Technology is so embedded in our society and in our daily lives that we hardly ever take notice how much of an influence it has on our lives. It is so normal that we don’t give it a second thought. However, from the beginning of the industrial age up until now the world has seen great achievements and technological advances that have changed our lives tremendously. The world has become smaller through the invention of telephones, computers, internet and other forms of communication. Today we are going to talk about the rj45 plug that connects our home telephones to the data services and how they work as LAN cables to connect all sorts of devices to our modems or routers.
What is an RJ45 exactly?
An rj45 connector, also known as registered jack-45, is an modular connector using 8 conductors that is especially used for twisted pair Ethernet connections but also for ISDN-connections. Basically, it is one of the most common cables used for the communication between computers and peripherals. It is also used to connect your computer or laptop to a router or modem to form a local-area network or LAN. Of course nowadays most laptops are connected to a wireless network but the connector is still of significant importance in data connections. Depending on how you connect the wires in the pin positions, the registered jack 45 is not symmetrical on both ends. Thus there are two ways to connect it. For a normal network connection from computer to hub or switch, 568B is used on both sides. For a so called crossover cable, to connect two computers or switches, the 568B is used on one side and the 568A on the other.
In practice
When you connect your registered jack to a modern switch, it will automatically detect what kind of cable is connected. In this care it is not of significant importance what cable is used. If you want to use a rj45 to connect to your network, here is some useful information you should know. Before getting started, it is recommended that you look up a picture of the registered jack to see the pin positions and colors in order to comprehend what is being said. For a network connection of 100 megabyte or less, only the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th are of importance. For gigabit Ethernet connections, which is usually the case, all eight pins are being used.
The use and selling points
The use should be fairly clear by now, but if you are still puzzled then here’s a short overview: the rj45 is a valuable and important asset to every computer owner. All your other apparatus, for example PlayStation, in some cases television and receivers, and all other devices that need to be connected to the internet but have no wireless function. Even if your device does have wireless functions, data transfer via cable will always go faster. If you are looking for this specific registered jack or any other RJ’s, mind that your supermarket probably isn’t selling them. You will need to go to a special computer store or a store that deals in cables. It is also fairly easy to find selling points on the internet where you can see pictures and have them delivered to your house.