Practical number 4

How to make a network cable

• To create your own network cables you will first need the equipment we have listed below.

LAN Cable

1.      Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7 cable - This cabling can be found in huge spindles at cabling supply retailers. Cat5 cabling is the most commonly used network cable nowadays.
2.      RJ-45 connections - RJ-45 connectors may be found in most electronic and computer retailers and are usually sold in bulk. Getting more than you think you need is always a good idea.
3.      Crimping tool - These are commonly found in electronic stores like Radio Shack. A crimper capable of crimping an RJ-45 cable is required to make a network cable (not just a RJ-11 cable, which looks similar to a RJ-45).
4.      Wire stripper or knife - If you're going to make a lot of network cables, you should acquire a wire stripper cable that can strip Cat5, Cat6, or any cable you want. If you aren't going to be making a lot of network wires, a knife will sufficient. A wire stripper is recommended for ease of use and to avoid potential problems.

•      Once you have all of the essential equipment to make your own network cables, you must decide what kind of network cable you want to make. 
•      A straight through cable and a crossover cable are the two main types of network cables. Here are some examples of the cable used in each of the scenarios.

1.      Straight through cable (T568A)
2.      Computer to hub, switch, router, or wall.
3.      Crossover cable (T568A & T568B)
4.      Computer to Computer
5.      Network device to network device. For example, router to router.

•      Once you have determined the type of network cable strip the cable. We recommend stripping at least a half of an inch off of the cable to expose the inner wires. 
•      Don't be worried about stripping too much of the network cable jacket off since you can always cut the wires down more if needed later. After the network cable jacket has been removed separate the wires within the cable so they can be put into the RJ-45 connector.
•      The CAT5 twisted-pair cables consist of four twisted wires, each color coded; one a solid color and the other a stripped color. As seen below, most network cables consist of a green, blue, orange, and brown pair of cables.

T568A & T568B

• There are two cable standards T568A and T568B, each twisted-pair must be broken apart to create the layout as shown above. 
• If you want to create a straight through cable both ends of the cable should be identical and should match the T568A example shown above. 
• If you want to create a crossover cable one end of the cable should match T568A and the other should match T568B.
• Once you have separated the ends of the cable to match one of the above examples place the cables into the RJ-45 connector and then use the crimping tool to attach the connector. Do these steps for each side of the cable.
• Once both ends of the cable have been completed connect the cable to make sure it is working.