An overview of passive components in a Local Area Network

This article discusses the advantages of passive components in a network, introduction to popular passive components like copper cables, optic fiber cables and racks.

Why are Passive components exciting in a LAN network(Advantages)?

¤ Passive components provide the physical connectivity between the various network devices.
¤ They provide a medium to transfer data in a relatively high speed (Bandwidth) between the network devices.
¤ They help in connecting devices over greater distances.

Copper cables:

Copper cables are the UTP – Unshielded Twisted Pair Cables which are also called as Catx cables in a LAN network. They are cheaper than fiber and faster to set up. They don’t require the detailed splicing requirements of the fiber cables and anyone with a basic level expertise can set them up. They are very common for connecting the end user computers/laptops/printers etc. to the Network Switches. They are also used in the interconnectivity of the Switches and sometimes interconnectivity of two separate buildings/departments. The main disadvantage of copper cables is the distance limitation. They can give a lossless  performance only up to 90 meters and after that the signals have to be boosted using another switch or a repeater as the losses tend to be pretty high. There are various categories (Cat) of UTP Copper cables and the popular ones and the bandwidth supported by them are given below:

Cat5 Cables – Support 100 Mbps up to 90 meters.
Cat5E Cables – Support I Gbps up to 90 meters.
Cat6a Cables – Support 10 Gbps up to 90 meters.
Cat7a Cables – Expected to support up to 40 Gbps in the future.

The accessories for UTP copper cables include patch cord, RJ45 Connectors, crimping tools etc.

Fiber Cables:

Unlike the copper cables, which carry data through electrical signals, the fiber cables carry data through optical (light) signals which are propagated through a narrow core of the fiber, which is a non conductive substance. There are two modes of fiber optic communications – Single mode and multi mode.

The advantages of Fiber optic cables:

¤ Can propagate the light signals through a longer distance (Usually upto 2 Km) and in special cases, even higher without the need of a repeater in between to boost the signals.
¤ Can support the higher bandwidth requirements of a demanding network as multiple cores are generally intertwined in the same cable. It uses one core for transmission and one core for reception of light signals.
¤ Fiber optic cables are immune to the EMI – Electro Magnetic Interference (Which affect the copper cables when carried along with the power cables).
¤ There is no risk of a spark or a shock which the copper cables are prone to as they carry current and hence the fiber optic cables can be used in electrically sensitive areas like chemical plants etc as they are safer.
¤ It is impossible to tap through a fiber optic cable in the same way that it is done with a copper cable. So, the transmitted data is secure on the way.

Disadvantages of optical fiber cables include the higher cost and the greater expertise required to splice and install the OFC set up. But these costs are coming down fast.

Optical fiber cables are generally used to connect the various Network Switches and are also useful for the long distance connectivity.

Network Racks:

The network racks are used to house the servers, switches, routers and all the other electronic components of a data centre. Usually, since the data centre space is highly critical the various components of the data centre needs to be arranged neatly one on the top of another and yet be accessible to carry out maintenance activities. Racks provide the platform to do so. Racks are either open ended, or closed from two sides. They are either fixed or movable. They house the network equipments (19 inch form factor is the most common form factor for holding in a rack) and come with the cable managers to neatly carry cables through them. They may also come with power connectivity and fans to cool the network equipment which can generate a lot of heat.

Update: Architecture diagram and Overview of Active and Passive components used to create an IP Network.

excITingIP.com

You can keep up to date with the latest computer networking technologies by subscribing to this blog using your email address in the box mentioned as “Get email updates when new articles are published”