Appendices 69

Appendix D: UTP Cabling

The following information is intended to brief you on various aspects of connection media. The performance of a DSR switching system depends on high quality connections. Poor quality or poorly installed or maintained cabling can diminish DSR system performance.

NOTE: This appendix is for information purposes only. Please consult with your local code offi cials and/or cabling consultants prior to any installation.

DSR switching systems utilize UTP cabling.

UTP copper cabling

The following are basic definitions for the three types of UTP cabling that the DSR appliance supports:

•CAT 5 UTP (4-pair) high performance cable consists of twisted pair con- ductors, used primarily for data transmission. The twisting of the pairs gives this cable some immunity from the infiltration of unwanted inter- ference. CAT 5 cable is generally used for networks running at 10 or 100 Mbps.

•CAT 5E (enhanced) cable has the same characteristics as CAT 5, but is manufactured to somewhat more stringent standards.

•CAT 6 cable is manufactured to tighter requirements than CAT 5E cable. CAT 6 has higher measured frequency ranges and significantly better performance requirements than CAT 5E cable at the same frequencies.

Wiring standards

There are two supported wiring standards for 8-conductor (4-pair) RJ-

45 terminated UTP cable: EIA/TIA 568A and B. These standards apply to installations utilizing CAT 5, 5E and 6 cable specifications. The DSR switching system supports either of these wiring standards. Please refer to the following table for details.

DSR1021 Switch Wiring Standards

Pin

EIA/TIA 568A
EIA/TIA 568B

1

white/green

white/orange

 

 

 

2

green

orange

 

 

 

3

white/orange

white/green

 

 

 

4

blue

blue