What does rj45 cable look like

Another potential disadvantage is that there is no optional built-in security as one has in a network. Once the two computers are directly connected, users can access anything in either machine that is not separately protected through active operating system permissions or encryption.

Hence, each cable end has eight wires and corresponding pinouts. The transmit pair of each device must correspond to the receiving pair on the opposite device. In a network this crossover is accomplished inside the network hardware. Often used to carry broadcast video, it is also designed for speeds of 10 Gbps and faster. Kurt Inman. Please enter the following code:. Login: Forgot password? This would work out well if the manufacturer of the plug also made the cable, but that is rarely the case.

Reference back to the first plug picture above, where the golden contact pin is pointed out. See the three prongs at the bottom? The long and short of it is,the plastic plug you attached onto your cable is nothing more than a cleverly designed mechanical attachment. There are no computer chips inside. Now, after reading this far into the blog you know the answer will be a firm no. Here is what a shielded RJ45 plug, with external ground, no strain latch, and a load bar looks like:. What is interesting about this plug is that it will also connect right into any standard RJ45 port.

However, the way you work with it and the size of cable it accepts could not be more different. So there you have it! All about the simple, ho-hum RJ45 connector plug. Not quite as simple and ho-hum as people may think! Knowing is half the battle, and hopefully you will get a chance to terminate some of these connectors yourself.

While the information on this website is about data networking and electrical issues, it is not professional advice and any reliance on such material is at your own risk. Shop All Ethernet Cable. Shop All RJ45 Connectors. Shop All Keystone Jacks. Shop All Tools. Shop All Cable Management.

Shop All Coaxial Cable. The "45" simply refers to the number of the interface standard. Each RJ45 connector has eight pins, which means an RJ45 cable contains eight separate wires. If you look closely at the end of an Ethernet cable, you can actually see the eight wires, which are each a different color.

Four of them are solid colors, while the other four are striped. RJ45 cables can be wired in two different ways. One version is called TA and the other is TB.

These wiring standards are listed below:.