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The cable exists in both stranded and solid conductor forms. The stranded form is more flexible and withstands more bending without breaking and is suited for reliable connections with insulation piercing connectors, but makes unreliable connections in insulation-displacement connectors. The solid form is less expensive and makes reliable connections into insulation displacement connectors, but makes unreliable connections in insulation piercing connectors. Taking these things into account, building wiring (for example, the wiring inside the wall that connects a wall socket to a central patch panel) is solid core, while patch cables (for example, the movable cable that plugs into the wall socket on one end and a computer on the other) are stranded. Outer insulation is typically PVC or LSOH.
Cable types, connector types and cabling topologies are defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. Nearly always, 8P8C modular connectors, often incorrectly referred to as "RJ-45", are used for connecting category 5 cable. The specific category of cable in use can be identified by the printing on the side of the cable.
The cable is terminated in either the T568A scheme or the T568B scheme. It doesn't make any difference which is used as they are both straight through (pin 1 to 1, pin 2 to 2, etc); however mixed cable types should not be connected in series as the impedance per pair differs slightly and could cause signal degradation. The article Ethernet over twisted pair describes how the cable is used for Ethernet, including special "cross over" cables.
