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This FAQ deals with various topics relating to wiring of all kinds.
1. Who sets the standards for wiring
2. Who sets the standards for LAN wiring
3. Who sets the RS232 standards
4. What is the difference between RS232 and V.24 (or V.28)
5. What is a EIA/TIA 574 (Hint: its got 9 pins)
6. What is category 5 (or Category 5e) cabling.
7. What is the difference between category 3, 4 etc.
8. Can I use silver satin cables for LAN cables
9. What is EIA/TIA 568A and 568B wiring
10. Can I use a DB25 connector for V.35 connections
11. Is there a difference between telephone wiring and LAN wiring
12. What is the difference between RS232 and RS232C
13. What is RS232D
14. What is an 8 Position Modular Connector and does it differ from a RJ45
15. Can I run a LAN and telephones on the same LAN cable.
16. Do I have to connect all 8 wires of a LAN cable.
17. Does it really matter which pairs I use.
18. Whats the difference between 100base-T4 and 100base-TX.
Who sets the standards for wiring
LAN Cable standards are set by TIA/EIA (Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronics
Industries alliance) (or EIA/TIA depends on whose web site you are on) e.g. Category 5 (a.k.a cat5
cat5e etc.). LAN connections/pinouts are defined by IEEE 802.3u. Telephone wiring standards are
defined by TIA/EIA (Universal Service Order Code) (e.g. RJ48)
Speed
LAN
100M Support
ISO Spec
EIA/TIA Spec
Category 3
16Mhz
10Mbit/s
100Base-T4
Category 4
20Mhz
16Mbit/s
100Base-T4
Category 5 (5e)
ISO/IEC-11801
TIA/EIA-568-A-5
Category 6
ISO/IEC-11801
TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1
Additional categories are being developed for Gigabit Ethernet and beyond but as of this writing
(Sept'2003) had not been approved as standards by EIA/TIA.
with the manufacturer. Here is the EIA/TIA RS-530-A standard balanced connection pinout for the
DB25.
What is RS232D
RS232D is the name for an RS232 connection wired using a RJ45 jack (see pinout diagram)
per 3 above, if NOT move the wiring to use either of these spare pairs (failure to do this will
leave you with non-standard LAN wiring which will only lead to confusion in the future).
Due to the number of requests we get you may also want to read these additional notes on the
subject.
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