RJ-45

The 8 Position 8 Contact (8P8C) (often incorrectly called RJ45) plugs and sockets are most regularly used as an Ethernet connector. 8P8C connectors are typically used to terminate twisted pair cable.

8P8C has two paired components: the male plug and the female socket. Each has eight equally-spaced conductors. On the plug, these conductors are flat contacts positioned parallel with the connector body. Inside the socket, the conductors are suspended diagonally toward the insertion interface. When an 8P8C plug is mated with an 8P8C socket, the conductors meet and create an electrical connection. Spring tension in the socket's conductors ensure a good interface with the plug and allow for slight travel during insertion and removal. The 8P8C connector is probably best known for its use in Ethernet; since around 2000, it has been used almost universally as the connector on Ethernet network cables, and has replaced many older connector types such as BNC connectors. Older connectors have also been phased out as modern cables no longer have the high current and voltage requirements for which the bulkier connectors were designed.