N-GEN Communications Web-based Seminars ©NGCS

Seminar - An Overview of Communications Technologies

Module 7 - LAN, WAN, VPN, WLAN, MAN, FDDI and Optical MANS                                                        Slide 7 of 45 _________________                                                                                  __________

                                                Wire-Line LAN Media

                                           Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

                                        Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

                                        Coaxial Cable

                                        Optical Fiber

_________________                                                                                  __________

Twisted Pair, coaxial cable and optical fiber is used as a physical media in LAN architectures depending on the LAN type and applications.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): These are high-speed cables used to connect computers to a network and for the network.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): The shielded cables are designed to prevent Electromagnetic Interference(EMI) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) which is often produced by neighbouring cords or flourescent lightening.

Coaxial Cable: This is a shielded cable used to connect computers to a network.

Optical Fiber: An optical fiber is made of glass and has three components: a core, the cladding and a jacket. This topic has been discussed in detail in Module 5 including optical communications technologies.