LAN Pinouts (10baseT and 100baseT)
UTP by the way stands for Unshielded Twisted Pair. LAN cabling can be very confusing with the different types of possible connection. With the choice of colored cable available to-day there is no real excuse for not using a simple color coding scheme to rapidly differentiate between cable types (there is NOTHING more annoying than to get the wrong cable).
NOTE 1: You can get heat shrink color coded sleeves which you fit on each end of the cable beside the connector to indicate the wiring type and standard instead of using different colored cables.
NOTE 2: Almost all our wiring is now done to the 100baseT spec which you can use with 10baseT networks - but NOT the other way around.
Category 5 (UTP) color coding table
10base Straight Cable (PC to HUB/SWITCH)
10baseT Crossed cable (PC to PC or HUB to HUB)
100baseT Straight Cable (PC to HUB/SWITCH)
100baseT Crossed cable (PC to PC or HUB to HUB)
RJ45 Male Connector
Category 5 (UTP) color coding table
The following table shows the normal color coding for category 5 cables (4 pair) based on the two standards supported by TIA/EIA
10base Straight Cable (PC to HUB/SWITCH)
Straight cables are used to connect PCs or other equipment to a HUB or Switch. If your connection is Pc to PC or HUB to HUB you MUST use a Crossed cable.
The following cable description is for the wiring of both ends (RJ45 Male connectors) with the 568A category 5 wiring colors.
| Pin No. | strand color | Name |
| 1 | white and green | TX+ |
| 2 | green | TX- |
| 3 | white and orange | RX+ |
| 4 | NC | |
| 5 | NC | |
| 6 | orange | RX- |
| 7 | NC | |
| 8 | NC |
NC means not connected.
We use BLUE CABLE for 10baseT straight cables.
10baseT Crossed cable (PC to PC or HUB to HUB)
Crossed cables are used to connect PCs to one other PC or to connect a HUB to a HUB. If your connection is PC to HUB you MUST use a Straight cable.
The following description shows the wiring at both ends (male RJ45 connectors) of the crossed cable.
| One end RJ45 Male | Other end RJ45 Male | |
| 1 | 3 | |
| 2 | 6 | |
| 3 | 1 | |
| 6 | 2 |
NOTE: Connections not specified are NOT CONNECTED.
We use RED CABLE for crossed cables.
100baseT Straight Cable (PC to HUB/SWITCH)
Straight cables are used to connect PCs or other equipment to a HUB or Switch. If your connection is Pc to PC or HUB to HUB you MUST use a Crossed cable.
The following cable description is for the wiring of BOTH ends (RJ45 Male connectors) with the 568A category 5 wiring colors.
| Pin No. | strand color | Name |
| 1 | white and green | TX_D1+ |
| 2 | green | TX_D1- |
| 3 | white and orange | RX_D2+ |
| 4 | blue | BI_D3+ |
| 5 | white and blue | BI_D3- |
| 6 | orange | RX_D2- |
| 7 | white and brown | BI_D4+ |
| 8 | brown | BI_D4- |
We use BLUE CABLE for 100baseT straight cables.
100baseT Crossed cable (PC to PC or HUB to HUB)
Crossed cables are used to connect PCs to one other PC or to connect a HUB to a HUB. If your connection is PC to HUB you MUST use a Straight cable.
The following description shows the wiring at both ends (male RJ45 connectors) of the crossed cable.
We use RED CABLE for crossed cables.
Straight cables are used to connect Pair Gain Units to the premise wiring.
The following cable description is for the wiring of both ends (RJ45 Male connectors) with the 568A category 5 wiring colors.
| Pin No. | strand color | Name |
| 1 | white and green | TX+ |
| 2 | green | TX- |
| 3 | NC | |
| 4 | blue | RX+ |
| 5 | white and blue | RX- |
| 6 | NC | |
| 7 | NC | |
| 8 | NC |
NC means not connected.
Cat5 Wiring Standards, Listed| Pin | EIA/TIA 568A | AT&T 258A, EIA/TIA 568B |
10Base-T 10Mbps Cat3 |
100Base-TX 100Mbps Cat5 |
100Base-T4 100Mbps Cat3 |
100Base-T2 100Mbps Cat3 |
1000Base-T 1Gbps Cat5+ |
| 1 | white/green | white/orange | TX+ | TX+ | TX D1+ | BI DA+ | BI DA+ |
| 2 | green/white | orange/white | TX- | TX- | TX D1- | BI DA- | BI DA- |
| 3 | white/orange | white/green | RX+ | RX+ | RX D2+ | BI DB+ | BI DB+ |
| 4 | blue/white | blue/white | na | na | BI D3+ | na | BI DC+ |
| 5 | white/blue | white/blue | na | na | BI D3- | na | BI DC- |
| 6 | orange/white | green/white | RX- | RX- | RX D2- | BI DB- | BI DB- |
| 7 | white/brown | white/brown | na | na | BI D4+ | na | BI DD+ |
| 8 | brown/white | brown/white | na | na | BI D4- | na | BI DD- |
| BI=BI directional data RX=Receive Data TX=Transmit Data | |||||||
| 10BaseT and 100BaseT Cross Cable | |||
| Pin | Color Code | Color Code | Pin |
| 1 | White/Orange | White/Green | 1 |
| 2 | Orange | Green | 2 |
| 3 | White/Green | White/Orange | 3 |
| 4 | Blue | Blue | 4 |
| 5 | White/Blue | White/Blue | 5 |
| 6 | Green | Orange | 6 |
| 7 | White/Brown | White/Brown | 7 |
| 8 | Brown | Brown | 8 |
