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Comment by baq

7 hours ago

RJ45 nazi here: these should be called 8P8C

I’ll show myself out

I don't mind calling the connector an RJ45, but calling this thing an "RJ45 dongle" makes my eye twitch. It's an Ethernet dongle - RJ45 can be used for a lot of other things. For example I've seen "RJ45 dongles" that convert USB to RS232 serial for the console ports on a lot of networking equipment.

Heh I think anyone who studies for the Network+ ends up debating every time RJ45 is mentioned whether to make this comment or not haha

Don't show yourself out. Stay and remind people. It's important, since these two aren't interchangeable in both directions.

TIL. After maybe 25 years of using this connector, I've never heard it called 8P8C. I knew Ethernet has used other physical layers including coax, which I used to run between Amigas way back in the day. But, today I finally learned about 8P8C.

  • RJ45 isn't even actually the same connector, at least not in the original FCC naming. That was an 8P8C keyed modular connector. RJ45 connectors had only two of the positions connected to wires (one phone line) an internal resistor between two of the other positions, and a keying bar that stuck out of the plug so they wouldn't even go into the unkeyed 8P8C jacks we use for Ethernet.

    So I'll still call them RJ45 connectors. Because nobody has time to say "8P8C unkeyed modular connector" every time!