Cables are the heart of the communication. There are many types of cables that are being used on network devices. Cabling functions are in the Layer – 1 of the OSI Model. So what that means ? That means you need to check the cables first if there is a problem in your network ! So it is time to take a look to the common cable types.

Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP)

 utp cable

  • UTP cables can support 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet.
  • UTP cables are cheap.
  • Cable and connector size are small.
  • Maximum cable length : 100 meters

Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP)

 stp cable
  • STP cables can support 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet.
  • STP cables are a little bit more expensive than UTP cables.
  • STP cables are solid because of they have a “shield”.
  • Cable and connector size are medium.
  • Maximum cable length : 100 meters.

Coaxial

coaxial cable

  • Coaxial cables can support 10/100 Mbps speed.
  • Coaxial cables are cheap.
  • Cable and connector size are medium.
  • Maximum cable length : 500 meters.
  • Rarely used in network devices.

Fiber Optic

 fiber optic cable
  • Fiber optic cables can support 1 Tbps + speed.
  • Cable and connector size are small.
  • Most expensive.
  • Single Mode maximum cable length : 60 kilometers.
  • Multimode maximum cable length : 2 kilometers.

* Check this article for more information about fiber optic cables.