UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair cable)
Normal copper building cable, capable of high-speed data transmission. Techniques exist to address the signal impairments due to the transmission characteristics of copper media and to limit the radiated emission of UTP media.
Foil twisted pair cable (FTP)
A cable that uses a metallic Foil to surround the conductors in a Twisted Pair cable.
Crosstalk
Noise or interference caused by electromagnetic coupling from one signal path to another.
Crosstalk performance is generally expressed in decibels.
IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector)
This is a blade style punch down you find on most Category connectors or the back block of a Category patch panels.
Decibel (dB)
A dB is a unit of measure of signal strength, usually the relation between a transmitted signal and a standard signal source. Every 3 dB = 50% of signal strength, so therefore a 6 dB loss = a loss of 75% of total signal strength.
Flood wiring
The concept of wiring for future growth, by providing full coverage of information outlets. Usually installed on a regular grid i.e. 3-metres by 3-metres.
Consolidation point
An interconnection point in horizontal cabling, typically used to support the rearrangement of furniture or partition walls. Generally used in open plan office environments.
Return Loss
A measure of the similarity of the impedance of a transmission line and the impedance at its terminations. It is a ratio, expressed in decibels, of the power of the outgoing signal to the power of the signal reflected back.
Noise
The term used for spurious signals produced in a conductor by sources other than he transmitter to which it is connected. Noise can affect a legitimate signal to the extent that it is inaccurate or indecipherable when it reaches the receiver. The higher the speed of data transmission, the worse the effects of noise become.
Singlemode - Fibre optic cable
This has a small core for the light path, very focused, high quality signal. Usually requires a laser source to launch light into the cable and usually makes it more expensive then LED sources used in Multimode fibre optic cable.
Multimode fibre optic cable
Optical fibres that have a larger core and are mostly used for communication over a short distance. Easier to splice than single mode fibre but it supports more than one propagation mode and therefore higher pulse spreading rates.
Standards Classification
Application classes for cabling have been identified for the purpose of the ISO/IEC 11801 standard;
| Class A: | cabling is characterised up to 100 kHz |
| Class B: | cabling is characterised up to 1 MHz |
| Class C: | cabling is characterised up to 16 MHz |
| Class D: | cabling is characterised up to 100 MHz |
| Class E: | cabling is characterised up to 250 MHz |
| Class EA: | cabling is characterised up to 500 MHz |
| Class F: | cabling is characterised up to 600 MHz |
| Class FA: | cabling is characterised up to 1000 MHz |
EIA/TIA
North American Standards organisation.
EIA/TIA 568B
North American commercial building telecommunications wiring standard.
EIA/TIA 569A
North American commercial building standard for telecommunications pathways and spaces. Its purpose is to standardise specific design and construction practices within and between buildings which are in support of telecommunications media and equipment.
EIA/TIA 606
North American administration standard for the telecommunications infrastructure of commercial buildings. Its purpose is to provide guidelines for a uniform administration scheme for the cabling infrastructure.
EN 50173
The European standard for generic cabling for customer premises.
EN 50174
The European cabling systems planning & installation standard developed by CENELEC.