2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

Baseband and Broadband Cables
The naming convention used to label most network cable technologies follows the syn-
tax XXyyyyZZ. XX represents the maximum speed the cable type offers, such as
10 Mbps for a 10Base2 cable. The next series of letters, yyyy, represents the baseband 
or broadband aspect of the cable, such as baseband for a 10Base2 cable. 
Baseband
cables can transmit only a single signal at a time, and 
broadband
cables can transmit 
multiple signals simultaneously. Most networking cables are baseband cables. However, 
when used in specific configurations, coaxial cable can be used as a broadband connec-
tion, such as with cable modems. ZZ either represents the maximum distance the cable 
can be used or acts as shorthand to represent the technology of the cable, such as the 
approximately 200 meters for 10Base2 cable (actually 185 meters, but it’s rounded up to 
200) or T or TX for twisted-pair in 10BaseT or 100BaseTX. (Note that 100BaseTX is 
implemented using two Cat 5 UTP or STP cables—one issued for receiving, the other for 
transmitting.)
Table 11.8 shows the important characteristics for the most common network cabling 
types.

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Chapter 11 
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Secure Network Architecture and Securing Network Components
TA b l e 11. 8
Important characteristics for common network cabling types
Type
Max speed
Distance
Difficulty of 
installation
Susceptibility 
to EMI
10Base2
10 Mbps
185 meters
Medium
Medium
10Base5
10 Mbps
500 meters
High
Low
10BaseT (UTP)
10 Mbps
100 meters
Low
High
STP
155 Mbps
100 meters
Medium
Medium
100BaseT/100BaseTX
100 Mbps
100 meters
Low
High
1000BaseT
1 Gbps
100 meters
Low
High
Fiber-optic
2+ Gbps
2+ kilometers
High to medium
None