Data Communication and Networks

EL-2007
LABORATORY MANUAL
Fall 2025

LAB 01
Network Cable Construction
Engr. Tooba

Asma khan
22i-2162
A

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF COMPUTER AND EMERGING SCIENCES (NUCES), ISLAMABAD

Prepared by: Engr. Tooba :

Verified by: Dr. Aamer Hafeez :
Objective

 To become familiar with network cable construction.

 To connect computers together directly and indirectly

TASK 1: Ethernet Cable Construction

Equipment Required
For each person
 2m x CAT5 Network Cable
 1 x Wire Crimper and Stripper
 6 x RJ45 Heads
 Cable Tester

Introduction:
Twisted pair cables
A twisted pair cable is a type of cable made by putting two separate insulated wires together in
a twisted pattern and running them parallel to each other. This type of cable is widely used in
different kinds of data and voice infrastructures.
The twisted pair cables have evolved over the time, and with every iteration, the cable
specifications are revised to enable higher data transfer rates.
The twisted pair cables are distinguished with their category types, in short Cat. X
Higher the category number, the more data rate it will support. For example, Cat.6 will be
better than Cat.5 cable.

Points to Remember:

 Each cable should be no longer than 265 feet and should be a single piece of cable
(there should be no joins).
 Cabling should NOT be run next to electrical mains cabling (because of the potential for
interference); nor should network cabling be suspended on ceiling tiles (this may violate
building code and fire regulations).
 As typically network cabling uses solid wire, cabling should not be twisted or bent into a
tight radius.
USE THE RIGHT PLUGS!

Network connections use RJ45 plugs which look similar but are not the same as telephone plugs
(which are RJ11). Cables are inserted into the plug and a special tool is used to make the
connection between the plug-pins and the cabling

RJ45 Plug with 8 pins

(Viewed from this angle,
pin 8 is on the left and
pin 1 is on the right)

RJ45

Crimping Tool to attach

connector to the twisted
pair cable

RJ11 Telephone Plug

with
Only four pins.

KEEP THE PAIRS TOGETHER & WIRE CORRECTLY:

As previously mentioned, network cabling comprises of four pairs of wires, although only two
pairs are normally used. Despite this, all the pairs should always be wired to maintain the
network specification. The cable pair colors, pair numbers and wire descriptions are shown in
the table below.

COLOR DESCRIPTION
White / Blue Unused
Blue Unused
White / Orange Transmit Data +
Orange Transmit Data -
 White / Green Receive Data +
Green Receive Data -
White / Brown Unused
Brown Unused
IDENTIFYING PIN NUMBERS:

RJ45 plugs have a little ‘hook’ that locks the plug into the socket as can be seen from the
enlarged images below. Take time to study the orientation of the plug. Now flip the plug over
so that the ‘pins’ are on top, the ‘hook’ underneath and the cable entry towards you and from
left to right will be pins 1 to 8…both cable ends are normally wired the same.

Cable Construction:

There are two methods set by the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA), 568A and
568B depending upon the type of connection and interface of the devices. Color Combinations
for 568A and 568B are given below:
Two different constructions are used according to their connection types:

1. Straight-Through cables
2. Crossover cables.

Procedure for Straight-Through Cable Construction:

Straight-through cable construction is used whenever two different layer devices such as a
switch and a PC, are being connected using the 568B color codes at both ends of the wire.

Step 1: Determine the distance between devices and devices or plug.

Step 2: Cut a piece of CAT 5 cable from the roll according to the desired length.
Step 3: Strip 2 inches of jacket off from one end of the cable using the wire-stripping tool.
Step 4: Hold the 4 pairs of twisted cable tightly where jacket was cut away and reorganize the
cable pairs according to 568B standard as shown above. Take care to maintain as much twists
as possible since this provides noise cancellation.
Step 5: Flatten, straighten and line-up the wires and trim them slightly from the edge.
Step 6: Place an RJ-45 connector plug on the end of the cable with the prong on the bottom
side and color combination arranged from left to right.
Step 7: Gently push the plug onto wires until the copper ends of the wires can be seen through
the end of the plug. Make sure the end of the jacket is inside the plug. If everything is correct,
crimp the plug hard enough to force the contacts through the insulation on the wires,
completing the Conducting path.

Step 8: Repeat the steps 3-7 using the same scheme at the other end of the cable.
Step 9: Finally, after crimping, test the cable using the cable connection testers.

Procedure for Crossover Cable Construction:

Crossover cable construction is used whenever two like devices are being connected using the
568A color code at one end and 568B at the other end. Same steps are followed as in the
construction of straight-through cable whereas in this case one of the ends is crimped using
568A color code and the other end by following 568B color combination.

Cable Tester:

Use cable tester to check, if the cable has been constructed successfully or not.

Ping Command
A ping (Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper) is a basic Internet program that allows a user
to test and verify if a particular destination IP address exists and can accept requests. We will
use this command to check if our cable is working OK, and the two computers are able to ping
each other.
Ping the IP address of another computer
In the window, type ping, a space, and the IP address of a computer. The following figure
shows the successful results of ping to this IP address.

Exercise:

1. Each student has to make set of both straight through and cross over LAN
cables and get it checked using cable Tester
2. Attach the two computers with a switch and see if they can communicate
with each other
3. Attach two computers directly with a crossover cable and check if they can
communicate with each other.
Crossover connection
Straight through

Lab report

In this lab, we learned about straight-through and crossover connections, including their
purpose and practical applications in networking. We created these connections using
network cables and tested them to ensure they were functioning properly. After
establishing the connections, we used the ping command to verify network communication
and to check whether specific IP addresses were reachable or not. This allowed us to
confirm that the devices were correctly connected and configured. Through this activity,
we gained hands-on experience in basic network troubleshooting, understanding how
physical cabling and logical addressing work together to enable communication between
devices.