Nowdays ethernet is a most common networking standard for LAN (local area network) communication. The ethernet cable used to wire a RJ45 connector of network interface card to a hub, switch or network outlet. The cable is called wipe, patch cord, straight-thru cable.
There are several specifications ofEthernet RJ-45 connection over twisted pair: oldest 10Mbit (Ethernet), old but still used 100Mbit (Fast Ethernet), modern 1Gbit (Gigabit ethernet) or newest10Gbit ethernet.Ethernet cable wiring for any of those RJ45 interfaces may be easily crimpedby yourself.
Ethernet is officially standardized by IEEE standard 802.3. It was originally developed by Xerox Corporation in cooperation with DEC and Intel in 1976. Nowdays ethernet over twisted pair (RJ-45 connection) runs at 10Mb, 100Mb,1Gb or 10Gb per second. Ethernet uses a bus (very old coaxial cable) or star topology (standard UTP cable equipped with RJ-45 connectors).
Ethernet RJ45 connectionand cable
Almost everyethernet networkuse Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable ended with RJ-45 connectors. Category 5 (CAT5), Category 5eor Category 6 (CAT6) cables are widely used, but other variations are available. EIA/TIA specifies RJ-45 connectors - properly called 8P8C - (ISO 8877) for UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cable.
Fast Ethernet
100BASE-TX (IEEE 802.3u)was introduced in 1995 and remained the fastest version of Ethernet before the introduction ofGigabit Ethernet.It runs onUTPdata oroptical fiber cablein astar wired bus topology, similar to10BASE-Twhere all cables are attached to a hub. Fast Ethernet RJ-45 connected devices are generally backward compatible with existing 10BASE-T systems.The segment length for a 100BASE-T cable is limited to 100 metres.100BASE-TXruns over two wire-pairs inside a Category 5 cableor above. Like10BASE-T, the active pairs in a standard connection are terminated on pins 1, 2, 3 and 6.
Gigabit Ethernet
1000BASE-T (also known as IEEE 802.3ab) is a standard for Gigabit Ethernet over copper wiring. The Gigabit RJ45 connection requires, at least Category 5 cable (the same as 100BASE-TX), but Category 5e cable (Category 5 enhanced) or Category 6 cable may also be used and isoften recommended. 1000BASE-T requires all four pairs to be present and is far less tolerant of poorly installed wiring than 100BASE-TX.
10Gbit Ethernet
10GBASE-T(IEEE 802.3an-2006)is a standard released in 2006 to provide 10 Gbit/s connections over unshielded or shielded twisted pair cables, over distances up to 100 metres.Category 6a cable is required to reach the full distance and category 6 may reach a distance of 55 metres.The line encoding used by 10GBASE-T is the basis for the slower2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-Tstandard, implementing a 2.5 or 5.0 Gbit/s connection over existing category 5e or 6 cabling.Cables which will not function reliably with 10GBASE-T may successfully operate with 2.5GBASE-T or 5GBASE-T if supported by both ends.
RJ45 ethernet connection pinout
There are two standards for RJ45 cable wiring: EIA/TIA 568A andEIA/TIA 568B. Both are correct. You may use eitherof them to crimp theEthernet RJ45net connectioncable.
EIA/TIA 568A Ethernet UTP cable wiring diagram
| Pin | Signal Name | Description | cable wire color | Name | Pin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TX+_D1 | Transmit Data+ | White with green strip | TX+_D1 | 1 |
| 2 | TX-_D1 | Transmit Data- | Green with white stripe or solid green | TX-_D1 | 2 |
| 3 | RX+_D2 | Receive Data+ | White with orange stripe | RX+_D2 | 3 |
| 4 | BI+_D3 | Bi-directional+ | Blue with white stripe or solid blue | BI+_D3 | 4 |
| 5 | BI-_D3 | Bi-directional- | White with blue stripe | BI-_D3 | 5 |
| 6 | RX-_D2 | Receive Data- | Orange with white stripe or solid orange | RX-_D2 | 6 |
| 7 | BI+_D4 | Bi-directional+ | White with brown strip | BI+_D4 | 7 |
| 8 | BI-_D4 | Bi-directional- | Brown with white stripe or solid brown | BI-_D4 | 8 |
EIA/TIA 568B Ethernet UTP cable wiring diagram
| Pin | Signal Name | Description | cable wire color | Name | Pin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TX+_D1 | Transmit Data+ | White with orange stripe | TX+_D1 | 1 |
| 2 | TX-_D1 | Transmit Data- | Orange with white stripe or solid orange | TX-_D1 | 2 |
| 3 | RX+_D2 | Receive Data+ | White with green stripe | RX+_D2 | 3 |
| 4 | BI+_D3 | Bi-directional+ | Blue with white stripe or solid blue | BI+_D3 | 4 |
| 5 | BI-_D3 | Bi-directional- | White with blue stripe | BI-_D3 | 5 |
| 6 | RX-_D2 | Receive Data- | Green with white stripe or solid | RX-_D2 | 6 |
| 7 | BI+_D4 | Bi-directional+ | White with brown strip | BI+_D4 | 7 |
| 8 | BI-_D4 | Bi-directional- | Brown with white stripe or solid brown | BI-_D4 | 8 |
Note: Itis very important that a single pair be used for pins 1 and 2; 3 and 6, 4 and 5, 7 and 8. If not, performance will be degraded.
How to wire your own RJ-45 Ethernet cable
The ethernet cable wiringis simple. You must have some RJ-45 connectors, UTP cable, Rj-45 Modular Connector Crimper and a hand. The ethernet cable,connectors and Connector Crimper are available at local computer storeormost electrical centers.
Pull the cable off the reel to the desired length and cut.
Inside the ethernet cable, there are 8 color coded wires. They are twisted into 4 pairs of wires. One wire in the pair is a solid colored and the other is a primarily white with a colored stripe.Start on one end and strip the cable jacket off (about 2-3cm) using a stripper or a knife. The insulation of cable wires must remainintact!
Untwist the pairs and align the wires in the correct order (see the EIA/TIA 568B or EIA/TIA 568A pinout above ).Flatten the wires and trim the ends of the wires, leaving approximately 12-14 mm in wire length. Check the correct order, flattness and tightness of wires bundle.
Hold the RJ-45 connector (clip down) and carefully insert wires into the connector.
Each wire should be inserted as deep as possible (to the front of the RJ45 plug).
Check the wires order once again. Carefully hold the wire and firmly crimp the RJ-45 with the modular connector crimper.
Repeat the above for the second RJ45 connector of cable.
That's all. Test the Ethernet cable.
What if your Ethernet cable failed to function?
Check the following:
Did you align wires in correct order on both ends of cable? Is pin 1 of connector wired with white-orange (EIA/TIA 568A) or white-green (EIA/TIA 568B) on both ends of cable?
If not, cut off connector and repeat above steps with NEW RJ45 connector.
Did you tightly press all metal pins of RJ45 connector?
Tightly crimp the connector with the crimper once again.
There are four most common Unshielded Twisted Pair Ethernet standards available nowdays:
| Name | Speed | Standard | Wires used | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10BASE-T | 10Mb/s | 802.3i | 2 pairs: pins 1,2,3,6 | Runs over four wires on a Category 3 or Category 5 cable. |
| 100BASE-TX | 100Mb/s | 802.3u | 2 pairs: pins 1,2,3,6 | CAT5 copper cabling with two twisted pairs. |
| 1000BASE-T | 1000Mb/s | 802.3ab | 4 pairs: pins 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | At least Category 5 cable, with Category 5e strongly recommended copper cabling with four twisted pairs. Each pair is used in both directions simultaneously |
| 10GBASE-T | 10000Mb/s | 802.3an | 4 pairs: pins 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | Uses category 6a cable. |
Ethernet UTP cable length:
Each network segment cable length may be up to 100 meters, although several chip manufacturers claim 150 meters. Autonegotiation is a requirement for using 1000BASE-T, according to the standard. Several device drivers will allow you to force 1000 Mbps full duplex to eliminate autonegotiation issues.
UTP network cabling
Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity. With the 2001 introduction of the TIA/EIA-568-B standard for RJ-45 connection, the category 5 cabling specification was obsoleted and superseded by the category 5e specification.
The original specification for category 5 cable was defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB-95. These documents specified performance characteristics and test requirements for frequencies of up to 100 MHz. Category 5 cable included four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. It was most commonly used for 100Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX Ethernet, although IEEE 802.3ab defined standards for 1000BASE-T - gigabit Ethernet over category 5 cable. Cat 5 cable typically had three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 24 gauge copper wires within the cable. The twisting of the cable reduces electrical interference and crosstalk.
Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far-end crosstalk, usually used for gigabit ethernet. Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: horizontal cables are still limited to a maximum of 90 m in length. Cat 5e cable performance characteristics and test methods are defined in TIA/EIA-568-B.2-2001.
Category6 cable, commonly referred to asCat6, is a standardizedtwisted paircable forEthernetand other networkphysical layersthat isbackward compatiblewith theCategory5/5eandCategory 3 cablestandards. Compared with Cat5 and Cat5e, Cat6 features more stringent specifications forcrosstalkand system noise. The cable standard also specifies performance of up to 250MHz compared to 100MHz for Cat5 and Cat5e. Whereas Category6 cable has a reduced maximum length of 55 meters when used for10GBASE-T,Category6A cableis characterized to 500MHz and has improvedalien crosstalkcharacteristics, allowing 10GBASE-T to be run for the same 100 meter maximum distance as previousEthernet variants.
