Additional Cables

Question 1

Single-Mode Fiber Cables

Answer 1

Made up of one single glass or plastic fiber. The benefit of a single fiber cable is the ability to carry higher bandwidth for 50 times the distance of a multi-mode cable. This requires higher cost electronics to create the light and thus is typically used for longer distances (hundreds or thousands of kilometers) and higher bandwidth applications.

Question 2

Crossover Cables

Answer 2

Used to connect two computing devices of the same type directly to each other. In computers, this is accomplished via their network interface controllers (NIC) or switches. With a crossover cable, the transmit connector on one end of the wire is connected to the receive connector on the other. These cables are used much less today, as many standards have the built-in capability to try straight through and then crossover if communication does not take place.

Question 3

Patch Cables

Answer 3

Used to connect a device to a wall outlet, for example. The wall outlet is wired to another patch panel in the networking closet, and that networking panel is wired into a switch. These cables can also be used to wire servers in a rack to the top-of-rack (ToR) switch. Patch cables look similar to crossover and UTP cables.

Question 4

Coaxial Cables

Answer 4

Analog cables made of copper but specifically engineered with a metal shield intended to block signal interference. This cable was patented in 1880 by Oliver Heaviside and was used as an improvement over the bare copper cables widely used in that day. The protection on the coaxial cable allows them to be laid next to metal gutters or other objects without receiving interference. Today, coaxial cables are mostly used by cable TV companies to connect their customers to the company’s facilities.