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Types of Ethernet cabling

There are three cable types commonly used for Ethernet cabling: coaxial, twisted pair, and fiber-optic cabling. In today’s
LANs, the twisted pair cabling is the most popular type of cabling, but the fiber-optic cabling usage is increasing, especially in
high performance networks. Coaxial cabling is generally used for cable Internet access. Let’s expain all three cable types in
more detail.

Coaxial cabling
A coaxial cable has an inner conductor that runs down the middle of the cable. The conductor is surrounded by a layer of
insulation which is then surrounded by another conducting shield, which makes this type of cabling resistant to outside
interference. This type of cabling comes in two types – thinnet and thicknet. Both types have maximum transmission speed
of 10 Mbps. Coaxial cabling was previously used in computer networks, but today are largely replaced by twisted-pair cabling
.

Twisted-pair cabling
A twisted-pair cable has four pair of wires. These wires are twisted around each other to reduce crosstalk and outside
interference. This type of cabling is common in current LANs.
Twisted-pair cabling can be used for telephone and network cabling. It comes in two versions, UTP (Unshielded Twisted-
Pair) and STP (Shielded Twisted-Pair). The difference between these two is that an STP cable has an additional layer of
insulation that protects data from outside interferences.

Here you can see how a twisted pair cable looks like (Photo credit: Wikipedia):

A twisted-pair cable uses 8P8C connector, sometimes wrongly referred to as RJ45 connector.

Fiber-optic cabling
This type of cabling uses optical fibers to transmit data in the form of light signals. The cables have strands of glass
surrounded by a cladding material (Photo credit: Wikipedia):

This type of cabling can support greater cable lengths than any other cabling type (up to a couple of miles). The cables are
also immune to electromagnetic interference. As you can see, this cabling method has many advantages over other methods
but its main drawback is that it is more expensive.

There are two types of fiber-optic cables:

 Single-mode fiber (SMF) – uses only a single ray of light to carry data. Used for larger distances.
 Multi-mode fiber (MMF) – uses multiple rays of light to carry data. Less expensive than SMF.

Four types of connectors are commonly used:

 ST (Straight-tip connector)
 SC (Subscriber connector)
 FC (Fiber Channel)
 LC (Lucent Connector)
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Fiber Optics

An optical fiber can be understood as a dielectric waveguide, which operates at optical frequencies. The device or a tube, if
bent or if terminated to radiate energy, is called a waveguide, in general. Following image depicts a bunch of fiber optic
cables.

The electromagnetic energy travels through it in the form of light. The light propagation, along a waveguide can be
described in terms of a set of guided electromagnetic waves, called as modes of the waveguide.

Why Light is used Instead of Electricity?

In fiber-optic communication, laser light is used for transmission because this light source has a single wavelength. As
compared to other light sources like bulb light or sunlight have several light wavelengths. Thus, if another light source like
sunlight is used for this communication then they will generate a less powerful sunbeam whereas the laser light generates a
more powerful beam. So, laser light source is the best option for communication because of the low dispersion, generating a
number of signals in less time.

Working Principle
A fundamental optical parameter one should have an idea about, while studying fiber optics is Refractive index. By
definition, “The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to that in matter is the index of refraction n of the material.” It is
represented as −
$$n = \frac{c}{v}$$
Where,
c = the speed of light in free space = 3 × 108 m/s
v = the speed of light in di-electric or non-conducting material
Generally, for a travelling light ray, reflection takes place when n2 < n1 . The bent of light ray at the interface is the result of
difference in the speed of light in two materials that have different refractive indices. The relationship between these angles
at the interface can be termed as Snell’s law. It is represented as −
$$n_1sin\phi _1 = n_2sin\phi _2$$
Where,
$\phi _1$ is the angle of incidence
$\phi _2$ is the refracted angle
n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of two materials
For an optically dense material, if the reflection takes place within the same material, then such a phenomenon is called
as internal reflection. The incident angle and refracted angle are shown in the following figure.

If the angle of incidence $\phi _1$ is much larger, then the refracted angle $\phi _2$ at a point becomes Π/2 . Further
refraction is not possible beyond this point. Hence, such a point is called as Critical angle $\phi _c$. When the incident angle
$\phi _1$ is greater than the critical angle, the condition for total internal reflection is satisfied.
The following figure shows these terms clearly.
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A light ray, if passed into a glass, at such condition, it is totally reflected back into the glass with no light escaping from the
surface of the glass.

Parts of a Fiber
The most commonly used optical fiber is single solid di-electric cylinder of radius a and index of refraction n1. The following
figure explains the parts of an optical fiber.

This cylinder is known as the Core of the fiber. A solid di-electric material surrounds the core, which is called as Cladding.
Cladding has a refractive index n2 which is less than n1.
Cladding helps in −
 Reducing scattering losses.
 Adds mechanical strength to the fiber.
 Protects the core from absorbing unwanted surface contaminants.

Types of Optical Fibers

Depending upon the material composition of the core, there are two types of fibers used commonly. They are −
 Step-index fiber − The refractive index of the core is uniform throughout and undergoes an abrupt change (or step)
at the cladding boundary.
 Graded-index fiber − The core refractive index is made to vary as a function of the radial distance from the center
of the fiber.
Both of these are further divided into −
 Single-mode fiber − These are excited with laser.
 Multi-mode fiber − These are excited with LED.

Optical Fiber Communications

The communication system of fiber optics is well understood by studying the parts and sections of it. The major elements of
an optical fiber communication system are shown in the following figure.

The basic components are light signal transmitter, the optical fiber, and the photo detecting receiver. The additional
elements such as fiber and cable splicers and connectors, regenerators, beam splitters, and optical amplifiers are employed
to improve the performance of the communication system.
Functional Advantages
The functional advantages of optical fibers are −
 The transmission bandwidth of the fiber optic cables is higher than the metal cables.
 The amount of data transmission is higher in fiber optic cables.
 The power loss is very low and hence helpful in long-distance transmissions.
 Fiber optic cables provide high security and cannot be tapped.
 Fiber optic cables are the most secure way for data transmission.
 Fiber optic cables are immune to electromagnetic interference.
 These are not affected by electrical noise.

Physical Advantages
The physical advantages of fiber optic cables are −
 The capacity of these cables is much higher than copper wire cables.
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 Though the capacity is higher, the size of the cable doesn’t increase like it does in copper wire cabling system.
 The space occupied by these cables is much less.
 The weight of these FOC cables is much lighter than the copper ones.
 Since these cables are di-electric, no spark hazards are present.
 These cables are more corrosion resistant than copper cables, as they are bent easily and are flexible.
 The raw material for the manufacture of fiber optic cables is glass, which is cheaper than copper.
 Fiber optic cables last longer than copper cables.

Disadvantages
Although fiber optics offer many advantages, they have the following drawbacks −

 Though fiber optic cables last longer, the installation cost is high.
 The number of repeaters are to be increased with distance.
 They are fragile if not enclosed in a plastic sheath. Hence, more protection is needed than copper ones.

Applications of Fiber Optics

The optical fibers have many applications. Some of them are as follows −
 Used in telephone systems
 Used in sub-marine cable networks
 Used in data link for computer networks, CATV Systems
 Used in CCTV surveillance cameras
 Used for connecting fire, police, and other emergency services.
 Used in hospitals, schools, and traffic management systems.
 They have many industrial uses and also used for in heavy duty constructions.

Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)

SONET stands for Synchronous Optical Network. SONET is a communication protocol, developed by Bellcore – that is used to
transmit a large amount of data over relatively large distances using optical fibre. With SONET, multiple digital data streams
are transfered at the same time over the optical fibre.
Key Points:
 Developed by Bellcore
 Used in North America
 Standardized by ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
 Similar to SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) which is used in Europe and Japan.

Why SONET is called a Synchronous Network?

A single clock handles the timing of transmission of signals & equipments across the entire network.

SONET Network Elements:

1. STS Multiplexer:
 Performs multipleximg of signals
 Converts electrical signal to optical signal
2. STS Demultiplexer:
 Performs demultiplexing of signals
 Converts optical signal to electrical signal
3. Regenerator:
It is a repeater, that takes an optical signal and regenerates (increases the strength) it.
4. Add/Drop Multiplexer:
It allows to add signals coming from different sources into a given path or remove a signal.
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Why SONET is used?

SONET is used to convert electrical signal into optical signal so that it can travel longer distances.

SONET Connections:

 Section: Portion of network connecting two neighbouring devices.

 Line: Portion of network connecting two neighbouring multiplexers.
 Path: End-to-end portion of the network.

SONET Layers:

1. Path Layer:
 It is responsible for the movement of signal from its optical source to its optical destination.
 STS Mux/Demux provides path layer functions.
2. Line Layer:
 It is responsible for the movement of signal across a physical line.
 STS Mux/Demux and Add/Drop Mux provides Line layer functions.
3. Section Layer:
 It is responsible for the movement of signal across a physical section.
 Each device of network provides section layer functions.

4. Photonic Layer:
 It corresponds to the physical layer of the OSI model.
 It includes physical specifications for the optical fibre channel (presence of light = 1 and absence of light = 0).

Advantages of SONET:
 Transmits data to large distances
 Low electromagnetic interference
 High data rates
 Large Bandwidth

Types of Ethernet cables

Ethernet cables can come in two forms when it comes to wiring:

1. Straight-through cable

This cable type has identical wiring on both ends (pin 1 on one end of the cable is connected to pin 1 at the other end of the
cable, pin 2 is connected to pin 2 etc.):

This type of cable is used to connect the following devices:

 computer to hub
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 computer to switch
 router to hub
 router to switch

Computers and routers use wires 1 and 2 to transmit data and wires 3 and 6 to receive data. Hubs and switches use wires 1
and 2 to receive data and wires 3 and 6 to send data. That is why, if you want to connect two computers together, you will
need a crossover cable.

2. Crossover cable

With the crossover cable, the wire pairs are swapped, which means that different pins are connected together – pin 1 on one
end of the cable is connected to pin 3 on the other end, pin 2 on one end is connected to pin 6 on the other end (Photo
credit: Wikipedia):

This type of cable is used when you need to connect two devices that use same wires to send and receive data. For example,
consider connecting two computers together. If you use straight-through cable, with identical wiring in both ends, both
computers will use wires 1 and 2 to send data. If computer A sends some packets to computer B, computer A will send that
data using wires 1 and 2. That will cause a problem because computers expect packets to be received on wires 3 and 6, and
your network will not work properly. This is why you need to use a crossover cable for such connections.

NOTE
Newer devices support the Auto MDI-X capability to automatically detect and configure the required cable connection type.
This removes the need for a specific cable type between certain devices. Also, note that the Gigabit Ethernet and faster
standards use all four wire pairs to transfer data in both direction simultaneously.

TDR

Time-domain reflectometer (TDR) is a virtual electronic instrument used to test cables, providing a very useful output and thus

have information that allows us to support through a report on the failures found in copper cables such as twisted pair
(UTP), where I go to focus on this opportunity.

How to use TDR?

The commands are very simple: One to start the test and the second command to display the result. Here is simple
procedure:

1. Command to start the TDR: “test cable tdr interface <interface of your choice>”;
2. Wait for about 5 to 7 seconds for the test to run; and
3. Command to show the result of the TDR test: “show cable tdr interface <interface of your choice>”

Now let’s see what the I results would look like.

Interface Speed Local pair Pair length Remote pair Pair status
Gi0/1 1000M Pair A 3 +/- 1 meters Pair A Normal
Pair B 3 +/- 1 meters Pair B Normal
Pair C 3 +/- 1 meters Pair C Normal
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Pair D 3 +/- 1 meters Pair D Normal

1. Port tested is on GigabitEthernet 0/1;

2. Port has negotiated to 1 Gbps;
3. Cable use is a straight-through cable (look and compare the values of “Local pair” and “remote pair”);
4. Cable length is approximately 3 metres long and an error (length-wise) of 1 metre; and
5. All four pairs are working fine (Pair status)

Under “Pair status” you can get the following results:

Result Explaination
Ideal result you want.
Normal If testing FastEthernet, you want Pair A and B as “Normal”.
If testing GigabitEthernet, you want ALL as “Normal”.
Open Open circuit. This means that one (or more) pair has “no pin contact”.
Short Short circuit.
Impedance
Bad cable. For more explanation, go here.
Mismatched

An ideal result is “Normal”. In practice, whether the remote-end device is FastEthernet or GigabitEthernet, I will never accept
a TDR result other than “Normal” in all four pairs.

Cable Pairs explained?

This is how I see what each Pairs control:

Pairs Function
A This pair controls whether or not the port should go up or down.
B Protocol-level and controls FastEthernet.
C Power over Ethernet (PoE)
D GigabitEthernet

More examples
Interface Speed Local pair Pair length Remote pair Pair status
Gi0/11 100M Pair A 13 +/- 1 meters Pair B Normal
Pair B 12 +/- 1 meters Pair A Normal
Pair C 0 +/- 1 meters Pair D Open
Pair D 0 +/- 1 meters Pair C Open

Normally, this result would freak me out. Look at the items in RED. Pairs C and D are reporting a cable value of “0”. Next I
move to the “Pair status” and it’s reported as an Open circuit. No pin contact. Whao! But look at the speed. It’s 100 Mbps. So
it’s normal … I guess.

But wait. What if the remote-end side (Red) client is a GigabitEthernet. So where is the faulty cabling? Which one of the patch
cables? Or is it a horizontal cabling? Does the client support GigabitEthernet or not?

Here’s another clue: Look at the length of the cable for Pair A and B. It’s reporting around 12 to 13 metres. Experience has
taught me that my Local-end Side (LeS) cable doesn’t exceed two metres. So that rules out my cable, however the horizontal
cabling is more than 10 metres. So what’s between the horizontal cabling and the remote-end client? You have three
suspects: 1) The remote-end punch block; 2) the remote-end patch cable; and 3) remote-end client.

Culprit was the remote-end punch block and the horizontal cabling: Cable contractors only terminated two pairs.

Never ask a boy to do a man’s job!

Interface Speed Local pair Pair length Remote pair Pair status
Gi1/0/48 auto Pair A 149 +/- 1 meters Pair B Normal
Pair B 151 +/- 1 meters Pair A Normal
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Pair C 35 +/- 1 meters Pair D Short/Impedance Mism

Pair D 21 +/- 1 meters Pair C Short/Impedance Mism

Its results like the ones above that makes me want to cry.

Ok, I look under “Pair status” and I see “Short/Impedance Mism” for Pair C and D. No question about it. It’s bad cabling. This is
not what makes me want to cry. Look at under “Pair length” of Pair A and B. NOW cry.

NOTE
* Cisco Switches support it from IOS version 12.2 or later. TDR is compatible with IOS version 15.0.
* If we are running IOS version 12.2, the test with TDR could occur sudden interruptions. The interface will go down and go
up, device will lose network connectivity because of the test on that switchport.
* If the device supports PoE, the test will cause the device to lose power
* Particularly when running older versions of IOS, the test can take five seconds aproximately.
* TDR works in 10/100 / 1000BaseTX (Ethernet). Fiber optic ports cannot be measured by this tester (in Fiber, we can use a
useful command such as: "show interface transceiver [detail]" which is supported by high-end switches).

Power over Ethernet ?

All devices need electricity for them to operate. What if devices are installed farther from the power outlet like an access
point that needs to be installed on an upper level to provide good quality Wi-Fi signal and coverage? One best solution is by
using Power over Ethernet (PoE), typically on a networking device like a network switch.
Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a technology that transmits both electrical power and network data over an ethernet cable.
With PoE, each Ethernet interface of LAN switches can supply power to devices like VoIP phones, IP cameras or security
cameras, and wireless access points (AP).

NOTE
The PoE device like LAN switches that are supplying power is called Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE). The power that is
supplying is in Direct Current (DC) form. The device like IP phones or access points that are being powered is called Powered
Device (PD).

How Does Power over Ethernet Work?

Some devices are not capable of being powered through ethernet ports, which might destroy the device if being plugged into
a PSE (PoE Switch). PSE must also ensure that the power level supplied to PD is enough and will not destroy it. To meet those
requirements, PoE has an IEEE standardized mechanism called autonegotiation.
Autonegotiation initiates a handshake procedure that establishes how much power the PD or connected device requires.
The handshake needs to be established while PD is off, as PD needs the power to boot and initialize. Using autonegotiation,
PSE (PoE Switch) avoids powering up devices that are not capable of receiving power over ethernet ports. Thus, it avoids
damaging the ethernet port or the device itself.

PoE (Power over Ethernet) Standards

During autonegotiation, the PD is signalling the PSE of how much wattage of power it requires. The below standards are the
power in watts that the PSE will supply to PD based on its requirement:
1. PoE –IEEE 802.3af standard that supplies up to 15 watts of DC power from PSE and 12.95 watts from PD due to losses on
an ethernet cable. It uses two pairs of wires like CAT3 or CAT5 cables as a medium.
2. PoE+ – IEEE 802.3at standard that supplies power up to 30 watts of DC power from PSE and 25.5 watts from PD due to
losses on an ethernet cable. It is also using two pairs of wires like CAT5 or higher as a medium.
3. UPoE (Universal PoE) – IEEE 802.3bt standard that supplies power up to 60 watts of DC power from PSE and 51 watts
from PD due to losses on an ethernet cable. It uses four pairs of wire as a medium.
4. UPoE+ (Universal PoE +) – IEEE 802.3bt standard that supplies power up to 100 watts of DC power from PSE and 71.3
watts from PD due to losses on an ethernet cable. It is also using four pairs of ethernet cabling as a medium.

NOTE
There are classes under the PoE standards. Under 802.3af, there are four classes under it that have different power in watts.
On 802.3at, there is only one class, and lastly, 802.3bt has four classes under it.
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PoE Implementation
Implementing PoE on the LAN network connection requires an effort for planning and designing. Powered devices, power
requirements, switch ports, switch power supplies, and PoE standards should be checked before implementing PoE on the
LAN network. Below are the ways we can implement PoE on our network using network switches.
1. Endspan – is a PoE switch and sometimes called “endpoint”. The ethernet port of the switch can supply both
power and data to devices that support PoE like PD.

2. Midspan – if there is an existing non-PoE switch on the network and needs to power up a device that requires
PoE, then a PoE device needs to be put in between the non-PoE switch and a PD. The PoE device will connect to
the non-PoE switch and will supply power to PD. A commonly known midspan is a PoE injector.

Cisco console rollover cable

A rollover cable is usually shipped with each Cisco device. This cable connects a serial port on your computer to the console
port of the device and it is used for the device’s initial configuration. It is called rollover because the wires on one end are
rolled at the other end – the wire at pin 1 connects to the pin 8 on the other side, the wire at pin 2 to the pin 7, etc.

The cable is of light blue color with a DB-9 connector at one end and a RJ-45 connector at the other:

You connect the rollover cable to the serial port on your computer. On the Cisco device, there is a blue console port (usually
marked in blue) to which you connect the other end of the cable:After the cable is connected, you can access the device
using the terminal emulation software (e.g. Putty or HyperTerminal). You need to configure the PC’s serial port to match the
console port settings. Here are the defaults:

 9600 baud
 no hardware flow control
 8 data bits
 no parity bits
 1 stop bit
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NOTE
Newer Cisco devices usually include a USB console port, since serial ports are rare on modern PCs.