Everything About CAT5 Cable Tutorial Home >Operating Systems >Windows 9x >Improving Your Network >Troubleshooting CAT5 Cables >Everything About CAT5 Cable Tutorial Home >Operating Systems >Windows 2000 >Improving Your Network >Troubleshooting CAT5 Cables >Everything About CAT5 Cable   Step 1:  Defining the Connection If you look at the end of a CAT5 cable you can see eight different pins on the transceiver. If you look closely you'll notice that the connector actually pierces each cable with a tooth to bite into the wire. Each wire is responsible for helping carry the data on the network.   Step 2:  UTP Facts CAT5 cable is also called UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair). UTP uses pairs of wires twisted together to reduce the electrical noise from other wires and electrical devices. Internal to CAT5 cables the flow of the current between two twisted cables is opposite of each other to cancel out the noise each wire expels. This process is called cancellation. In addition, the wires within a UTP cable are twisted in pairs to further enhance cancellation.   Step 3:  Bad Connectors = Bad Cables When installing a connector for a UTP cable the ends must be connected properly and securely. Although a cable may work with a poor connection it may be secretly flooding the signal with EMI due to "static" of poor cable signal.   Step 4:  Bad Design = Bad Cables When designing your network be certain to buy a hub that is wide enough for your network connections. Although many hubs offer a roll over port (which work great for small LANs) if you continue to roll over your network segments through daisy chained ports then you are contributing to EMI.