What is UTP and STP?
UTP and STP are twisted pair cables. UTP stands for Unshielded Twisted Pair, while STP stands for Shielded Twisted Pair. Typically, UTP is installed by phone companies (though this is often not of high enough quality for high- speed network use) and is what 10BaseT Ethernet runs over. UTP is graded according to its data carrying ability (e.g., Level 3, Level 4, Level 5). 10BaseT Ethernet requires at least Level 3 cable. Many sites now install only Level-5 UTP, even though level 4 is more than sufficient for 10BaseT, because of the greater likelihood that emerging high-speed standards will require cable with better bandwidth capabilities. STP is typically used for Token-Ring networks, where it is commonly referred to IBM Type 1 (or 2, 3, 6, 8, etc); however there are several manufacturers of Ethernet equipment and interfaces that support Ethernet over STP. Nevertheless, Ethernet over STP is not officially defined in any standards. While there is a good level of interoperability with Eth
