ICS 2306 : COMPUTER

NETWORKS
Chapter 5
Network Media & Connectors
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 By the end of this topic, students will be able to:
 Categorise network cables and connectors

Network Media & Connectors

 Describe the usage of network cables and connectors
NETWORK MEDIA
 Support the sending and receiving of signals
 For each media type, we require knowledge of:

Network Media & Connectors

 Physical characteristics
 Limitations
 Each medium has a unique design and usage with
implications for:

 Cost
 Performance

 Installation
PHYSICAL MEDIA
 Factors to consider when choosing network media:

 Bandwidth rating

Network Media & Connectors

 Maximum segment length

 Maximum number of segments per

internetwork
 Maximum number of devices per segment

 Interference susceptibility

 Connection hardware

 Cable grade

 Bend radius

 Costs of materials and insulation

BANDWIDTH
 In analogue systems, this describes the band of frequencies
that can carry information.
 In digital, the number of bits per second

Network Media & Connectors

 Customers demand more complex and powerful services and
these require a much higher bandwidth.
 Bandwidth limits of existing technologies have been
expanded:
 Older networking components can remain in
use
 Supports higher bandwidth than originally rated
PHYSICAL CABLE TYPES
 Carry a physical signal that may be:

Electrical

Network Media & Connectors



 Light pulses
 The primary cable types are:

 Coaxial cable
 Twisted-pair

 Fibre-optic cable
COAXIAL CABLE
 Was the main original form of network cabling
 Now obsolete

Network Media & Connectors

 Contains shielding - protective layer(s) wrapped
around cable to protect it from external interference
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
 Unshielded TwistedPair (UTP)
 Most popular LAN cabling type

Network Media & Connectors

 10BaseT

 Maximum length is 100 meters

 Includes one or more pairs of insulated wires
 Specifications give the number of twists per foot (or per
metre).
10BASET
 10 for 10 Mbps operation
 Base for baseband

Network Media & Connectors

 T for twisted pair
 Maximum length per segment 100 meters (330 ft)
 Maximum of 2 devices per segment

 one is the station and the other is the hub

 Uses a star topology
UTP CABLING CATEGORIES
 UTP cabling is rated according to a number of categories
devised by the TIA and EIA
 Cat1: 0.4 MHzTelephone and modem

Network Media & Connectors

 Cat2: Unsuitable for modern systems

 Cat3: 16MHz10BASE-T and 100BASE-T4 Ethernet

 Cat4: 20MHz16 Mbit/s Token Ring

 Cat5: 100MHz 100BASE-TX & 1000BASE-T Ethernet

 Cat6: 250MHz 1000BASE-T Ethernet

 Cat6a: 500MHz 10GBASE-T (under development)

 Cat5 and Cat6 are the most common

FIBRE OPTIC CABLE
 The core and cladding are made of ultra-pure glass.
 Light is guided down the centre of a fibre and reflects off the
inner surface.

Network Media & Connectors

 Each fibre is protected by a plastic buffer coating.
 Further protection from the outer covering.
FIBRE OPTIC CABLE TYPES
 Two types:

Single-mode: costs more and generally works

Network Media & Connectors



with laser-based emitters, but spans the longest

distances
 Multimode: costs less and works with light

emitting diodes (LEDs), but spans shorter

distances
 Installation
is more difficult, time-consuming and costly than
copper wire.
FIBRE OPTIC ADVANTAGES
 Immune to electrical interference
 Can cover large distances

Network Media & Connectors

 High transmission speeds
 Not easily tapped

The big disadvantage is cost.

MULTIMODE FIBRE OPTIC
 Early fibre optic cables
 Light signals from a laser are broken up into a number of
paths.

Network Media & Connectors

 Each is reflected off the internal wall of the fibre.
 Signal quality is determined by the amount of reflection.
MONOMODE FIBRE OPTIC
 Single stream down each strand
 Further developed to allow multiple frequencies to be sent
down the same core

Network Media & Connectors

 Allows for greater distances and transmission speeds
WIRELESS MEDIA
 Media does not have to be physical.
 Wireless connections are also network media.
 Frequency is measured in Hertz

Network Media & Connectors

 Affects the amount and speed of data
transmission
 Lower-frequency transmissions carry less data

more slowly over longer distances

 Radio -10 KHz (kilohertz) to 1 GHz (gigahertz)

 Microwave -1 GHz to 500 GHz

 Infrared - 500 GHz to 1 THz (terahertz)

CONNECTORS
 Network consists of:

Nodes

Network Media & Connectors



 Media
 Alsoneed to connect the media to the nodes
 Range of devices for doing this
 Choice depends upon

 Cable type
 Network type

 Device
COAXIAL CABLE CONNECTOR
 Most common type of connector used with coaxial cables is
the Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) connector
 E.g. 10Base2 thin Ethernet (now obsolete)

Network Media & Connectors

 Different adapters available for BNC
connectors

 T-connector
 Barrel connector

 Terminator
UTP CONNECTORS
 UTP comes in 2 main forms:

Two-pair (four wire) for telephone

Network Media & Connectors



 Four-pair (eight wire) for data networks

 Each has a different connector:

 RJ-11 for four-wire telephony

 RJ-45 for eight wire data networks
 RJ-11
 RJ stands for registered jack

Network Media & Connectors

 Strictly this is a combination of plug and wiring configuration
 Used for a single telephone line

 RJ-45
 The standard connector for UTP cabling in data networks
 Like a large telephone-style connector
 Made of plastic
 Can only be inserted one way
 Standard designates which wire goes with each pin inside the
connector
WIRING AN RJ-45 CONNECTOR
 The wiring configuration depends upon the standard being
followed.
 Private Study Exercise 2 asks you to investigate the wiring

Network Media & Connectors

configurations.
FIBRE OPTIC CONNECTORS
 Terminate the end of an optical fibre
 Enable connection faster than splicing

Network Media & Connectors

 Align the cores of fibres so that light can pass
 Common connectors are:

 FC
 LC

 MT-RJ

 SC

 ST
FC CONNECTORS
Ferrule Connector
 A popular connector for monomode fibre optic cable

Network Media & Connectors

 A screw on connection
 Must have the key aligned in the slot properly before
tightening
 It is steadily being replaced by SCs and LCs.
LC CONNECTORS
Lucent Connector (or Local Connector)
 A relatively recent connector that is smaller than many others

Network Media & Connectors

 A standard ceramic ferrule connector
 It is easily terminated with adhesive
 Good performance
 Used widely in monomode
MT-RJ CONNECTORS
Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack
 A duplex connector

Network Media & Connectors

 Both fibres in a single polymer ferrule
 Uses pins for alignment
 Has male and female versions
 Multimode only
SC CONNECTORS
Subscriber Connector (or Square Connector or Standard
Connector)
 A snap-in connector

Network Media & Connectors

 Widely used in monomode systems
 Has excellent performance
 Connects with a simple push-pull motion
 Also available in a duplex configuration
ST CONNECTORS
Straight Tip
 Most popular connector for multimode networks

Network Media & Connectors

 Has a bayonet mount and a long cylindrical ferrule to hold
the fibre
 Ferrules are usually ceramic
 Ferrules are spring-loaded; you have to make sure they are
seated properly.
USB CONNECTORS
Universal Serial Bus
 Developed as a means to connect a large number of devices
to the PC

Network Media & Connectors

 The standard for peripherals
 Allows Plug and Play - no special user-knowledge required to
install a new device
 All devices distinguishable from other devices

 the correct driver software was always

automatically used
USB 2.0
 The most common implementation
 Very easy to connect

Network Media & Connectors

 Half-duplex
 USB 3.0 has been developed:

 Higher data speeds

 Less power consumption

 Full duplex
NIC
Network Interface Card
 Required for a computer to communicate on a network.

Network Media & Connectors

 Establishes and manages the computer’s network connection
 Translates incoming/outgoing messages
 Modern computers have a NIC built in
SELECTION CRITERIA
 Factors to be considered:

Bandwidth

Network Media & Connectors



 Budget

 Capacity

 Placement

 Existing cables

 Environmental considerations

 Geographic area

 Specifics of organisation and location

SMALL NETWORKS
 Forsmall networks, such as a home network or small office,
common choices are:

Network Media & Connectors

 Ethernet using 10BaseT for a network using
physical media
 Wireless LANs are becoming more common

due to ease of setting up and accessing the

network.
 For larger organisations covering several office and/or
buildings, a more structured approach is required
CABLE CHOICE
 Most networks use some type of unshielded twisted-pair
cabling.
 Some organisations use optic fibre directly to their desktop

Network Media & Connectors

machines.
 Wireless is an option
 Ideally use Cat5e UTP as a minimum, if using cable
INSTALLATION STANDARDS
 Two standards bodies have recognised standards for the
installation of data networks:
The Telecommunications Industry Association

Network Media & Connectors



(TIA)
 TIA-568-C.2, Balanced Twisted-Pair
Telecommunications Cabling and Components
Standard, 2009
 The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
 ISO 11801, 2nd Ed., Information technology -
Generic Cabling for Customer Premises, 2002
STRUCTURED CABLING
 Uses an extended star physical topology
 Can be applied to any size network

Network Media & Connectors

 Cabling is organised into 6 components:

 Work area
 Horizontal wiring

 Telecommunications closets

 Equipment rooms

 Vertical wiring

 Entrance facilities
WORK AREA
 Room containing workstations and peripherals

 Faceplates and wall jacks are installed.

Network Media & Connectors

 Patch cables connect computers and printers to

wall jacks.
 Wall jacks connect to a telecommunications closet.

 Patch cables should be less than 6 meters long.

 Standard requires at least one voice and one data

outlet on each faceplate in each work area.

 Connection between wall jack and telecomms

closet (TC) is made via horizontal wiring

 Network Media & Connectors
FACEPLATE & PATCH CABLE
 Also known as cable closet

Network Media & Connectors

HORIZONTAL WIRING
 Runs from the work area wall jack to the telecommunications
closet
 Types include four-pair UTP (Category 5e or 6) or two fibre-

Network Media & Connectors

optic cables
 Horizontal wiring from the wall jack to the patch panel
should be no longer than 90 metres

 Patch cables in the work area and in the

telecommunications closet can total up to 100
meters
STRUCTURED CABLING MAX
DISTANCES

Network Media & Connectors

EQUIPMENT ROOMS
 Contains servers, routers, switches, and other major network
equipment
 Serves as a connection point for vertical cabling running

Network Media & Connectors

between TCs
 In installations covering several buildings, each building may
have its own equipment room.
VERTICAL CABLING
 Interconnects telecommunications closets and equipment
rooms
 Runs between floors and between buildings

Network Media & Connectors

 Often fibre optic (but can be UTP)

 Multimode fibre optic, up to 2000 meters

 Single-mode fibre optic, up to 3000 meters

 Between equipment rooms and TCs, distance is

limited to 500 metres for both fibre optic cable

types
 From the main cross-connect to equipment

rooms, fibre optic cable can run up to 1500

meters
ENTRANCE FACILITIES
 The location of the cabling and equipment connecting
corporate network to telecoms provider
 Can also serve as an equipment room and the main cross-

Network Media & Connectors

connect for all vertical cabling

 Where a connection to a WAN is made

 Where corporate LAN equipment ends and a

third-party provider’s equipment and cabling

begins
WIRELESS NETWORKS
 Remember that wireless networking is gaining in popularity

 Acts like a wired network

Network Media & Connectors

 Uses electromagnetic frequencies:

 Radio
 Microwave
 Infrared
 Laser
REFERENCES
 Elliot,B. (2002). Designing a Structured Cabling System to
ISO 11801, 2nd edition. Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
 British Telecom (2004). BT Structured Cabling, British

Network Media & Connectors

Telecom
 Tomsho, G. (2006). Guide to Networking Essentials, 5th
edition. Course Technology.