Cable Category

Category Maximum data rate Usual application :
CAT 1  Less than 1 Mbps  analog voice (POTS),Basic Rate Interface in ISDN
CAT 2  4 Mbps   Mainly used in the IBM Cabling System for token ring networks
CAT 3  16 Mbps   Voice and data on 10BASE-T Ethernet
CAT 4  20 Mbps   Used in 16 Mbps Token Ring
CAT 5  100 Mbps  100 Mbps TPDDI  1000 Mbps (4 pair)  155 Mbps ATM, Gigabit Ethernet
CAT 5E 100 Mbps   100 Mbps TPDDI, 155 Mbps ATM
CAT 6  200-250 MHz   Super-fast broadband applications

CAT 3 cabling is near-end crosstalk-certified for only a 16 MHz signal, while CAT 5 cable must pass a 100 MHz test.
http://infodeli.3com.com/infodeli/tools/hubs/suprstac/ss100/ssii100/appa.htm

The EIA/TIA defines the following five categories of twisted-pair cable:
Category 1-Traditional telephone cable.
Category 2-Cable certified for data transmissions up to 4 Mbps.
Category 3-Balanced 100  cable and associated connecting hardware whose transmission characteristics are specified up to 16 MHz. It is used by 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T4 installations. Category 3 is the most common type of previously installed cable found in corporate wiring schemes and normally contains four pairs of wire.
Category 4-Balanced 100  cable and associated connecting hardware whose transmission characteristics are specified up to 20 MHz. It is used by 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T4 installations. The cable normally has four pairs of wire. This grade of UTP is not common.
Category 5-Balanced 100  cable and associated connecting hardware whose transmission characteristics are specified up to 100 MHz. It is used by 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T4, and 100BASE-TX installations. The cable normally has four pairs of copper wire. Category 5 is the most popular cable used in new installations today. 

Cable - Serial Cable 9 Pin

9 pin connector for serial connections
9-pin pin-out for serial connections (such as PC to BASYS PCU connections).

1 Yellow CD
2 Green TXD
3 Red RXD
4 Blue DTR
5 Black GND
6 White DSR
7 Orange RTS
8 Brown CTS
9 Empty RI
 

Cable - normal cross

Cable 568-A AND 568-B
crossover

Connector---Connector
(A) ------(B)
1 ------- 3
2 ------- 6
3 ------- 1
4 ------- 5
5 ------- 4
6 ------- 2
7 ------- 8
8 ------- 7

13, 26, 45, 78 change position
normal cable use only 1,2,3,6 and is straight through
cross cable only change 13 and 26
 

  

Cable - Cat 5 pin assignment and color

Straight cable
1 Orange-White
2 Orange
3 Green-White
4 Blue
5 Blue-White
6 Green
7 Brown-White
8 Brown

Cross over cable
1 Green-White
2 Green
3 Orange-White
4 Blue
5 Blue-White
6 Orange
7 Brown-White
8 Brown 

Cable - Cat 5 AWG

Category 5 (or CAT5 as it is commonly called) is the most popular UTP cable being installed for data communications. CAT5 must be able to support voice or data at 100 MHz over 22 or 24 AWG. CAT5 is typically used for high-speed twisted-pair networks such as 100BASE-TX, Fast Ethernet, and ANSI X3T9.5 100-Mbps TP-PMD (FDDI over UTP).

American Wire Gauge (AWG)
It is a U.S. standard set of non-ferrous wire conductor sizes. The "gauge" means the diameter. Non-ferrous includes copper and also aluminium and other materials, but is most frequently applied to copper household electrical wiring and telephone wiring.

Typical household wiring is AWG number 12 or 14. Telephone wire is usually 22, 24, or 26. The higher the gauge number, the smaller the diameter and the thinner the wire. Since thicker wire carries more current because it has less electrical resistance over a given length, thicker wire is better for longer distances. For this reason, where extended distance is critical, a company installing a network might prefer telephone wire with the lower-gauge, thicker wire of AWG 24 to AWG 26.

AWG is sometimes known as Brown and Sharpe (B&S) Wire Gauge.