Network Cabling

Question 1

802.3 standards

Answer 1

Defines protocols for wired LAN, aka Ethernet

Question 2

Copper vs Fiber speeds

Answer 2

Copper can achieve up to 40 Gbps
Fiber can achieve above 100 Gbps

Question 3

Copper vs. Fiber distance

Answer 3

Copper can reach 1100 meters (3609 ft)
Fiber can reach 40 km (25 miles)

Question 4

Half-duplex vs Full-duplex

Answer 4

One-way communication
Two-way communication

Question 5

What ethernet cables support speeds from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps

Answer 5

Cat 5, 5e, 6, 6a

Question 6

What do fiber optic cables offer ?

Answer 6

The highest speeds up to 100 Gbps, over long distances

Question 7

What three key factors affect cable speeds ?

Answer 7

Quality, installation, and environmental interference

Question 8

EMI

Answer 8

Signals from a device or cable leak out and disrupt signals of another device or cable

Question 9

Are copper cable susceptible to interference ?

Answer 9

Highly, but use shielded coaxial to protect against EMI

Question 10

Are fiber cables susceptible to EMI ?

Answer 10

No

Question 11

What does higher frequency equal to?

Answer 11

Higher frequency equals faster tranmission speeds

Question 12

Attenuation

Answer 12

Longer the cable, the weaker the signal

Question 13

Is fiber affected by attenuation?

Answer 13

No

Question 14

Coaxial cable

Answer 14

Electrical cable consisting of a central conductor, insulating layer, metallic shield, and plastic jacket

Question 15

What is a coaxial cable used for ?

Answer 15

Transmitting television, satellite, and broadband internet

Question 16

Is coaxial less susceptible to interference and attenuation compared to twisted pair ? Why ?

Answer 16

Yes, because it is thicker and has better shielding

Question 17

Which environments is coaxial commonly installed in?

Answer 17

Residential and commercial

Question 18

What is the most popular coaxial cable ?

Answer 18

RG-6

Question 19

What are the pros of coaxial cable ?

Answer 19

Shielding from EMI, long transmission distance (1100 meters) and more affordable than fiber

Question 20

What are the cons of coaxial cable ?

Answer 20

More expensive than twisted pair and can snap if mishandled

Question 21

BNC connector

Answer 21

Secure locking connector and commonly used in old bus and ring networks

Question 22

F connector (most popular)

Answer 22

Twisting hand screw commonly found on cable modems

Question 23

Fiber-optic (glass or plastic)

Answer 23

Uses light to transmit data

Question 24

What infrastructure is fiber optic ideal for ?

Answer 24

High-speed/greater bandwidth transmissions in telecommunications and internet backbone infrastructure

Question 25

Fiber cable components

Answer 25

Outer jacket,strengthening layer, coating, cladding, and fiber strand

Question 26

Single-mode (WAN)

Answer 26

Single strand of glass fiber with a small diameter that allows only one mode of light to propagate

Question 27

What is single mode designed for ?

Answer 27

Long-distance communication with minimized attenuation and dispersion over distances

Question 28

Where is single mode commonly used ?

Answer 28

Telecommunications and cable TV networks

Question 29

Multimode fiber cable

Answer 29

Uses larger diameter fibers that allow multiple modes of light to propagate simultaneously

Question 30

What environments is MMF typically used in?

Answer 30

Within buildings or in campus networks

Question 31

What is the distance for data applications and telecommunications applications ?

Answer 31

Data = 500 meters Telecommunications = 2 km

Question 32

What makes MMF the popular choice for LAN and short-range applications ?

Answer 32

More affordable and easier to work with

Question 33

Pros of fiber optics ?

Answer 33

Not susceptible to EMI, longest transmission distance, fastest speeds

Question 34

Cons of fiber optics ?

Answer 34

Difficult to install, most expensive, difficult to troubleshooting issues, need special tools, and hard to fix in the field

Question 35

Which installations are ST connectors used in? (straight tip)

Answer 35

Used in SMF installations

Question 36

SC connector (subscriber, square, standard)

Answer 36

Snaps-in style and used in both MMF and SMF installations

Question 37

Characteristics of the LC connector (local, little, lucent)

Answer 37

Snaps-in style, SFP, and in both SMF and MMF installations

Question 38

Characteristics of a dual LC connector ?

Answer 38

Snaps-in style, SMF and MMF installations

Question 39

Multi-fiber push on (MPO) characteristics

Answer 39

Snaps-in style, SFP, SMF and MMF but mostly used in MMF

Question 40

Direct attached cable (DAC)

Answer 40

Alternative for close-range connectivity between network devices

Question 41

What do DAC cables offer ?

Answer 41

Cost-effective and low-power

Question 42

Twinaxial cables are used where ? What can they be used for?

Answer 42

In data centers for high-speed/short-distance copper 10 Gigabit or 40 Gigabit ethernet standards

Question 43

Advantages of twinaxial

Answer 43

Shielding protects from EMI and more affordable than fiber

Question 44

Disadvantages of twinaxial ?

Answer 44

More expensive than coaxial and twisted pair, very short distance connections (0.5-7 meters)

Question 45

Twisted pair

Answer 45

Eight wires twisted into 4 pairs

Question 46

What is the most used networking cable in homes and offices ?

Answer 46

Twisted pair

Question 47

Advantages of twisted pair ?

Answer 47

Easiest to install and manage, STP protects against EMI, least expensive

Question 48

Disadvantages of twisted pair ?

Answer 48

Transmission distance is limited to 100 meters (328 ft), UTP has no protection from EMI

Question 49

Two types of twisted pair ?

Answer 49

STP and UTP

Question 50

RJ11 connector? What uses it?

Answer 50

4 pin connector used in modems and analog telephones

Question 51

RJ45 connector

Answer 51

8 pin connectors found on desktops, laptops, and servers

Question 52

What are the twisted pair categories ?

Answer 52

Cat 5, 5e, 6, 6a, 7, 8

Question 53

What Cat cables can travel 100 meters distance ?

Answer 53

Cat 5, 5e, 6a, 7

Question 54

Which short-range cat cable with very high speeds is used in data centers ?

Answer 54

Cat 8

Question 55

At what distance and speeds can cat 6 run at ?

Answer 55

10,000 Mbps/10 Gbps = 55 meters 1000 Mbps/1 Gbps = 100 meters

Question 56

Which cat cable has per pair shielding ?

Answer 56

Cat 7

Question 57

How does cat 6 minimize crosstalk ?

Answer 57

Includes a piece of plastic to separate the 4 pairs of wire

Question 58

How does cat 6a carry a more powerful signal for longer distance ?

Answer 58

Thicker wires

Question 59

Two types of wiring standards

Answer 59

568A and 568B

Question 60

Crossover cables

Answer 60

Cables created by terminating different standards at each end of the cable

Question 61

How do you connect unlike devices ?

Answer 61

Straight through cable

Question 62

Crossover cables connect similar devices?

Answer 62

True

Question 63

Transceivers

Answer 63

Devices that can both transmit and receive data

Question 64

How are transceivers used in networking to interface with cables of different types ?

Answer 64

Converting electrical signals to optical signals

Question 65

SFP (small form-factor pluggable)

Answer 65

Optical module transceiver used for data and telecommunications

Question 66

What speeds does SFP+ support ? How about the older version ?

Answer 66

10 Gbps and 4.25 Gbps

Question 67

QSFP (quad small form-factor pluggable)

Answer 67

Connector used for fiber optic or electrical copper connections

Question 68

What speeds does QSFP and QSFP+ support ?

Answer 68

28 Gbps and 40 Gbps

Question 69

Media converters

Answer 69

Type of transceiver that converts data signals from one media type to another

Question 70

Media converter examples ?

Answer 70

SMF to Ethernet, MMF to Ethernet, Fiber to Coaxical, SMF to MMF