Ethernet cable
Transmission standards
10Base5
The transmission medium for 10Base5 consists of a thick coaxial cable ("yellow cable") with a max. transmission speed of 10 Mbaud arranged in a line topology with branches (drops) each of which is connected to one network device. Because all the devices are in this case connected to a common transmission medium, it is inevitable that collisions occur often in 10Base5.
10Base2
10Base2 (Cheaper net) is a further development of 10Base5, and has the advantage that the coaxial cable is cheaper and, being more flexible, is easier to lay. It is possible for several devices to be connected to one 10Base2 cable. It is frequent for branches from a 10Base5 backbone to be implemented in 10Base2.
10BaseT
Describes a twisted pair cable for 10 Mbaud. The network here is constructed as a star. It is no longer the case that every device is attached to the same medium. This means that a broken cable no longer results in failure of the entire network. The use of switches as star couplers enables collisions to be reduced. Using full-duplex connections they can even be entirely avoided.
100BaseT
Twisted pair cable for 100 MBaud. It is necessary to use a higher cable quality and to employ appropriate hubs or switches in order to achieve the higher data rate.
10BaseF
The 10BaseF standard describes several optical fiber versions.
Short description of the 10BaseT and 100BaseT cable types
Twisted-pair copper cable for star topologies, where the distance between two devices may not exceed 100 meters.
UTP
Unshielded twisted-pair
This type of cable belongs to category 3, and is not recommended for use in an industrial environment.
S/UTP
Screened/unshielded twisted-pair (shielded with copper braid)
Has an overall shield of copper braid to reduce influence of external interference. This cable is recommended for use with Bus Couplers.
FTP
Foiled shielded twisted-pair (shielded with aluminium foil)
This cable has an outer screen of laminated aluminium and plastic foil.
S/FTP
Screened/foiled-shielded twisted-pair (shielded with copper braid and aluminium foil)
Has a laminated aluminium screen with a copper braid on top. Such cables can provide up to 70 dB reduction in interference power.
STP
Shielded twisted-pair
Describes a cable with an outer screen, without defining the nature of the screen any more closely.
S/STP
Screened/shielded twisted pair (wires are individually shielded)
This identification refers to a cable with a shield for each of the two wires as well as an overall shield.
ITP
Industrial Twisted-Pair.
The structure is similar to that of S/STP, but, in contrast to S/STP, it has only one pair of conductors.