Networking Fundamentals

Understanding coaxial cables and their types

I remember when I was first learning about networking in 2000 and coaxial cables were introduced. I thought to myself, nobody is going to use that for much longer. For me, it was dated technology that was being replaced. Yet, it's still here. It has stood the test of time and is used in networking, audio, and video.

A coaxial cable consists of a copper core surrounded by an insulator. This, in turn, is surrounded by a woven copper shield that's encased in an outer plastic jacket. This can be seen in the following diagram:

Figure 8.1: Coaxial cable

The preceding diagram can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable#/media/File:Coaxial_cable_cutaway.svg ...