donkey42
plank
hold the RJ45 connector with the clip pointing away from you and identify the colour order of the wires inside the RJ45 connector
this is a Crossover cables reverse view of the RJ45 connector

this is a straight through cables reverse view of the RJ45 connector

so the topographical view of an Ethernet cable would look like this

cables under 30M are usually stranded (multi core) however cables over 30M are usually solid core but this isn't written in stone, some people have successfully used stranded cable for over 100M, solid core cables are also used in a permanent installation (inside walls or under floors)
Edit:Tips
cable types
Thanks to Swanen for his Input
Edit: Crossover cables are usually in UK, however, as AT said straight thru cabeles are more common in North America
this is a Crossover cables reverse view of the RJ45 connector

this is a straight through cables reverse view of the RJ45 connector

so the topographical view of an Ethernet cable would look like this

cables under 30M are usually stranded (multi core) however cables over 30M are usually solid core but this isn't written in stone, some people have successfully used stranded cable for over 100M, solid core cables are also used in a permanent installation (inside walls or under floors)
Edit:Tips
- A straight-thru cable has identical ends
- A crossover cable has different ends
- A straight-thru is used as a patch cables in Ethernet connections
- A crossover is used to connect two Ethernet devices without a hub or for connecting two hubs
- A crossover has one end with the Orange set of wires switched with the Green set
- Odd numbered pins are always striped, even numbered pins are always solid coloured
- Looking at the RJ-45 with the clip facing away from you, Brown is always on the right, and pin 1 is on the left
- No more than 1/2" of the Ethernet cable should be untwisted otherwise it will be susceptible to crosstalk
- Do not deform, do not bend, do not stretch, do not staple, do not run parallel with power cables, and do not run Ethernet cables near noise inducing components
cable types
- CAT-5 is rated up to 100M
- CAT-5e is rated up to 350M
- CAT-6 and CAT6e is rated up to 550M or 1000M depending on your source
- CAT-7 is supposedly rated up to 700M or presumably it will function upto 1000M
Thanks to Swanen for his Input
Edit: Crossover cables are usually in UK, however, as AT said straight thru cabeles are more common in North America