How many types of rj45 connectors are there

These define the organization of the eight wires in the connector and each has its own color scheme which must be followed.

The TA standard offers backward compatibility with older wiring. The TB standard offers better signal isolation and noise protection. Either will work in an Ethernet network. The type to use depends on your individual design needs and whether you are using a straight-through cable or a crossover cable. Straight-through patch cable has the same wiring standard at each end.

Crossover cables are used to connect the same types of devices by having a TA connection at one end and a TB connection at the other end. Rolled or rollover cables are flat and connect devices to a network switch console port. They are only used to establish an interface and do not transmit data. Other terms that may be heard include Loopback , which is a connection that allows a computer to interface with itself.

It is used for diagnostics, troubleshooting, and to connect with servers. Finally, a T1 is a dedicated line directly from a telecom service provider to the end user. It offers faster speeds and can carry both voice and data. While you may come across T1 lines in service, they are much less commonly used than they were years ago.

Magnetics are wire-wound components like transformers that provide EMI shielding, protect against faults and transients, and offer electrical isolation and signal balancing.

Magnetics can be incorporated into Ethernet designs in one of two ways. The first option is to add a magnetics module to the circuit board between the PHY Ethernet implementation chip and the connector jack. Alternatively, an RJ45 connector with integrated magnetics in the housing can be used.

Modules tend to be cheaper than integrated devices and offer better electrostatic discharge ESD protection. RJ45 connectors with integrated magnetics offer better EMI shielding and more reliable connections. If you are designing Ethernet capability into a system, using RJ45 connectors with Cat5 or Cat6 cabling is the standard solution for connectivity in networks, peripherals, and telecommunications.

The addition of features and capabilities, such as increased speed and ruggedness, to the RJ45 product line has also made this interconnection system applicable for uses beyond office or home networking. The introduction of the EtherCAT protocol has meant expanded use on the factory floor and beyond.

Some of the newer applications that use RJ45 technology include:. The process of product or system design always requires the asking and answering of questions. Here is a limited list of things to consider when designing products with RJ45 connectivity in mind:. The system of modular connectors was initially developed to improve an antiquated and labor-intensive telephone interconnect process.

RJ45 connectors were introduced within this system to specifically solve the problems of interconnectivity between devices using the Ethernet protocol. Like other modular connectors, RJ45 devices offer easy design-in, quick and easy installation, breadth of product, and user accessibility. They have been accepted worldwide for both home and office network applications and are finding increasing acceptance on the factory floor and in harsh environments.

Have comments regarding this post or topics that you would like to see us cover in the future? Send us an email at cuiinsights cuidevices. Since joining CUI Devices in , Jeff Smoot has revitalized the company's Quality and Engineering departments with an emphasis on developing, supporting, and bringing products to market.

Outside of the office, Jeff enjoys the outdoors skiing, backpacking, camping , spending time with his wife and four children, and being a lifelong fan of the Denver Broncos. Home Blog RJ45 Pinout. RJ45 Pinout. Posted: August 30, My Shopping List. Last Added Items. Add to Cart Add to Cart. Remove This Item. Go to Shopping List. Recent Posts. Take a closer look, you will find that RJ45 has 8 wires inside while Rj11 has 4 wires, resulting in RJ45's bigger size than that of RJ11's.

As abovementioned, with 2 or 4 of the 6 available connection points, the RJ11 plug supports limited-bandwidth applications including phone lines and ADSL connections. On the contrary, 8 contacts will allow greater bandwidth. Thus, RJ45 can be used for data-intensive applications like Ethernet and can support bandwidth up to 10Gbps.

RJ45 is also sometimes used for VoIP phones in offices. Check the table below to get a clear understanding of RJ11 vs RJ You cannot plug in an RJ45 connector to an RJ11 slot but the opposite is possible. Although the smaller size of RJ11 makes it easier to be plugged into the RJ45 slot, it is not recommended to do that since this may damage the device that adopts the RJ45 slot. TA vs TB are the two common wiring schemes, which are used to terminate the twisted-pair cable onto the connector interface.

The two standards define how the RJ45 pinouts arrange the individual eight wires when linking the RJ45 connector to a cable. These wiring layouts have their own color convention to follow for electrical compatibility.

The TB wiring scheme is considered to be the more commonly used one. The differences between TA vs TB in color conventions are shown in the figure below. However if two computers or two switches are connected together then a Cat5 crossover cable is used. Many Ethernet interfaces in use today are able to detect the type of cable, whether it is a straight through or crossover cable, and they are able to adapt to the required format.

This means that the requirement for Cat-5 crossover cables is less than it might otherwise be. When using Cat-5 Ethernet crossover cables, they are not marked with the fact that they are crossover cables. Accordingly it is often wise to mark them to avoid confusion later. Often it is necessary to use long Ethernet cables, however there are limits to the distance over which the data can be reliably carried.

When long Ethernet cables are used, additional noise is picked up, and the data eventually becomes distorted by the cable. Lengths provided are those generally accepted as the maximum, but are not included in the IEEE standard. A variety of different cables of different types and Ethernet cable categories are seen connecting different Ethernet elements together - Ethernet routers, Ethernet switches, computers, network severs, etc. Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6 are all seen.

The cables use the cost efficient but effective RJ45 patch connector and using this, these Ethernet cables are able to link or patch multiple items of Ethernet based equipment together. On some occasions where specialised connectivity is needed crossover cables may be required - these sold be clearly marked as such as they may get used elsewhere unknowingly and cause the connection not to work. Apart from this, using Cat 5, Cat5e, Cat 6, Cat 7 and now Cat 8 Ethernet cables is very easy and there are normally very few issues.

Typical Ethernet cable supplied with many computers, routers, etc Ethernet cable basics The Ethernet cables for connectivity in most office and home environments rely on twisted wire pairs within an overall cable - Cat 5, Cat 6 and Cat 7 all used this format. Flat Ethernet cable and connector There are different methods that can be used for shielding Ethernet cables.

Stranded cable: This type of wire is more flexible and it is more applicable for Ethernet cables where the cable may be moved - often it is idea for patch leads at desks or general connections to PCs, etc where some movement may be needed and expected. Solid cable: Solid cable is not as flexible as the stranded type, but it is also more durable.

This makes it best for use in permanent installations like cable installations under floors, embedded in walls and the like. Categories for Ethernet cables A variety of different cables are available for Ethernet and other telecommunications and networking applications. It is used for data networks employing frequencies up to 16 MHz. It was popular for use with 10 Mbps Ethernet networks Base-T , but has now been superseded by Cat-5 cable. However it can be used for networks carrying frequencies up to 20 MHz.

It was often used on 16Mbps token ring networks. This is the network cable that is widely used for Base-T and Base-T networks as it provides performance to allow data at Mbps and slightly more MHz for Base-T Ethernet. The Cat 5 cable superseded the Cat 3 version and for a number of years it became the standard for Ethernet cabling.