Cabling Definitions

The cabling between and including the telecommunications outlet and the horizontal cross-connect. Backbone Cable
Cable connection between telecommunications or wiring closets, floor distribution terminals, entrance facilities, and equipment rooms either within or between buildings. Patch Cords

An electrical or optical cable used to connect (“patch-in”) one electronic or optical device to another for signal routing. Devices of different types (e.g. a switch connected to a computer or a switch to a router) are connected with patch cords. Connectors

A device attached to the end of a cable, receiver, or light source that joins it with another cable, device or fiber. A connector is a mechanical device used to align and join two conductors or fibers together to provide a means for attaching and decoupling it to a transmitter, receiver, or another fiber. Conduit

Rigid or flexible metallic or nonmetallic raceway of circular cross section in which cables are housed for protection and to prevent burning cable from spreading flames or smoke in the event of a fire. Racks

A frame-like structure where patch panels, switches, and other network equipment are installed. Punch-down blocks
Generic name for any cross-connect block where the individual wires in UTP are placed into a terminal groove and “punched down” with a special tool. The groove pierces the insulation and makes contact with the inner conductor. Consolidation Points

A location defined by the ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B standard for interconnection between horizontal cables that extends from building pathways and horizontal cables that extend into work area pathways. Crimpers

Device that is used to install a crimp-on connector Crimping involves the act of using the crimping tool to install the connector. Fish tape
Made of a narrow band of spring steel, by careful manipulation, the tape can be guided through confined spaces such as wall cavities. The goal is to push toward an area where guide string has been dropped inside the confined space and to pull it through. Continuity Tester

Is an item of electrical test equipment used to determine if an electrical path can be established between two points. The circuit under test is completely de-energized prior to connecting the apparatus. Category 5e/6 Cable

Also called CAT-5e or enhanced CAT-5. Recognized in ANSI/TIA-568-C. Category 5e has improved specifications for NEXT,PSNEXT, Return Loss, ACRF (ELFEXT), Category 5.

Binder Groups
A group of 25 pairs of wires within a twisted-pair cable with more than 25 total pairs. The binder group has a strip of colored plastic around it to differentiate it from other binder groups in the cable. Hybrid/Composite Cable

A cable that contains fiber, coaxial, and/or twisted-pair conductors bundled in a common jacket. May also refer to a fiber-optic cable that has strands of both single-mode and multimode optical fiber. EMI

Electrical noise generated in copper conductors when electromagnetic fields induce currents. Index of Refraction
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a given transmission medium. Cable Jacket
A protective layer that bundles up the twisted wires keeping them from exposure. Differential Mode Delay
The total difference in travel time between the two polarization states of light traveling through an optical fiber. Chromatic Dispersion

The spreading of a particular light pulse because of the varying refraction rates of the different colored wavelengths. Index of Refraction
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a given transmission medium. Cable Jacket
A cable is a set of wires, usually encased in an outer protective jacket Cladding Size
When selecting size of a cladding element, take wind-loadings into account, and also consider the standard sizes available of the sheet (or coil) pre-material, to minimize material wastage through off-cuts. This helps to reduce costs. Multifiber Cables

Used to interconnect fiber –optic patch panels from point to point Differential Mode Delay
When an unconditioned laser source (1000BASE-LX/LH GBIC) designed for operation on single-mode fiber (SMF) cable is directly coupled to an MMF cable, differential mode delay (DMD) can occur. DMD can degrade the modal bandwidth of the fiber-optic cable, causing a decrease in the link span (the distance between the transmitter and the receiver) that is reliably supported. Chromatic Dispersion

The spreading of a particular light pulse because of the varying refraction rates of the different colored wave-lengths.