Twisted-pair (TIA/EIA)
| Category | Rated bandwidth | Supported speed | Max distance | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cat3 | 16 MHz | 10 Mbit/s | 100 m | Legacy phone / 10BASE-T |
| Cat5 | 100 MHz | 100 Mbit/s | 100 m | Obsolete; replaced by Cat5e |
| Cat5e | 100 MHz | 1 Gbit/s | 100 m | Most old premises wiring |
| Cat6 | 250 MHz | 1 Gbit/s (10 G @ 55 m) | 100 m | New office runs |
| Cat6a | 500 MHz | 10 Gbit/s | 100 m | Modern infrastructure |
| Cat7 | 600 MHz | 10 Gbit/s | 100 m | Industrial; not widely used in US |
| Cat7a | 1 000 MHz | 10 Gbit/s | 100 m | |
| Cat8 | 2 000 MHz | 25 or 40 Gbit/s | 30 m | Data centers — short patch |
Fiber types
| Type | Core diameter | Use | Typical link budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| OM1 (multimode) | 62.5 µm | Legacy 1G, 850 nm | 10G up to 33 m |
| OM2 (multimode) | 50 µm | LEDs, 1G | 10G up to 82 m |
| OM3 (multimode) | 50 µm | VCSEL 850 nm | 10G to 300 m, 40G to 100 m |
| OM4 (multimode) | 50 µm | Data center | 10G to 400 m, 100G to 150 m |
| OM5 (multimode) | 50 µm | SWDM | 100G over dual-wavelength |
| OS1 / OS2 (single-mode) | 8–10 µm | Long-haul | 10G to 10 km+, 100G over longer |
Connectors
| Connector | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RJ-45 (8P8C) | Copper | Ethernet twisted-pair |
| RJ-11 | Copper | Phone — not Ethernet |
| LC | Fiber | Small form factor, duplex |
| SC | Fiber | Legacy but still common |
| ST | Fiber | Bayonet — older |
| MPO / MTP | Fiber | Multi-fiber ribbon — 40G/100G |
| SFP / SFP+ / QSFP | Pluggable module | Fiber or DAC |
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