Cable Connectors

I didn't have to crimp a single RJ-45 onto a cable to put the cabling system together. All cabling was terminated either into the 110 patch panel, or into a 110 connector in the back of the wall outlet. And I bought patch cables to link the rest together. What I'm trying to say here is that you don't have to crimp any connectors onto cables. In my humble opinion, making your own patch cables is a tedious process anyway, and far too likely to create a cable with a problem.

But, for those situations where you must, here are the instructions. I'll try to add some step-by-step instructions later.

568A or 568B? It doesn't matter. Both are approved by the TIA/EIA 568. Both have the same performance. What you need to avoid is terminating one end of the run in 568A and the other end in 568B. That will cross pair 2 and 3. Both schemes are shown.

Avoid using USOC anywhere in the cable plant. USOC wiring was the pre-data standard for telecommunications. When a LAN NIC transmits on two wires, it expects them to be a pair of wires that are twisted together. Ethernet transmits on pins 1 and 2. Notice that on a USOC cable, they aren't twisted together. This greatly increases the crosstalk on the line and causes transmission to be unreliable.

Here's the cabling for telephone, or LocalTalk over PhoneNet, on a two-pair RJ-11. Telephone uses the innermost two wires for line 1. The outermost two wires are line 2, or used for PhoneNet.