying data.

Disadvantages Physically larger. More expensive than twisted pair wire More difficult to connect to a terminating block.

Coaxial cable Coaxial cabling has a single copper conductor at its center. A plastic layer provides insulation between the center conductor and a braided metal shield. The metal shield helps to block any outside interference from fluorescent lights, motors, and other computers.

Two types of coaxial cable Thick coaxial 2.Thin coaxial

Thick coaxial cable Specification Cable Type Maximum Length 10 Base5 500 meters

Thick coaxial cable

Thin coaxial cable Specification Cable Type Maximum Length 10 Base2 185 meters

Thin coaxial cable

Coaxial Cable Connector The most common type of connector used with coaxial cables is the Bayone-Neill- Concelman (BNC) connector. Different types of adapters are available for BNC connectors, including a T-connector, barrel connector, and terminator.

T-connector

Barrel connector

Terminator.

Advantages of coaxial They are cheap to make Cheap to install Easy to modify Good bandwith Great channel capacity Noise immunity due to low rate

Disadvantages of coaxial More expensive than twisted pairs Not supported for some network standards (eg. token ring) Its also very bulky and also has high attenuation so would have the need to implement repeaters.

Fiber Optic Cable Consists of a center glass core surrounded by several layers of protective materials. It transmits light rather than electronic signals eliminating the problem of electrical interference.

Fiber Optics Connectors

Advantages System Performance . Greatly increased bandwidth and capacity. Immunity to Electrical Noise Freedom from short circuit and sparks.

Disadvantages Expensive to install and the equipment is expensive. Lack of standardization globally and some locally which makes companies hesitant to use it. Cannot carry power like telephone and other electrical signals can.

Ethernet Cable Sumary Specification Cable Type Maximum Length 10BaseT Unshielded Twisted Pair 100 meters 10Base2 Thin Coaxial 185 meters 10Base5 Thick Coaxial 500meters 10BaseF Fiber Optic 200meters 100BaseT 100meters 100BaseTX 220meters

Wireless Network Utilize radio waves and/or microwaves to maintain communication channels between computers. Wireless networking is a more modern alternative to wired networking that relies on copper and/or fiber optic cabling between network devices.

Rapidly gaining in popularity for both home and business networking Rapidly gaining in popularity for both home and business networking. Wireless technology continues to improve, and the cost of wireless products continues to decrease.

Popular wireless local area networking (WLAN) products conform to the 802.11 "Wi-Fi" standards. The gear a person needs to build wireless networks includes network adapters (NICs), access points (APs), and routers.

Network adapters (NICs),

Access Points (APs)

Advantages Easy to add stations as there are no cables required. Signals can be sent through doors and walls so the stations can be mobile so can move around. There is less need for technical support in setting up due to their simple nature.

There are no cables to trip over so there are less health and safety issues to consider share resources like printers. Have shared access to a centralized storage.

Disadvantages Signals can suffer from other signals. To access the networks, you have to be within a certain range.

The wireless networks can be quite slow. It is easy for hackers to hack or catch the signal.