About RJ 45 Connection Standards

Registered jack (RJ)-45 connectors and RJ-11 connectors are used for communication networking. RJ-11 connectors connect a telephone to a telephone jack. RJ-45 connectors are used for dial-up and local area network (LAN) connections.

Connector Specifications

RJ-45 connectors are slightly wider than RJ-11 connectors. RJ-45 connectors have eight connector pins. According to "Mike Meyers' A+ Guide to Operating Systems," RJ-45 connectors are the standard for unshielded twisted pair (UTP) connectors.

LAN Connectors

LAN network adapters, also called an Ethernet adapter, use an RJ-45 jack. According to "Residential Construction Academy House Wiring" by Gregory Fletcher, RJ-45 is the popular name for the modular eight-pin connector used to terminate Category 5 UTP cable. According to "The Internet for Dummies" by John Levine and Margaret Levine Young, LANs use Category (Cat) 5 Ethernet cables with RJ-45 connectors.

TIA Standards

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) issues standards for the telecommunication industry. TIA Standard 568B defines the connection cable construction, cable termination standards and functional requirements for telecommunication cables. This standard also defines the color coding of communication wiring based on the connectors used with them. "The Complete Handbook of the Internet, Volume 1" by William Buchanan explains that, for an RJ-45 straight-through patch cable that runs at 10BASE-T, orange and green cables are used.