We often have heard about Ethernet cables, some of us know about them and are pretty much familiar with them while many of us don’t have an idea what Ethernet cable is. An ethernet is a form of network connection that runs mainly on LAN (local area network) and can run on WAN (wide area network). Through single enclosed wiring (the Ethernet cable) the connected devices can communicate. Ethernet is one of the oldest of its kind and is still so popular because it eases communication between various tools such as printers, personal computers, and other intermediary devices. A device can be easily added to extend a current network if it is compliant with this set of standards. This is mostly used in corporate offices, educational institutions sometimes and in hospitals because it is cheap, provides good speed and is reliable too.
Now that you know what an Ethernet is, you must be wondering How does Ethernet cable work?
An Ethernet cable is a sort of networked cable which is used as a wired cable. Ethernet cables link PCs, routers, and switches within a local site connection. These are the physical cables that have certain limitations such as length and durability. ETL Listed Ethernet cables are only plugged into Ethernet ports like phone cables can only plug into Phone cable ports, but Ethernet ports are larger than Phone cable ports. Ethernet operated through coaxial cables. These days, typical Ethernet LANs operate on special grade twisted-pair cables or fiber optic cables, and we call them Ethernet cables. In earlier days ethernet cables connected devices through a hub However, if two devices on the same hub try to transmit data at one time the data packets may clash and cause connection troubles. To help with these digital traffic impasses, IEEE has created the Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA/CD) protocol with crash detection, which lets devices check whether a provided line is in usage before beginning a new communication. There are many categories of Ethernet cables. It can be 5, 5E, 6,7, or 8 which tells about the internet speed the cable will provide you. their speed ranges from 100 MBPS to 10 Gbps as you go up from category 5 to category 8. These different categories may be ETL-listed ethernet cables that tell that these lie within the product safety standards.
Category 5 ethernet cable supports 100Mb per second. CAT5 was first to be introduced in the ethernet cables category then came CAT5E and 6. CAT5 is the oldest and outdated now because many other categories have surpassed it long ago. CAT5E is an improvised form of CAT5 that was designed to reduce electrical interference with other devices and electrical cables, and it provides high internet speed up to 1000 Mbps and is one of the most common these days. CAT6 cables are like CAT5 because they are made of 4 pairs of twisted copper cables. CAT6 supports up to 10Gbps and a bandwidth capacity of 250 MHZ. It doesn’t allow access to long distances more than 37-55m while transmitting 10 Gbps speed. CAT6a also supports a rate of up to 10 Gbps and a bandwidth of 500 MHZ but it allows connection for long distances up to 100 meters. It has additional insulation to reduce electromagnetic and electrical noise interference. These cables are thicker and less flexible to deal with hence are more suitable at the industrial level than in a home. CAT7 allows rates up to 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps at 50 meters, and 100 Gbps at 15 meters.
Better the ethernet cable be ETL listed, or UL Listed Ethernet Cables are good because It tests electrical components and equipment for potential hazards. So these ethernet cables can either be plenum rated or non-plenum both CMP (communication multi-purpose plenum cable) Cat6 and CMR (communication multipurpose riser) Cat6 connect networking devices like servers, network switches, routers, and so on.
