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1. Bus topology
2. Ring topology
3. Star topology
4. Tree topology
5. Mesh topology 

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4. Use scissors to make a straight cut across the wires 1/2 Inch from the cut sleeve to the end of the wires.



5. Push the wires into the connector. Note the position of the blue plastic shielding. Also note how the wires go all the way to the end. 

A view from the top. All the wires are all the way in. There are no short wires.   


WRONG WAY - Note how the blue plastic shielding is not inside the connector where it can be locked into place. The wires are too long. They should be 1/2 inch from the sleeve.


WRONG WAY - Note how the cables do not go all the way to the end of the connector.


6. CRIMPING THE CABLE ... carefully place the connector into the Ethernet Crimper and cinch down on the handles tightly. The copper splicing tabs on the connector will pierce into each of the eight wires. There is also a locking tab that holds the blue plastic sleeve in place for a tight compression fit. When you remove the cable from the crimper, the cable is ready to use.


For a standard cable (straight through), repeat all steps on the other end of the Ethernet cable exactly. For a cross-over cable, make sure to get the color order right.


Make sure to test the cables before installing them. An inexpensive Ethernet cable tester does this quite well.
NOTE - The maximum cable length of CAT-5 Ethernet cable is 328 feet or 100 meters.

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Purchasing fully made Ethernet cables from the store can be quite expensive.  It is far easier to simply buy a box of bulk Category 5 Ethernet cable and then attach your own RJ-45 connectors to the cut ends to your preferred length.

Materials Required

There are two kinds of Ethernet cables you can make. Straight Through and Crossover.


STRAIGHT THROUGH - Ethernet cables are the standard cable used for almost all purposes. It is highly recommended you duplicate the color order as shown on the left.  

CROSSOVER CABLES - The purpose of a Crossover Ethernet cable is to directly connect one computer to another computer (or device) without going through a router, switch or hub.

Procedure

Here's how to make a standard cable:

1. Cut into the plastic sheath 1 inch from the end of the cut cable. The crimping tool has a razor blade that will do the trick with practice.
2. Unwind and pair of the similar colors.  
3. Pinch the wires between your fingers and straighten them out as shown. 
(The wire colors line up to form a straight through standard cat 5 cable as described above.)

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1.   Upgradability
2.  Simplicity of installation
3.  Connectivity to backbone
4.  Low cost
5.  Provides multiple layout (topology) options 
6.   Suits a variety of basic communication and networking needs 

1. A single Ethernet cable, like an electric power cord, can extend only limited distances due to their electrical transmission characteristics.
2.  Difficult to maintain through time.
3.  Durability limitations. 
4.   Length limitations.

Many of you are familiar with the word “network, networking or computer network” and haven’t really understand what these terms mean. Well if you want to know more you’ve just come to the right place.


A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information.

  TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK  
One way to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by their scope or scale. For historical reasons, the networking industry refers to nearly every type of designs as some kind of area network. Common examples of area network types are:

I. LAN-Local Area Network WLAN
II. Wireless Local Area Network
III. WAN-Wide Area Network
IV. MAN-Metropolitan Area Network
V. PAN-Personal Area Network

1. Local Area Network (LAN)  A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line or wireless link.
Typically, connected devices share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building). Usually, the server has applications and data storage that are shared in common by multiple computer users.
A local area network may serve as few as two or three users (for example, in a home network) or as many as thousands of users



2. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) This is a LAN based on WIFI wireless network technology

3.  Wide Area Network (WAN)    A WAN spans a large geographic area, such as a state, province or country. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs). The world's most popular WAN is the Internet. Some segments of the Internet, like extranets , are also WANs in themselves. WANs generally utilize different and much more expensive networking equipment than do LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs to WANs

4. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) A network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN. A MAN is typically owned and operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation

5. Personal Area Network (PAN) This is a computer network used for communication among computerized devices, including telephones and personal digital assistants. A good example of this network is the Bluetooth network.

Computer Networking #2 talks about network topology click to read more...