IT 115 Networking 1
Laboratory Activity No. 3
Name:________________________________ Course, Year & Section:__________
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1.3 Straight Through Cable
Objective
Build a straight through Ethernet patch cable to standards for connection from
workstation to hub/switch or patch panel to hub/switch.
Background
In this lab activity you will learn how to build a Category 5 (Cat 5) Unshielded Twisted Pair
(UTP) Ethernet network patch cable (or patch cord) and test it for good connections and
correct pinouts (correct color wires on the correct pin). This will be 4-pair (8wires) “straight
through” cable, which means that the color of wire on pin 1 on one end of the cable will be the
same as pin 1 on the other end. Pin 2 will be the same as pin 2, and so on.
Tool/Preparation
1. Approximately two meters length of Cat 5 cable, each student
2. Four RJ45 connectors (2 extra for spares)
3. RJ45 crimping tools to attach the RJ45 connectors to the cable ends
4. Ethernet cabling continuity tester
5. Wire cutters
Procedures
Use the following tables, diagrams and steps to create a T568-B patch panel cable. (Both
cable ends should be wired the same when looking at the connectors.
T568-B Cabling
Pin # Pair # Function Wire Color
1 2 Transmit White/Orange
2 2 Receive Orange/White
3 3 Transmit White/Green
4 1 Not Used Blue/White
5 1 Not Used White/Blue
6 3 Received Green/White
7 4 Not Used White/Brown
8 4 Not Used Brown/White
1. Determine the distance between devices, or device and plug, and then add at least 12”
to it.
2. Cut a piece of Cat 5 Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cable to a determined length.
3. Strip 2 inches off one end of the cable.
4. Hold the 4 pairs of twisted cables tightly where the jacket was cut away, and then
reorganize the cable pairs into the order of the 568-B wiring standard. Take care to
maintain the twists because this provides noise cancellation (orange pair, green pair,
blue pair, and brown pair).
5. Hold the jacket and cable in one hand; untwist a short length of the green and blue
pairs and reorder them to reflect the 568-B wiring color scheme. Untwist and order the
rest of the wire pairs according to the color scheme.
6. Flatten, straighten, and line up the wires, then trim them in a straight line to within ½” –
¾”, from the edge of the jacket. Be sure not to let go of the jacket and the wires, which
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are now in order!. You should minimize the length of untwisted wires because overly-
long sections that are near connectors are a primary source of electrical noise.
7. Place an Rj45 plug on the end of the cable, with the prong on the underside and the
orange pair at the top of the connector.
8. Gently push the plug onto the wires until you can see the copper ends of the wires
through the end of the plug. Make sure the end of the jacket is inside the plug and all
wires are in the correct order. If the jacket is not inside the plug, it will not be properly
installed and will eventually cause problems. If everything is correct, crimp the plug
hard enough to force the contacts through the insulation on the wires, thus completing
the conducting path.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 to terminate the other end of the cable, using the same scheme to
finish the straight through cable.
10. Test the finished cable.
Reflection
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR CABLE IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY?
Visual Test:
Cable Test:
Functional Test:
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