UTP cable is usually terminated with an ISO 8877 specified RJ-45 connector. This connector is used for a range of physical layer specifications, one of which is Ethernet. The TIA/EIA 568 standard describes the wire color codes to pin assignments (pinouts) for Ethernet cables.

The video in Figure 1 displays a UTP cable terminated with an RJ-45 connector.

As shown in Figure 2, the RJ-45 connector is the male component, crimped at the end of the cable. The socket is the female component in a network device, wall, cubicle partition outlet, or patch panel.

Each time copper cabling is terminated there is the possibility of signal loss and the introduction of noise to the communication circuit. When terminated improperly, each cable is a potential source of physical layer performance degradation. It is essential that all copper media terminations be of high quality to ensure optimum performance with current and future network technologies.

Figure 3 displays an example of a badly terminated UTP cable and a well terminated UTP cable.