Straight Throught Cable Color Code Wiring Diagram


This article shows a Straight Through or straight Cable Color Code with  Wiring Diagram , In computer networking field, Straight Through Cables are used to connect different networking devices with each other. You have to use a Straight Through Cable while connecting a

  • Router to Switch
  • PC to Switch

Majority of patch cables used in networking world these days are Straight Through Cables.
UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cables are used to make Straight Through Cables. Following is diagram of how UTP cable looks like



Both end of these UTP cables are truncated at RJ45 (Registered Jack 45) connector.
We can see from above diagram of UTP cables that there are eight small wires in it, these eight small wires are twisted in four pairs. Each pair has different color scheme. In traditional 10/100 Mbps networks only two pair of wires are used for sending and receiving, while in new gigabit standard all four pairs are used for data transmission.
To understand how these types of cables work, it's important to have sound understanding of Straight Cable Color Code.

Standards of Straight Cable color code :


There are two color coding standards for straight through cables, these are EIA/TIA 568A & 568B. These color coding standard tell which color is connected to which end. We now look at details of these wiring standards.

T568A Color coding Standard


This color coding standard is not widely used these days. Below is diagram of straight  cable color coding based on 568A  standard.

Straight through cable color code wiring diagram a


Next we illustrate sending and receiving pins in 568A color coding standard.

Pin No   Wire Color Transmitting/Receiving
1       White/Green Transmitting
2               Green Transmitting
3         White/Orange Receiving
4                 Blue -
5          White/Blue -
6              Orange Receiving
7        White/Brown -
8              Brown -

 T568B Color coding Standard


This is the most widely used color coding standard of current era. Almost all  Straight through cable these days are following T568B color coding standard. Below is straight through cable color code and  wiring diagram that is using 568B standard.

straight through cable color code wiring diagram b


Next we illustrate sending and receiving pins in 568B color coding standard

Pin No Wire Color Transmitting/Receiving      
1        White/Orange Transmitting
2             Orange Transmitting
3      White/Green Receiving
4                 Blue -
5        White/Blue -
6                Green Receiving
7     White/Brown -
8              Brown -


It's called straight through cable since all wires are connected at same pins on both sides of wires. You can see that in both figures of 568A as well as in 568B.
There is not much difference between 568A and 568B, you can see from above diagrams that only green and orange pairs are swapped, rest combination remains same.
An important point to remember is that whether you use 568A or 568B, make sure both ends of wire is following same standard. Which means if one end of wire has 568A standard, other end must also have 568A and vice versa.

Automatic Medium-Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto-MDIX)


Today's devices are getting intelligent, due to introduction of Auto-MDIX standard. With Auto-MDIX, devices can automatically adjust sending and receiving pins. So any wire can be used for connecting same or different devices.


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Crossover Cable Color Code Wiring Diagram


look for a Crossover cable color code with a wiring diagram for rj45 Crossover Cable or Cross Cable is a type of Ethernet Cable that is used to connect similar types of networking devices, in contrast to Straight Through Cable which is used to connect different devices. For instance, you need cross cable if you are connecting

  • PC to PC
  • Switch to Switch
  • Router to Router

To understand Crossover Cable working, it's important to understand the crossover cable color code i.e. pattern in which wires are connected to RJ-45 connector. We start by looking at the diagram.

Crossover Cable Wiring Diagram

crossover cable color code wiring diagram


We can see in the above diagram that the left side is following 568B color coding and the Right end is following 568A color coding.

Crossover Cable Color Code TIA 568B


The following Table illustrates TIA 568B color coding scheme which is applied on the left end of the cable in Crossover Cable Wiring Diagram.

Pin No Wire Color       Transmitting/Receiving
1        Orange/White       Transmitting
2          Orange               Transmitting
3       Green/White       Receiving
4          Blue                    -
5      White/Blue                    -
6       Green               Receiving
7      White/Brown            -
8       Brown                    -

Crossover Cable Color Code TIA 568A


This color-coding standard is applied on the right end of the cable in Crossover Cable Wiring Diagram.

Pin No   Wire Color Transmitting/Receiving
1        White/Green Transmitting
2         Green         Transmitting
3      White/Orange Receiving
4            Blue              -
5     White/Blue              -
6       Orange         Receiving
7     White/Brown      -
8       Brown              -

To make a crossover cable one end of the UTP cable has to follow either TIA 568 A or B Color coding, while the other end must have different color coding. In short, both ends must have different color coding schemes. Use the following guidelines while making the cross cable.

  • If one end of the cable has 568A color coding then the other end must follow 568B color coding. 
  • If one end of the cable has 568B color coding then the other end must follow 568A color coding.

This is different than straight through cable in which both ends of the cable must have the same color-coding standard at both ends, look for a Straight cable color code.

Why to Use different oF crossover cable color coding


As in UTP, there are eight wires twisted together in four pairs. In Fast Ethernet pin 1 and 2 of the RJ-45 connector are reserved for transmission while pin 3 and 6 of the RJ-45 connector are reserved for receiving. As pin 1 is transmitting so it cannot be connected to pin 1 at the other end since that too is transmission mode. It follows that pin 1 should be connected to pin 3, which is in receiving mode.
To sum up pin 1 and 2 from device A is connected to pin 3and 6 of device B, while pin 3 and 6 of device A are connected to pin 1 and 2 of device B.
It's named crossover cable since wires are cross-connected at both ends of RJ-45 connectors

Automatic Medium-Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto-MDIX)

It's important to have a good understanding of color-coding schemes in crossover and straight-through cable but today almost all networking devices support Auto-MDIX, by which devices can automatically detect which cable is required and switch to it automatically. So if you are connecting similar devices and you only have a straight-through cable, you can use it.