Ethernet Cable Termination Guide & Standards [Step By Step]

Terminating an Ethernet or CAT5e/CAT6 cable is a simple and essential skill for anyone interested in networking equipment or functioning in the networking industry.

When you learn to terminate cables yourself, you may save money, space, and irritation by cutting them to the exact length you need rather than having to rely on cables manufactured by a firm. Almost anyone can measure and terminate the ends of a cable in about 15 minutes.

So, let us start the ethernet cable termination guide. It includes a definition of terminating cables, color coding, standards, and how to do ethernet termination.

What Does Terminating Ethernet Cable Mean?

Cable termination means connecting a wire to a device that permits the cable to connect with other devices, such as equipment, panels, or a wall outlet.

It includes sorting cables by destination, shaping, dressing cables, correct labeling, and connecting to a copper or fiber conductor.

Ethernet Cable Termination Standards

When it comes to terminating copper cables, you have two options. The T568A and T568B are the two models. These are two different termination standards. So you’d choose one and stick to that termination standard throughout the installation of your cables.

Each of these standards has slightly different pinouts. Pin one of the 568A standard is white and green, and pin two is green. As you can see in the 568B standard, it’s white and orange, with orange for pins one and two.

Ethernet Cable Termination Color Code

Your Ethernet cable pairs will always be the same colors: blue, orange, green, and brown. UTP and shielded Category 3 through Category 8 cabling have four twisted pairs of insulated copper conductors. The color of the cable has no performance attributes that would lead you to choose one color over another. The outdoor wire is one of the cables where you have few options.

Ethernet Cable Termination Guide

Step 01: Tools

• Wire Strippers
• Wire Cutters
• Ruler/ Scale 
• 2 Wire Boots 
• RJ45 Crimping Tool 
• 2 – RJ45 Modular Data Plug (Ends)
• Bulk CAT6 Network Cable

Step 02:

Pull the required amount of wire from the coil for the connection you need to make. Make careful to leave 2 inches extra on both ends of the cable for the data plug.

Step 03: 

1. Measure 1.5 inches from one end of the wire and insert it into the wire strippers at that point. The cable should be snug but not tight in the strippers.
2. Make sure the wire stripper’s blade is perpendicular to the wire and revolve the wire stripper around the cable once to score the sheathing.
3. Remove the wire stripper and bend the cable gently along the scoreline. Break the sheathing, allowing it to be taken off the wire and discarded.

Step 04:

1. Separate the twisted pairs into an “x” pattern. When looking down the wire from the end, none of the twisted pairs should cross over each other.
2. Separate the twisted pairs’ wires. The wires should not cross over each other when they are separated.

Step 05:

1. Organize the wires in a fan shape for the data socket. There are commonly two ways to organize the cables for the data connector. Regardless of which option you choose, you must configure both ends of the wires the same way, or the wire will not operate.
   1. Orange-White • Orange • Green-White • Blue • Blue-White • Green • Brown-White • Brown
2. Grip all wires at the sheathing with both hands and glide your fingers up, forming a flat line. Make sure no cables are in the wrong place. 
3. Make the cables as straight as possible. The wires don’t have to be perfectly straight; straighten them out as best you can.
4. Trim the tips of the wires with the wire cutters so that they are all the same length. Ensure that the incision is parallel to the wires.

Step 06: 

1. Check that the wires are there the same they were in the previous step. Connect the cables to the data connector. The tab on the data plug should be at the bottom, and the Orange-White wire should be the plug’s leftmost wire. The sheathing should be inserted just within the data plug’s end.
2. Remove the data plug, cut a small length of wire off the end, then re-insert the cable into the data socket if the wires are too long.
3. Pinch the wire about 2 inches below the plug, with the sheathing just within the plug. Pinch the wire slightly above where you’ve pinched it with your other hand, then carefully slide your second hand up towards the plug as if extending the wrapping. The sheathing will be pushed further into the plug.
4. Rep this process until the sheathing is close to the plug’s center. Confirm the wires are not being pulled away from the plug’s end.
5. Compress the handle of the crimping tool to crimp the wires after inserting the prepared plug.

Step 07:

Repeat the stripping, prepping, and crimping processes for the opposite end of the cable in the “Strip the Cable” phase.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have completed the ethernet cable termination guide and learned how to do it. You can now do it on your own. The steps might look lengthy, but we have made them simple to help you out. For revision, Cable termination is the process of attaching a wire to a device that allows the cable to connect to other devices and has two standards. The color coding is only for matching and making the correction connection but does not have any function related to performance.