Low Voltage and Telecom Cabling Vocabulary.docx

Updated July 1, 2024 ### **Low-Voltage Data and Telecom Cabling Vocabulary** #### **General Terms** 1. **Low Voltage** - Electrical systems operating at 50 volts (V) or less. 2. **Cabling** - The installation of cables for various applications, such as data, voice, or video. 3. **Tel...

Updated July 1, 2024 ### **Low-Voltage Data and Telecom Cabling Vocabulary** #### **General Terms** 1. **Low Voltage** - Electrical systems operating at 50 volts (V) or less. 2. **Cabling** - The installation of cables for various applications, such as data, voice, or video. 3. **Telecommunications** - The transmission of information over significant distances by electronic means. #### **Types of Cables** 4. **Twisted Pair Cable** - A type of cabling that uses pairs of wires twisted together to reduce electromagnetic interference. 5. **Coaxial Cable** - A type of cable with an inner conductor surrounded by an insulating layer and an outer conductive shield. 6. **Fiber Optic Cable** - A cable that transmits data as light pulses through strands of glass fibers. 7. **Category 5e (Cat5e)** - Enhanced performance twisted pair cable for Ethernet and other network physical layers. 8. **Category 6 (Cat6)** - High-performance twisted pair cable for Ethernet and network physical layers. #### **Cabling Components** 9. **Patch Panel** - A board with multiple ports used to connect and manage incoming and outgoing cables. 10. **Keystone Jack** - A snap-in connector for data, telephone, and other types of wiring. 11. **RJ45 Connector** - A connector commonly used for Ethernet networking. 12. **Conduit** - A tube or trough for protecting electric wiring. 13. **Cable Tray** - A structure used to support insulated electrical cables. #### **Installation Terms** 14. **Plenum Space** - An area in buildings used for air circulation for heating and air conditioning systems, where plenum-rated cables must be used. 15. **Riser Cable** - Cable designed for use in vertical spaces (risers) between floors in a building. 16. **Pulling Cable** - The act of drawing cable through conduits or other spaces during installation. 17. **Termination** - The process of connecting the end of a cable to a connector or device. 18. **Bend Radius** - The minimum radius a cable can be bent without damaging it. #### **Networking Terms** 19. **Bandwidth** - The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. 20. **Ethernet** - A common method of networking computers in a local area network (LAN). 21. **LAN (Local Area Network)** - A network that connects computers within a limited area such as a building. 22. **WAN (Wide Area Network)** - A network that extends over a large geographical area. #### **Testing and Certification** 23. **Continuity Test** - A test to ensure that electrical connections are intact. 24. **Signal Loss (Attenuation)** - The reduction in strength of a signal as it travels through a cable. 25. **Certifier** - A device used to test and certify the performance of cabling installations. #### **Safety and Compliance** 26. **NEC (National Electrical Code)** - A regionally adoptable standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment. 27. **OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)** - An agency of the United States Department of Labor that ensures safe and healthy working conditions. 28. **Plenum-Rated Cable** - Cable that is certified to be used in plenum spaces due to its fire-resistant properties. ### **Additional Useful Terms** 29. **Backbone Cabling** - The inter-building and intra-building cable connections that provide the primary data paths. 30. **Horizontal Cabling** - The cabling between and including the telecommunications outlet in the work area and the horizontal cross-connect. 31. **Cross-Connect** - A facility enabling the termination of cable elements and their interconnection or cross-connection.