2.1 - Cabling Flashcards
Explain coaxial cable. How is it structed? What are it’s uses?
Coaxial cable is an outdated copper cable primarily used for cable TV. It is compromised of a copper core, insulated material, braided outer conductor, and a protective plastic covering.
What are UTP and STP?
Unshielded Twisted Pair. Twisted pair cabling, twisted by number of twists per inch to prevent crosstalk between pairs.
Shielded Twisted Pair. A shielded version of UTP.
Elaborate on PVC and Plenum
PVC is Polyvinylchloride. It is fine to use for patch cables and exposed wiring, but Plenum cabling must be used for any closed space that carries air. PVC releases toxic fumes when on fire.
How does Fiber Optic cabling work?
Fiber Optic uses pulses of light sent over glass or plastic strands.
Explain Single-mode vs. Multimode fiber
Single-mode provides the highest bandwidth and longest distance compared to Multimode. It uses a very small core and a laser to travel great distances. Less tolerant to bending than MMF. Multimode uses an LED, with a much larger core that supports multiple signal paths. MMF is generally less expensive.
What is a PCC?
Physical Contact Connector. A fiber connector with a polished off end to reduces optical loss.
Explain UPC
Ultra Physical Contact Connector. Represents a finer polish for even less signal loss.
Explain APC
Angled Physical Contact Connector. Used in installations where very little ORL (optical return loss) is tolerated. No more than .0001% of the signal, to be exact. This is achieved using an 8-degree angled design on the cable ends.
What is an ST connector?
Straight Tip. One of the longstanding connectors. Become very familiar with this one.
What is an SC connector?
Subscriber Connector. Very reliable snap-in connector that offers low signal loss along with ease of use. AKA Standard connector or Square Connector.
What is an LC connector?
Local, Lucent, Little Connector. About half the size of SC, but completely comparable.
What is a transceiver?
Converts fiber to be used on an ethernet network. The first transceiver was GBIC (Gigabit interface converter) that handled RJ-45 and SC connections.
What is the SFP? What speed rating does it have?
Small Form-factor Pluggable, aka mini-GBIC. Smaller than GBIC but with the same performance. Rated up to 5 Gbps.
What is the speed rating of SFP+?
16 Gbps
What is QSFP? What is the speed rating?
Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable. Can achieve up to 40 Gbps by using four channels on a single transceiver. IEEE 802.3ba standard.
Explain 66/110 Block
They are Intermediate Distribution Frames (IDF), aka punch-down blocks that interconnect copper cabling.
What is a Patch Panel?
A Patch Panel is designed to enable you to distribute traffic to workstations or other switches.
Define the Cat-3 standards
Uses RJ-11 cabling, and up to six wires or conductors. Most commonly used with telephones.
Define the Cat-5 standards
Uses four pairs, up to 100Mbps, and up to 100 meters in length. RJ-45
Define the Cat-5e standards
Enhanced Cat-5 with 1Gbps, up to 90 meters in length. RJ-45
Define the Cat-6 standards
Up to 10Gbps at 250Mhz. RJ-45, but engineered to spread cabling out more, for less crosstalk. Up to 90 meters with an additional 10 meters for a patch panel.
Define the Cat-6e standards
Doubles frequency to 500Mhz and restores to 100 meter length. RJ-45
Define the Cat-7 standards
Increases frequency to 600Mhz. More durable and reliable, with an additional layer of shielding. RJ-45.
What are the DB-9 and DB-25 connectors?
Old school serial connectors conforming to the RS-232 standard. The number defines the number of pins in the connector.
