Network Cables

Question 1

What is twisted pair copper cabling?

Answer 1

Two wires with equal and opposite signals. There are four pairs of wires inside the cable and they are all different colours.

Question 2

What is the benefit of twisted pair cabling?

Answer 2

Reduced electromagnetic interference, crosstalk reduction, cost effectiveness, versatility, ease of installation, widely available, compatibility and future proofing.

Question 3

What are the different types of twisted pair cabling?

Answer 3

Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6 and Cat 6a

Question 4

What is coaxial cable?

Answer 4

Also refferred to as coax cable. consists of several layers of materials, each with a specific function that work together to provide efficient and reliable signal transmission.

Question 5

What is the structure of a coaxial cable?

Answer 5

Inner conductor, insulating layer, shield, and the outer jacket.

Question 6

What is an RG 6 cable?

Answer 6

a specific type of coaxial cable that is commonly used for various communication and video distribution applications.

Question 7

What does plenum mean?

Answer 7

a space of chamber in a building that is used for air distribution or circulation. Its typically part of a ventillation system where air is collected and then distributed to various rooms or areas.

Question 8

What is a plenum rated cable?

Answer 8

a cable that is specifically designed to be used in plenum areas of buildings. They are constructed using materials that have low smoke and flame propogation properties.

Question 9

What is the jacket around a traditional cable made up of?

Answer 9

PVC (polyvinyl cloride)

Question 10

What is the jacket around a plenum rated cable made of?

Answer 10

FEP (Flourinated etheleyne polymer)

Question 11

What is the most common type of cable to run?

Answer 11

UTP (unsheilded twisted pair) this cable has no special shielding around it.

Question 12

What is an STP cable?

Answer 12

Shielded Twisted Pair. It provides additional shieding against interference. It shields either each pair of wires or the overall cable. Most of these have additional grounding wires for added safety.

Question 13

What does the U, S, F and TP writing stand for on the side of an ethernet cable.

Answer 13

U = unshielded
S = shielded
F = Foil shielding
TP = Twisted Pair

Question 14

What is optical fiber cable?

Answer 14

a type of cable that transmits data using light signals sent through optical fibers, which are thin strands of glass or plastic that carry light signals over long distances with minimal signal loss.

Question 15

Whats another benefit of optical fiber cable?

Answer 15

It is not affected by radio signal interferance.

Question 16

What are the two broad categories of fiber optic cable?

Answer 16

Multi mode cable and single mode cable.

Question 17

What is a characteristic of multi mode fiber?

Answer 17

Commonly used for short wave transmission (up to 2km). Uses an inexpensive light source. The light bounces back and forth as it moves through the core.

Question 18

What are some characteristics of a single mode fiber?

Answer 18

much longer communication possibilites (up to 100km) much more expensive light source, often used with lasers. The core is much smaller and the light moves through it in a straight line.