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ETHERNET QUESTIONS

What is Ethernet?

Ethernet is a type of Network cabling and signaling specification, originally developed by Xerox in the late 1970’s for commercial building telecommunication and computer cabling systems. Up until the late 1980’s thick or thin Coaxial cable was used for 10 Mbps Ethernet networks, around this time twisted pair cabling became more commonly used since it was easier to install and less expensive.
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP were designed specifically for the harsh environment found within the entertainment industry, constant coiling, resistant to abuse, environmental conditions, and abrasion etc.

What official standard organizations cover Ethernet cabling products?

IEEE; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Committee 802.
TIA; Telecommunication Industry Association.
EIA; Electronic Industries Alliance.
IEC; International Electrotechnical Committee.
ISO; International Organization for Standardization. (ISO is taken from the Greek word ‘ISOS’ meaning ‘equal’ maintaining international equilibrium.)
ANSI; American National Standards Institute. ANSI do not itself develop American National standards, rather it facilitates development, establishing consensus amongst qualified groups. ANSI promotes the use of the standards internationally and encourages the adoption of the standards internationally.
ANSI was a founder member of ISO and a member of the IEC Governing Committee of Action.
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP are ETL Verified.

What is the difference between the types UTP, FTP AND SFTP?

UTP, FTP AND SFTP are terms used when discussing the typical specification style of Ethernet cables. All these references offer is whether the Ethernet cable in discussion is shielded or not, and if shielding exists, what type of shielding is applied in the basic structure of the cable.
UTP; Unshielded.
FTP; Aluminum-Mylar Foil Shield.
SFTP; inner Aluminum-Mylar Foil Shield, covered by an outer tinned copper braid shield.
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP have maximum shielding; 100% Aluminum-Mylar foil shield with an outer 80% tinned copper braid shield-SFTP.

What is Patch cable?

Ethernet cable systems use two types of conductor wire types. The main ‘trunk’ cable uses a solid piece of wire as the conductor (solid conductor), this conductor is not flexible and will break after repeated flexing. It is suitable for installation purposes only in long cable run lengths. This ‘trunk’ cable is often referred to as the ‘Backbone cable’.
A ‘Patch’ cable uses stranded conductors (numerous thinner gauges of wire helixed to form the electrical conductor), the insulated wire is flexible and is used to interconnect (or Patch) the Backbone cable to the ‘Desktop’ equipment in short cable run lengths.
Stranded conductors offer lower electrical performance than solid conductors.
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP have stranded conductors and hence are classed as ‘Patch’ cables, however their electrical performance is consistent with the ‘backbone’ cables.

What is the difference between 10Base 5, 10Base T, 100BaseT and 1000BaseT?

These are IEEE standards that define different physical requirements of the Ethernet cable. The prefix number refers to the signaling speed; i.e. ‘10’ means 10 Mbps. ‘Base’ refers to ‘Baseband’. The suffix number was originally intended to refer to the maximum length of an unrepeated segment of cable in hundreds of meters. This convention was modified with the introduction of ‘T’-Twisted pair, and ‘F’-Fiber.

CAT3- 10Base5
CAT5- 100Base T
CAT5E- 1000BaseT
ProPlex PCCATP is classed as 100BaseT
ProPlex PCCAT5EP is classed as 1000BaseT

What does the abbreviation ‘Base’ mean?

‘Baseband’. A Baseband network is one that provides a single channel for communications across the physical medium e.g. cable, so only one device can transmit at a time. Devices on a Baseband network are permitted to use all available bandwidth for transmission.
The opposite to ‘Baseband’ is ‘Broadband’. A typical example of a ‘Broadband’ network is Cable TV.
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP are both Baseband cables.

What is the maximum length of Ethernet cable runs?

For Solid wire conductors.
10BaseT, 100BaseT, 1000BaseT; 100 meter (328 feet)
For Stranded wire conductors (Patch cable).
10BaseT, 100BaseT, 1000BaseT; 10 meter (33 feet)
ProPlex PCCAT5P and PCCAT5EP, although having stranded conductors perform electrically as per the Solid conductor Ethernet cables @ 100M, (328ft).

What is the difference between a ‘Straight through’ cable and a ‘Cross-over’ Cable?

Twisted pair Ethernet cables are constructed using 4-color coded twisted pairs (8-conductors), and terminated with RJ45 plug connectors. The standards state that Ethernet cables should be terminated with specific colors on specific pins of the RJ45 plug.
There are 2 standard pin layouts. If a cable has the same layout on both ends it is a ‘straight through’ cable; if the cable has one layout on one end, and the other layout on the other end it is a ‘cross-over’ cable.

Standard EIA/TIA-568 defines the two pin-layouts for ‘straight-through’ RJ45 terminated assemblies..
They are called, 1] EIA/TIA-568A and 2] EIA/TIA-568B, the latter now being globally accepted as the default wiring standard for ‘straight-through’ cables.

A ‘cross-over’ cable comprises of one end terminated in accordance to EIA/TIA568-A and the opposite end being terminated in accordance to EIA/TIA568-B.
ProPlex ‘straight through’ assemblies are terminated in accordance to EIA/TIA568-B both ends.

What do the CATegories define?

The CATx simply defines the electrical performance of the Ethernet cable.

What is the difference between CAT5 and CAT5E?

The parameters for both of these cables are;
Bandwidth, 100 MHz.
Impedance, 100 Ohm.
Max cable run length, 100 meter.

Whilst the two cables may appear to be the same, CAT5E is designed for High speed gigabit Ethernet. While CAT5 components may function to some degree in a gigabit Ethernet, they perform below standard during high-data transfer scenarios.
CAT5E standards specify additional electrical performance limits, these being Capacitance, frequency, attenuation and NEXT (near end cross-talk).
The enhanced electrical performance of CAT5E ensures that the cable will support applications that require additional bandwidth such as gigabit Ethernet or analogue video.

The ‘E’ meaning “enhanced’.

PCCAT5P is CAT5
PCCAT5EP is CAT5E, and will support High-speed Gigabit Ethernet.

What is the typical construction and number of wires used in Ethernet cables?

Whether the conductor is solid or stranded, twisted pair Ethernet cables are constructed with 8-wires, assembled into 4-twisted pairs.
Conductor size – CAT5; 26 awg
CAT5E; 24 awg
CAT6; 23 awg (250 MHz bandwidth)
The pairs are laid-up, in the case of a UTP cable directly under the outer jacket. In the case of FTP and SFTP the pairs are laid-up, the applicable shields are applied over the assembled pairs and an overall jacket applied.
ProPlex PCCAT5P is a 4-twisted pair, 26 awg stranded, foil and braid shield cable.
ProPlex PCCAT5EP is a 4-twisted pair, 24 awg stranded, foil and braid shield cable.

Why is ProPlex Ethernet classified as a ‘Patch’ cable?

A stranded conductor Ethernet cable is classified by IEEE as a Patch cable ONLY, suitable with a maximum run length of 10 meter maximum. There are NO standards or tests to-date allowing for stranded conductors performing as Backbone cables.
ProPlex Ethernet cable was developed over a 2-year period, and resulted in a stranded conductor (flexible) cable capable of ‘solid conductor’ Ethernet cable performance. Since the conductor is stranded, it must be classified as a Patch cable to comply with IEEE regulations.

What makes ProPlex Ethernet superior to all other Ethernet cables on the Market?

The standard ‘market’ Ethernet cables are designed for commercial building applications, telecommunication and computer networks. The backbone cables have solid conductors and are neither flexible, durable or designed for portable applications. Constant coiling and pulling on these cables would easily break the conductors.
The jacket is typically a gray PVC jacketed cable rated for indoor installation purposes only.

ProPlex PCCAT5P and ProPlex PCCAT5EP advantages.

ProPlex Ethernet is unique; it is designed for strength, durability and electrical performance to equal the harsh environmental conditions it is likely to be subjected to in portable touring situations.

1] Stranded conductors for maximum flexibility, having electrical performance equal to that of solid conductor Ethernet cables. The stranded conductor prevents any potential breakage during coiling purposes and hence enables the signal to continue un-disturbed.

2] Maximum shielding; foil and braid shielding giving maximum EMI protection. The braid also offers mechanical protection, strength, and aids in its flexibility.

3] Strength members are laid up under the shields, amongst the twisted pairs to maintain the pairs twist, and hence electrical performance. They strengthen the cable core and avoid elongation of the conductors during coiling functions.

4] A tough Black Polyurethane jacket is applied over the outer shield, the jacket is very durable, and resistant to cut, abrasion, UV, most organic and inorganic compounds, and a wide range of chemicals.

5] Suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments.

Is ProPlex Ethernet suitable for constant coiling and ‘reeling’ applications?

Yes.

There are installation guidelines to follow for reeling purpose.
1] The minimum reel core diameter is 10cm.
2] Minimum tension is used during reeling and the unreeling process.
3] Terminate the cable with RJ45 plugs before reeling is initiated.
4] Cable length per reel is less than 90 meters.
5] Recommended to use ruggedized RJ45 connectors such as RJLnxx, RJ Field or Neutrik Ethercon for maximum support.

In the core level, under the shields, are 4–twisted pairs and 6 strength members. Two strength members are positioned centrally to perform ‘Tension Relief’ function; the other 4 strength members are twisted around the pairs, each pair being wrapped individually by one of the strength members to perform a ‘Pair Structure Holding’ function.
The length of the strength members remains constant and equal to the length of the insulated wires.

What do the electrical parameters actually mean?

Attenuation; The decrease of strength as a signal travels through a cable or device, measured in Decibels.
Bps (Bits per second); The basic unit of measurement for serial data transmission capacity. (MBps, millions of Bits per second.)
Crosstalk; The unwanted transfer of signal from one circuit to another.
NEXT [Near End Cross Talk]; A measurement of interference between the conductors of a cable.
Impedance; Measured in Ohms. A uniform transmission line (cable) of an arbitrary length of cable will have no standing waves or reflections from the end and a constant frequency at every point on the cable. Impedance is made up of Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance and Conductance inherent in a cable.
Capacitance; Capacitance is the property of an electrical charge between positive and negative conductors. This is measured by the amount of separated electrical charge that can be stored. Measured in Pico-Farad. In our case it relates the measurement between the conductor and the shield. A low capacitance is what we require.

Does TMB intend developing a CAT6 stranded Ethernet cable?

Ideally yes, however the electrical performance over a stranded conductor is difficult to maintain at this level. Current engineering skills would require the use of a 22 awg-stranded conductor. Unfortunately there is not an RJ45 plug connector capable of terminating this gauge conductor.
The maximum run length we can expect using current engineering skills is 6 meters.

What is the standard thickness of gold plating on an RJ45 plug contact?

50 microns, to maintain true IEEE electrical performance.
Be careful, there are RJ45 plugs available on the market with only 5-10 micron thickness of Gold plating.
All RJ45 plugs used on ProPlex assemblies have a 50-micron Gold plating on the contacts.

Can ProPlex perform in Sub-Zero temperatures?

Although the compounds used in the manufacture of the cables are rated for constant operation at minus 25 degree C, the actual electrical performance at these temperatures has not been tested.

Do Male to Female Ethernet assemblies exist?

No, ALL cable mount connectors are Male RJ45 plugs. ALL chassis’ are the female receptacle (Jack). To extend an Ethernet run a Female-Female adaptor is required, Neutrik NE8FF.