Questions tagged [cable]

The questions tagged that way are for the physical aspect of the cable, like length limitation, physical properties, tubing, installation, etc..

Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share printers, scanners etc. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, and twisted pair cables, are used depending on the network's physical layer, topology, and size. The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Ethernet) or nearly unlimited distances (e.g. via the interconnections of the Internet).

There are several technologies used for network connections. Patch cables are used for short distances in offices and wiring closets. Electrical connections using twisted pair or coaxial cable are used within a building. Optical fiber cable is used for long distances or for applications requiring high bandwidth or electrical isolation. Many installations use structured cabling practices to improve reliability and maintainability. In some home and industrial applications power lines are used as network cabling.

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What happens when you plug two sides of a cable to a single networking device?

What is likely to happen when you plug two ends of a network cable to a single switch/router? Will this create problems on the network, or just be ignored?
lisa1987
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Why do ethernet cables have 8 wires?

This might seem a stupid question but why do Ethernet cables have 8 wires? Cat5 cables were just using 4 of the 8 wires, so only 4 are actualy 'needed'. Why not 12 or 16 wires?
ProgrammerAtWork
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Why do cat5 cables sometimes have the fluffy fiber bit in them?

Why do cat5 cables sometimes have the fluffy fiber bit in them?
t123
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What is a patch panel?

What is a patch panel? How it is different from (layer 2) switch? EDIT: I think my primary question (and confusion) is this: Why don't network connections go straight to the switch? Don't we still require 1-to-1 connections from switch to patch…
Arie K
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How do you organise the cables in your racks?

I'm migrating my current half-size rack to a full-size rack and want to take the opportunity to reorganize and sort our spaghetti-hell of ethernet cables. What system do you use for organising your cables? Do you use any tracking software? Do you…
Tim
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Is there a difference between RJ-45 plugs for Cat-5e and Cat-6?

While looking around for some plugs to use for running and crimping some bulk Cat-6 cable, I noticed the online sites show RJ-45 plugs for Cat-5e and separate ones for Cat-6. Is there actually any difference between the two? The Cat-6 plugs mention…
romandas
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What is the actual difference between Cat-5 and Cat-5e?

From the title, this sounds a whole lot like a repeat of this question, but it isn't, I promise. Because he wanted to know whether you could tell from looking at a cable whether it was Cat-5 or Cat-5e, based on a few pictures and some really shoddy…
Matt Simmons
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Network cable color conventions?

Are there any color conventions for network cable? I'm talking jacket color here, not the color of the individual conductors. I've seen and used mostly grey and blue which is what's usually readily available. I have to make a few runs and using…
Boden
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How does the RJ45 crimping tool work?

There are plenty of videos and descriptions about how to use an RJ45 crimping tool. I've seen a few, and I have even tested a crimping tool, but I still don't understand how it does what it does. What exactly happens to the eight wires inside the…
Arseni Mourzenko
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Connecting two desktop switches with more than one cable?

I was hoping to find a way to increase bandwidth between two desktop switches I have, and I wondered if connecting them with two cables (or perhaps three) instead of just one might increase theoretical bandwidth (which I am currently not in danger…
Code Jockey
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What is the wiring for a patch cable?

What is the wiring order for an 10/100/n-Base-T patch cable? What about a crossover (x-over) cable?
BIBD
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Tracing a network cable that is already connected to the network

Some remodeling was done while I was away from work, and I'm left with several unlabeled cat5 cables that are terminated with RJ45 keystone modules. On the other end, all of the cables are terminated at the patch panels in the server room. Some of…
Sherlock Bytes
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What else do I get with Cat 6 beyond future proofing my wiring?

We are about to put in the wiring in an expansion of our office building and the vendor is proposing we use Cat 6 cabling because it is "faster." Gigabit works fine over Cat 5e which is what our existing building has run throughout it and according…
Chris Magnuson
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What kind of SATA connector is this?

My Supermicro motherboard has a "vertical S-SATA connector". The manual simply says "A vertical S-SATA connector, offers four S-SATA 3.0 connections (S-SATA 0-3)". I took a picture of it and it looks like it has 18 pins. I've had no luck finding…
Pete
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10GbE sfp+ cross over cable required? Is there such a thing?

To preface, this is my first experience with 10GbE networking and I have encountered an issue which my research does not seem to locate a solution for... I have two servers (older DL580G5 and DL380G5), each with a HP NC522SFP, 10GbE dual sfp+ port…
dc-patos
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