Different types of cables exist to interconnect the various devices in a network operating system (NOC) or local network.
There are two general categories of physical cable - Metal and Fiber-optic.
Metal cables - made of copper and have electrical impulses applied to them to convey information. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable is apart of metal cables.
Fiber-optic - made of glass or plastic and uses flashes of ligt to convey information.
Twisted Pair - is most commonly used cable in networking. The wires are grouped in pairs and twisted together. A common type of Unshielded Twisted-Pair cable used with Ethernet network is Category 5 (CAT5). It is a cable containing four twisted pairs of wires, for a total of eight wires.
Coaxial Cable - is usually constructed of either copper or aluminum and is used by cable television companies to provide service. Most coaxial cable has a single copper core surrounded by layers of shielding and insulation. It is used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signals.
Fiber-Optic - are made of glass or plastic, as small as the human hair. Fiber is used in backbone networks, large enterprise environments, and large data centers. It has many other uses other than communication, such as medical imaging, medical treatment, and mechanical engineering inspection.
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