...decide between copper and fiber cabling, there are several things to think about for which one best will fit your needs. A few things you will need to take into consideration when making your decision are what do you need your cable to be capable of, how far do you need your cable to run from point to point, what is your budget, and always think about the future with room to expand your business. Both copper and fiber cabling have pros and cons. Copper cabling has been around ever since electricity was discovered and utilized in a day-to-day fashion. It was used mainly for telephone lines in the beginning of its “birth”. Copper cabling comes in many forms such as coaxial, CAT5e, CAT6, UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), and STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) to just name a few. Coaxial has been in use for the longest period of time and one of the first types used in networking. CAT5e is the most common used today in networking with the bandwidth it supports and is available in UTP or STP. CAT6 can support any application that “lower” cables can and also has a higher bandwidth and is available in UTP and STP as well. UTP is unshielded twisted pair, which means that the cables twisted together do not have any extra protection again EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). STP shielded twisted pair, which means that the cables twisted together have and extra metallic foil or multi-wire screen mesh that is used to reduce EMI. Copper cabling is much more cost effective than fiber, easy to install...
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...00957058 Copper vs. Fiber There are two main forms of cable used in telecommunications, copper wire and fiber optic cable. Copper is a much more popular choice in most networking situations due to its inexpensive sticker price. Copper wire does pose certain issues that the more expensive and delicate counterpart does not. There is also a huge difference between the two cable types when it comes to performance and bandwidth. Copper wire is most commonly used in network construction and in cabling for home entertainment use. UTP (unshielded twisted pair) is a very commonly used cable used to connect network devices. It is very flexible and relatively inexpensive and thus is the most commonly used. Category 5,5e or 6e cables are used to connect client devices to a network and also are flexible and relatively inexpensive. Coaxial cables are a more rigid and durable cable that have a higher bandwidth than UTP or Cat 5, 5e or 6e cable. All of these cables use copper wiring which is flexible and cheap but will potential issues. Due to copper’s conductive properties it will cause grounding issues when wiring a building. Wiring outside with copper also causes potential hazards in regards to lightning strikes. There are opportunities when running cable for a network to use both types of cabling. When running cable in areas that are not subject to a lot of foot traffic, using fiber optic cable is best used due to the much larger bandwidth. Because of its fragility, fiber optic cable...
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...Copper vs. fiber Everyone building a network must face this question at some point: fiber or copper wiring? For a usual home network or even a big office either one will suffice but what is the best option for you or your company. You have to take cost, distance of cabling, and bandwidth and speed into consideration when making this choice. Copper: a traditional copper wiring for a network certainly seems much cheaper on the surface. Copper wiring itself is dirt cheap at least comparatively on the surface, but you get what you pay for. Copper cables don’t last as long and have other performance issues to consider, including crosstalk and interference. Also the cost will go up because of the distance your cables must travel. With a copper network you will need more equipment, like a hub. A hub is a networking device used to help channel the cables and also to help extend the distance. A traditional copper cable should be no longer than 90 ft… not long enough to even go through my apartment let alone a huge office. So you have to install hubs just to get the distance. Also when you think of those cheap cables you have to think… how long will this last. They aren’t very durable and will wear out much sooner than a fiber cable. And then you’ll have to redo your entire network or tear the entire thing apart to find the problem. A copper network also will have bandwidth issues, which fiber eliminates. Also copper has many different types and sizes, meaning there is no real true...
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...Copper vs. Fiber They are two major types of cables used in networking, copper and fiber. Each cable are used in different application regarding to its usage. They also have different strengths cause of the material they are made of. Copper is the most common out of the two cables. Not as powerful as Fiber, but are ideal for buildings up to 100m. Fiber is mostly used for longer distances that copper can’t reach. For example, Fiber is ideal for high-rise buildings. Both cables do have their weakness. Copper can contract electrical current cause’s disruption between two devices and loses its signal over 100m in length. Fiber has a glass core. Bending the fiber to much will break the glass and renders the fiber useless. I good example for using each cable in a real world situation would be a high-rise building. Take the empire state building, you couldn’t possibly use copper wires to connect to each switch from each floor to the main hub. The signal will fade on the higher levels of the building. And you wouldn’t want to use fiber to connect from a switch to each room or outlet. Too many cramped spaces and you would not want to bend the fiber too much for the signal to break. So, you can use the fiber to connect from the main hub of the building to each switch on every level and you wouldn’t bend the fiber to its breaking point. Copper can be used to connect the rooms to the switch and you wouldn’t have to worry about having to break a piece of glass to go around or...
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...Copper vs. Fiber Category 6 cable: Cat 6, is a standardized cable for Gigabit Ethernet and other network physical layers that is backward compatible with the Category 5/5e and Category 3 cable standards. Advantages • Speed and Performance • Similar Structure with Cat 5 Cable • Backward Compatible • Upgradable Disadvantages • Expensive • Does Not Guarantee Full Speed Fiber Optic Cable: This is a cable made up of super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light. Because a fiber-optic cable is light-based, data can be sent through it at the speed of light Advantages • High bandwidth • Long distance between terminals. Disadvantages • Fiber optic cable is more expensive to install than using metal wire. • Fiber optic cable is much more fragile than metal wire. • fiber optic cable is more difficult and more expensive to "split" because de-modulation from light back to electrical signals and then re-modulation back into light for each new branch is necessary using an electronic "splitter unit". A Real World Example Fiber-optic cables are used extensively in the business world in local area networks (LANs). These independent networks use large quantities of fiber-optic cable to connect up campuses, business complexes, closed-circuit security systems, interstate business divisions, and workplace PCs from cubicle to cubicle. Data-intensive businesses want ever-faster networks to improve employee productivity. Resources ...
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...Copper is the most used cabling solution in the market at the moment due to its ease of use and its price. Even the equipment is substantially cheaper to buy than other means of transmission. Copper cabling utilizes a single or multiple strands of copper to transmit data from one end to the other. Copper is broken up amongst several different categories each with their own set of improvements and flaws ranging from difficulty of installation to cost. The lower the category the more prone to interference there is like EMI’s and RFI’s. Electromagnetic interference from other cables in the location like power cords or other data connections. And RFI Radio frequency spectrum interference although the higher categories like Cat 7 are less prone to such interference a coper cabling solution is not 100 percent protected from such external interferences. Copper does have some limitations in how long a data signal can be sent without it becoming lost or the signal becoming too weak to make a proper connection which is around the 1000 feet or 305 meter range. Fiber optic on the other hand is much more expensive and as such so are the tools used for installation. Fiber optic is compiled of a core which can resemble glass in its form and a laser or diode that emits a light from one end to another enabling data transmission. Fiber is the best solution in speed and range that data can be transmitted. There are two different types of fiber optic cabling one being multi-mode and the other being...
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...Copper vs. Fiber Todd Gerger NT1310 Abstract In this paper we will be looking at the differences between Copper and Fiber optic cables. We will discuss the differences between the two and why many of the current networks in operation use fiber on the backbone between equipment and telecommunications rooms or enclosures. Copper vs. Fiber In the comparison between fiber and copper fiber, costs of the fiber cable has come down quite a bit. The cable itself has become easier to install as well since the invention of the flexible fiber which makes it easier to pull the cable through places. The flexible fiber has not become widely used vs. copper yet due to the need for the costs to come down for the connections, the NIC’s. the hub’s, routers and switches. Fiber Advantages The following advantages of fiber over other cabling systems are: (Oliviero 250) Immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), higher data rates, longer maximum distances, and better security. With copper cabling there is one common cabling problem they are susceptible to EMI. EMI is a stray electromagnetism that interferes with the signal. All electrical cables generate a magnetic field around their central axis. If you pass a metal conductor through a magnetic field an electrical field is generated in that conductor. When you place two cables next to one another EMI will cause cross-talk which is where signals from one cable is picked up on the other cable. Because fiber does not conduct electricity...
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...Unit 4. Assignment 1. Copper vs. Fiber Paper Copper (Ethernet) Cable * Ethernet cables are vulnerable to electromagnetic interference because they work through electrical signals. * Due to the way in which data is transmitted across Ethernet copper cabling, it is vulnerable to being intercepted. * Ethernet offers less bandwidth. Ethernet can provide data transfer speeds of up to 1000Mbps, but through the use of Cat 6 cables it can support data transfer rates of up to 10Gbps. * There is always electricity present in Ethernet cables. * Copper cabling strands are thicker than optical fiber strands, so less wires can be bundled in a 22 gauge copper cable than in a 22 gauge optical fiber cable. Optical Fiber Cable * Fiber optic cables are ideal for high voltage locations, in buildings prone to lightning strikes, and locations where explosive fumes are present. Because optical fiber cables work through the transmission of light, interference from electronic devices isn’t a concern. * Information sent via fiber optic cables is much more difficult to intercept because light can’t be read in the same way signals sent via copper cabling can be. * A single optical fiber strand has been shown to transmit data at a rate of 100 terabits per second. Optical fiber transmits data faster than copper Ethernet cable. * Unlike Ethernet cable, optical fiber cable is non-flammable because it does not use electricity. | Optical fiber Copper wire Safety ✔ ✖ Weight...
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...of Copper and Fiber Optics: Copper has been used in electric wiring since the invention of the electromagnet and the telegraph in the 1820s. The invention of the telephone in 1876 created further demand for copper wire as an electrical conductor. Copper wires in a cable may be bare or they may be plated to reduce oxidation with a thin layer of another metal, most often tin but sometimes gold or silver. Plating may lengthen wire life and makes soldering easier. Twisted pair and coaxial cables are made to reject electromagnetic interference, prevent radiation of signals, and to provide transmission lines with defined characteristics. Shielded cables are encased in foil or wire mesh. Fiber optic cable is one of the fastest-growing transmission mediums for both new cabling installations and upgrades, including backbone, horizontal, and even desktop applications. Fiber offers a number of advantages over copper. Fiber optics, though used extensively in the modern world, is a fairly simple, and relatively old, technology. Guiding of light by refraction, the principle that makes fiber optics possible, was first demonstrated by Daniel Colladon and Jacques Babinet in Paris in the early 1840s. John Tyndall included a demonstration of it in his public lectures in London, 12 years later. Unpigmented human hairs have also been shown to act as an optical fiber Below I explain how Fiber Optics is now the best solution for all Technology needs today. 1. Greater bandwidth Fiber provides...
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...Home Page » Computers and Technology Copper vs Fiber In: Computers and Technology Copper vs Fiber Copper vs. Fiber Paper In putting in a network there are many aspects to consider such as the Topology or design, what type of hardware to be used, and types of cabling. Copper cables are the norm when it comes to building and network and widely used in our communications of today. Copper has been used in electric wiring since the invention of the electromagnet. Copper and its alloys are also used in buildings is the most important market for the copper industry. The inherent strength, hardness, and flexibility of copper building wire make it very easy to work with. Its flexibility makes it easy to join, while its hardness helps keep connection securely in place. There`s also another type of cabling you can use and its Fiber optic cabling which is becoming more in use in communication. Unlike copper fiber uses optical fiber elements which are typically individually coated with plastic layers and is contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment. Optical fibers are inherently very strong, but is drastically reduced by unavoidable microscopic surface flaws inherent in the manufacturing process. The strength of fiber as well with its change in time, are to be considered relative to the stress impose in today environment. Its benefits out way those of copper, fiber is relative to the stress imposed during handling, cabling, and installation...
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...Adam Wolfe 10/20/2012 NT1310 – Unit 4. Assignment 1 – Copper vs. Fiber The copper phone wire has very limited bandwidth. It was designed to provide 3,000Hz bandwidth, perfectly adequate for a voice signal. Fiber links offer over 1,000 times more bandwidth capacity and can be carried over 100 times the distance than copper can. The chart pictured here shows the specific advantages Fiber has over copper wiring in regards to bandwidth and distance. When it comes to LANs or premises cabling, a lot of controversy, a lot of "positioning" and a lot of misinformation are talked about by most people who speak on the topic of copper vs. fiber cabling. The wire most use for LANs is a lot younger than fiber optics. Fiber use is over 20 years old, but computer networks on unshielded-twisted-pair cable (UTP) have only been around about 15 years. In that time, UTP has gone through at least 5 generations, each time to keep up with the incrementing bandwidth requisites of LANs; the ever evolving technology of LAN wire is hardly the “telephone wire” that the majority think of it as. Below is a chart showing the LANs growth in capacity LAN | Bandwidth | Ethernet | 10 Mb/s | FDDI | 100 Mb/s | Fast Ethernet | 100 Mb/s | ATM | 55, 155 Mb/s | Gigabit Ethernet | 1,000 Mb/s (1 gigabit/s) | 10 Gigabit Ethernet | 10 Gb/s | But still, even with all the efforts that copper cabling manufactures have made to stay relevant in todays LAN structuring, installation is a problem...
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...Copper Cabling vs. Fiber Optic cabling The most commonly used copper cables are Cat5e and Cat6. Cat5e cabling is able to support applications requiring bandwidth up to 100MHz and is also offered in a shielded version to prevent interference. Cat6 cabling supports applications requiring bandwidth up to 250MHz and is also available in a shielded version. Also Cat6 cabling is designed to support 1000Base-T (Gigabit Ethernet) (Oliviero, 2010). However, as cost efficient as copper cabling is compared to fiber optics, the maximum horizontal distance is only 90meters (Oliviero, 2010). So if you have a large building or organization you will need to account for the cost of additional hardware like patch panels etc. Fiber optic cables have become very popular over the last ten years because they can be run for longer distances (up to 46.6 miles) and support a higher bandwidth than copper cabling. Fiber optic cabling uses digital light pulses instead of electrical voltage transitions (Oliviero, 2010). This makes it much faster than copper cabling because light is immune to interference, can be modulated to higher frequencies, and travels almost instantaneously to its destination (Oliviero, 2010). Another advantage to fiber optics over copper cabling is security. Copper cabling is susceptible to eavesdropping through taps. Fiber optics are immune to this because they are not electromagnetic. There are three main types of fiber optic cabling, outdoors, indoors, and universal. In addition...
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...In the world of cabling there are two types of cables and they are Copper and Fiber Optics. Some companies chose fiber over copper but those companies have the money to use Fiber Optics and some just go with copper because it is cheaper to use. Each of these two cables has its own strengths and weaknesses. Copper: Conductivity and Heat Resistant Copper wires are second only to silver when it comes to electrical conductivity. Compared with other non-precious metals, copper wires can handle a wider load of electrical power, allowing it to use less insulation and armoring. They have high resistance to heat, eliminating most issues of overloading. Copper wires are also resistant to corrosion. Although patina, a tarnish produced by oxidation, might be present, the material will not lose functionality. Malleability and Ductility Copper has a high ductility, allowing wires thinner than human hair strands. Malleability allows it to be bent into nearly any form without the threat of breaking. Copper is used to create thick electrical cable wires within electrical posts and in applications where very thin wires are need, such as in headphone wires. Small Amounts of Electricity Although copper wires are excellent conductors, it does not perform very well when handling very exact amounts of small electrical charges. Copper wires are usually not used in high-tech automotive parts and semiconductors because of its inability to control electrical surges. Manufacturers and makers of...
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...This paper is about Copper Cable versus Fiber Cable. Or Copper vs Fiber. Two completely different materials- One’s ancient, the other is almost as old. But in today’s modern environment, both are being used to carry signals through a system, namely computer networking or the larger system, the Internet. Just in a different manner. We’ll look at what Copper and Copper Cable is, what Fiber (glass) and Fiber Optic Cable is, how it’s used and the pros and cons between the two (2). Copper is one of the most important metals available. It’s a member of the Periodic Table of Elements, whose number is #29. It’s been used for thousands of years and has many uses. It’s second only to silver in electrical conductance. Today, Copper cable is a medium whose uses range from communications to the building industry to the electrical and electronics industry. Electrical wiring in buildings is the most important market for the copper industry. Roughly half of all copper mined is used to manufacture electrical wire and cable conductors. Copper used in building wire has a conductivity rating of 100% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) or better. Copper building wire requires less insulation and can be installed in smaller conduits than when lower conductivity conductors are used. Copper is also used to make communications wire (Telephone, Cable TV, and Ethernet) such as coaxial wire and Twisted Pair cables. Twisted pair cabling is...
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...shield may be composed of braided strands of copper (or other metal, such as aluminium), a non-braided spiral winding of copper tape, or a layer of conducting polymer. Usually, this shield is covered with a jacket. The shield acts as a Faraday cage to reduce electrical noise from affecting the signals, and to reduce electromagnetic radiation that may interfere with other devices (see electromagnetic interference). The shield minimizes capacitively coupled noise from other electrical sources. The shield must be applied across cable splices. 4.1.7: Short for unshielded twisted pair, a popular type of cable that consists of two unshielded wires twisted around each other. Due to its low cost, UTP cabling is used extensively for local-area networks (LANs) and telephone connections. UTP cabling does not offer as high bandwidth or as good protection from interference as coaxial or fiber optic cables, but it is less expensive and easier to work with. 4.2.1: In fiber-optic communication, a single-mode optical fiber (SMF) is an optical fiber designed to carry only a single ray of light (mode). Modes are the possible solutions of the Helmholtz equation for waves, which is obtained by combining Maxwell's equations and the boundary conditions. These modes define the way the wave travels through space, i.e. how the wave is distributed in space. Waves can have the same mode but have different frequencies. This is the case in single-mode fibers, where we can have waves...
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