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Twisted-Pair Wiring
There are different grades, or categories, of twisted-pair cabling. Category
5 is the most reliable and widely compatible, and is required for Fast
Ethernet networks.
You can buy Category 5 cabling that is pre-crimped, or you can crimp
your own. Category 5 cables can be purchased or crimped as either
straight-through or crossed. A Category 5 cable has 8 thin, color-coded
wires inside that run from one end of the cable to the
other. Only wires 1, 2, 3, and 6 are used by Ethernet
networks. In a straight-through cable, wires 1, 2, 3,
and 6 at one end of the cable are also wires 1, 2, 3,
and 6 at the other end. In a crossed cable, the order
of the wires change from one end to the other: wire 1
be-comes 3, and 2 becomes 6 and vice versa.
The color code for the 4 wires should be as follows: Wire
1, white with an orange stripe; Wire 2, orange; Wire 3,
white with a green stripe; Wire 6, green. The other four
wires have to be connected as follows: Wire 4, blue;
Wire 5, white with a blue stripe; Wire7, white with a
brown stripe, Wire 8, brown.
To figure out which wire is wire number 1, hold the cable so that the end
of the plastic RJ-45 tip (the part that goes into a wall jack first) is facing
away from you. Flip the clip so that the copper side faces up (the springy
clip will now be parallel to the floor).When looking down on the coppers,
wire 1 will be on the far left.