What type of cable is commonly used for Ethernet networks?

Twisted-pair cable is the most commonly used type of cable for Ethernet networks due to its balance between performance, cost, and ease of installation. This type of cable consists of pairs of copper wires twisted together, which helps to reduce electromagnetic interference and crosstalk from neighboring wires, thereby improving signal integrity.

Twisted-pair cables are available in different categories, such as Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a, each designed to support various data transmission speeds and bandwidths. For instance, Cat5e can support speeds up to 1 Gbps, while Cat6 can handle speeds of 10 Gbps over shorter distances. The flexibility and widespread adoption of twisted-pair cabling make it a standard choice for local area networks (LANs).

In contrast, coaxial cable, while once common in early Ethernet networks, has largely been replaced by twisted-pair cable due to its bulkiness and higher costs. Optical fiber cable, while offering advantages like higher speeds and longer distances, is often more expensive and complex to install, which can limit its usage in many typical Ethernet deployments. USB cables are not designed for networking in a traditional sense and are primarily used for connecting peripheral devices to computers, making them unsuitable for Ethernet applications