Mention network, we often can confuse a kind of concept, the optical fiber is called the household network cable, or the optical fiber, household network cable is called broadband, in fact, these three are not the same.
First talk about broadband, it is a dynamic, changing concept, there is no fixed standard, can meet people's perception of the need for each media transmission on the network when necessary a communication technology.
There are three types of broadband:
1, DSL,
DSL technology is a kind of broadband access technology based on telephone line.
2, CableModem
We call it a cat.
3, ISDN
It can provide voice, data, image, text and other services on the telephone line, so it is also called "one-line communication". It is not only more advanced technology, and more services, but the price is more expensive.
Clearly, broadband is a concept, not a means of transmission. We usually used for network transmission is coaxial cable, network cable, optical fiber. Coaxial cable has faded out of people's sight and been basically eliminated. At present, network cable and optical fiber have become the two most important carriers of network signal transmission, but they are very different.
#1. Material
Network cable, LAN connection is an essential communication connection equipment, can be divided into twisted pair, coaxial cable, optical cable three. Among them, twisted-pair cable is a data transmission line composed of many insulated cross-lines. For example, the common telephone line in our life is twisted-pair cable, which needs a crystal connector to connect with it. Most of the cores of network cables are copper.
Optical fiber, short for optical fiber, is a fiber made of glass or plastic that acts as a means of conducting light by "total reflection of light." Typically, the fiber is wrapped in a plastic sheath that allows it to bend without breaking.
#2. Transmission distance
Transmission distance is an obvious difference between network cables and optical fibers. The theoretical transmission distance of network cables is 100 meters, while the theoretical transmission distance of class 8 network cables is only 30 meters, while the transmission distance of single-mode optical fibers can reach 10-20km, and the transmission distance of multi-mode optical fibers can also reach 2km-3km, much higher than the transmission distance of network cables.
3. Applicable scenarios
Network cables are used to connect devices, for example, an optical modem to a router, a router to a laptop computer, or home decoration and project cabling. Optical fiber is mainly used in broadband communication, providing users with interactive multimedia information of sight, graph, communication and data. Or for long-distance transmission and so on. For example, work conference video, network interactive games, remote video monitoring and so on.
Thus, optical fibers and network cables have different materials, transmission speed, distance, and applicability. In signal transmission, optical fiber has many advantages that meet any of our demanding requirements for networks. However, fiber wiring costs are high, wiring feasibility is poor and other factors, so network cables are widely used, such as indoor environment, equipment, many use network cables, practicality is self-evident.