EleanoreHinkley417

In this activity you will learn how to build a Category 5 (CAT 5) Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet network patch cable (or patch cord) and test it for good connections and correct pinouts (correct color wires on the correct pin). This will be 4-pair (8 wires) �straight through� cable, which means that the color of wire on pin 1 on one end of the cable will be the same as pin 1 on the other end. Pin 2 will be the same as pin 2, and so on. It will be wired to EIA/TIA 568-B or A standards for 10base-T Ethernet, which determines what color wire is on each pin. T568-B (also called AT&T specification) is more common, but many installations are also wired to T568-A (also called ISDN). This patch cable will conform to the structured cabling standards and is considered to be part of the �horizontal� cabling, which is limited to 99 meters total between workstation and hub or switch. It can be used in a workstation NIC to the wall plate data jack, or it can be used in the wiring closet to connect the patch panel (horizontal cross connect) to an Ethernet hub or switch. Patch cables are wired straight thru because the cable from the workstation to the hub or switch is normally crossed over automatically at the switch or hub. Note that the ports on most hubs have an X next to them. This means the send and receive pairs will be crossed when the cabling reaches the switch. The pinouts will be T568-B, and all 8 conductors (wires) should be terminated with RJ45 modular connectors (only 4 of the 8 wires are used for 10/100Base-T Ethernet; all 8 are used for 1000Base-T Ethernet).Also check out Roll Over Cable