Glossary

T

TIA-568A and TIA-568B
Two standards used to define RJ-45 pin connectors and wire color-coding schemes.

Topology
The physical layout of a network.

Transceiver
A combination of the words transmitter and receiver. A transceiver is the set of electronics that sends and receives signals on a media system. Transceivers may be internal or external. Sometimes called a MAU.

Trunking
Two or more ports grouped together as one logical path to increase bandwidth between a switch and a network node when a single path cannot handle the traffic. Loops are avoided because specific paths are designated. Often a single link is designated for flooding broadcasts and packets of unknown destination. Trunks can provide redundancy to critical devices.

Twisted-Pair Cable
A multiple-conductor cable whose component wires are paired together, twisted, and enclosed in a single jacket. A typical Category 5 twisted-pair segment is composed of a cable with four twisted pairs contained in a single jacket. Each pair consists of two insulated copper wires that are twisted together.