Glossary

A type of cable used in vertical building shafts, such as telecommunications and utility shafts. Riser cable typically has more mechanical strength than general use cable and has an intermediate fire protection rating.

Telephone and data jacks/applications that are registered with the FCC. Numbers such as RJ-11 and RJ-45 are widely misused in the telecommunications industry

A modular connection mechanism that allows for as many as eight copper wires (four pairs). Commonly found in phone (RJ-11) or 10Base-T (RJ-45) connections.

RJ11(Registered Jack 11)
A modular (4P6C) 4 pin connector typically used with copper cable having two pairs. Typically used for telecom leads such as a modem cable.

May sometimes be confused with RJ12 as the housing is the same size however an RJ12 is a 6 pin connector (6P6C).

RJ12(Registered Jack 11)
A modular (6P6C) 6 pin connector typically used with copper cable having two pairs. Typically used for telecom leads such as a modem cable.

May sometimes be confused with RJ11 as the housing is the same size however an RJ11 is a 4 pin connector (4P6C).

50-Pin Telco (RJ21)

This connector is very common in 10BASE-T wiring. As opposed to the RJ45 connector, the 50-pin Telco connector concentrates up to 12 UTP connections onto one connection. This concentration of UTP ports is then broken out for connection to a punch-down block inside a building’s wiring closet. 50-pin Telco connections provide a very clean, uncluttered interface.

A USOC code identifying an eight-pin modular plug or jack used with unshielded twisted-pair cable. Officially, an RJ-45 connector is a telephone connector designed for voice-grade circuits. Only RJ-45-type connectors with better signal handling characteristics are called eight-pin connectors in most standards documents, though most people continue to use the RJ-45 name for all eight-pin connectors.

RJ-45 (Registered Jack 45) – standard for connecting UTP cabling. They are inexpensive and easy to install onto UTP cable.  Used to connect devices transmitting data over local-area networks (LAN), especially Ethernets.

A launch that limits a laser

A conductor composed of groups of twisted strands.

A device that connects two networks and allows packets to be transmitted and received between them. A router may also determine the best path for data packets from source to destination. Routers primarily operate on Layer 3 (the Network layer) of the OSI model.

A function of the network layer that involves moving data throughout a network. Data passes through several network segments using routers that can select the path the data takes.

In telecommunications, RS-232 is a standard for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines the signals connecting between a DTE (data terminal equipment) such as a computer terminal, and a DCE (data circuit-terminating equipment, originally defined as data communication equipment), such as a modem, printers, mice, data storage, uninterruptible power supplies, and other peripheral devices.