| The following sections provide you with the opportunity to review what you learned in this chapter and to test yourself. The Facts For the exam, don't forget these key concepts: RJ-11 connectors are used with standard phone lines and are similar in appearance to RJ-45 connectors. However, RJ-11 connectors are smaller. RJ-45 connectors are used with UTP cabling. F-type connectors are used to connect coaxial cable to devices such as Internet modems. Fiber-optic cabling uses a variety of connectors, but SC and ST are more commonly used than others. SC and ST connectors are associated with fiber cabling. ST connectors offer a twist type attachment, whereas SCs have a push-on connector. LC and MTRJ are other types of fiber-optic connectors. UTP cabling is the most common type used on today's networks. For greater speeds, distances, and resistance to interference, fiber-optic cable provides an increasingly affordable alternative. 10Base2, sometimes called Thinnet or Thin Ethernet, is the 802.3 specification for a network that uses thin coaxial cable (that is, RG-58 cable). 10BaseT networks use UTP cable and RJ-45 connectors to transfer data at up to 10Mbps. 10BaseFL networks use fiber-optic cabling and can span distances of up to 2km. 100BaseTX networks use RJ-45 connectors and use Category 5 STP or UTP cable. 100BaseT4 networks use Category 3, 4, and 5 cable with RJ-45 connectors. 100BaseFX uses fiber-optic cable and often uses SC or ST connectors 1000BaseSX and 1000BaseLX offer 1000Mbps transfer speed using fiber-optic cable. 1000BaseCX offers 1000Mbps transfer speed over shielded copper cable. Distances are restricted to 25 meters. 1000BaseTX offers 1000Mbps transfer speed over UTP cable up to a maximum of 100 meters. 10Gbps networks are defined by the IEEE 802.3ae standard. 10GBaseSR is designed for use over short distances up to 300 meters with 50 micron multimode fiber. 10GBaseLR uses single mode fiber-optic cable and can be used up to 10km. 10GBaseER uses single mode fiber-optic cable and can be used up to 40km.
Key Terms Media Bandwidth Baseband/broadband Duplexing Thin coax/Twisted pair/Fiber-optic cable 10BaseT/10Base2/100BaseTX/100BaseFX/Gigabit Ethernet/10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) RJ-11/RJ-45/F-type/ST/SC/LC/MTRJ/BNC connectors Crosstalk Attenuation EMI
Exam Prep Questions | 1: | You are troubleshooting a network using 1000BaseCX cable and suspect that the maximum length has been exceeded. What is the maximum length of 1000BaseCX cable? A. 1,000 meters B. 100 meters C. 25 meters D. 10,000 meters
| | 2: | As system administrator, you find yourself working on a legacy 10Base2 network. Which of the following technologies would you be working with? (Choose three.) A. UTP B. RG-58 C. BNC connectors D. Terminators E. RJ-45 connectors
| | 3: | Your manager has asked you to specify a high speed 10GbE link to provide connectivity between two buildings 3km from each other. Which of the following IEEE standards are you likely to recommend? A. 10GBaseLR B. 10GBaseSR C. 10GBaseT4 D. 10GBaseFL
| | 4: | Which of following connectors are commonly used with fiber cabling? A. RJ-45 B. BNC C. SC D. RJ-11
| | 5: | Which of the following definitions describe the loss of signal strength as a signal travels through a particular media? A. Attenuation B. Crosstalk C. EMI D. Chatter
| | 6: | What kind of cable would you associate with an F-type connector? A. Fiber optic B. UTP C. Coaxial D. STP
| | 7: | In a 100BaseT network environment, what is the maximum distance between the device and the networking equipment, assuming that no repeaters are used? A. 1,000 meters B. 100 meters C. 500 meters D. 185 meters
| | 8: | A user calls to report that he is experiencing periodic problems connecting to the network. Upon investigation, you find that the cable connecting the user's PC to the switch is close to a fluorescent light fitting. What condition is most likely causing the problem? A. Crosstalk B. EMI C. Attenuation D. Faulty cable
| | 9: | Which of the following is NOT a type of fiber-optic connector used in network implementations? | | 10: | Which of the following fiber connectors uses a twist-type connection method? |
Answers to Exam Prep Questions| A1: | The correct answer is C. The 1000BaseCX standard specifies Gigabit Ethernet transfer over Category 5 UTP cable. It uses STP twisted-pair cable and has a 25-meter length restriction. All of the other answers are incorrect. | | A2: | The correct answers are B, C, and D. 10Base2 networks use thin coax (RG-58) media, BNC connectors, and a terminator at each end of the bus to dampen the signal reflection. Answers A and E are incorrect, as they are used by other network standards such as 10BaseT and 100BaseTX. | | A3: | The correct answer is A. 10GBaseLR can be used over distances up to 10km. 10GBaseSR can only be used up to a maximum distance of 300 meters. 10GBaseT4 and 10GBaseFL are not recognized 10 Gigabit Ethernet standards. | | A4: | The correct answer is C. SC connectors are used with fiber-optic cable. RJ-45 connectors are used with UTP cable, BNC is used for thin coax cable, and RJ-11 is used for regular phone connectors. | | A5: | The correct answer is A. The term used to describe the loss of signal strength for media is attenuation. Crosstalk refers to the interference between two cables, EMI is electromagnetic interference, and chatter is not a valid media interference concern. | | A6: | The correct answer is C. F-type connectors are used with coaxial cables. They are not used with fiber-optic, Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cabling. | | A7: | The correct answer is B. 100BaseT networks use UTP cabling, which has a maximum cable length of 100 meters. Answer A is incorrect. This distance could only be achieved with UTP cabling by using repeaters. Answer C specifies the maximum cable length for 10Base5 networks; and answer D specifies the maximum cable length for 10Base2 networks. | | A8: | The correct answer is B. EMI is a type of interference that is often seen when cables run too closely to electrical devices. Answer A is incorrect; crosstalk describes the interference whereby two cables interfere with each other. Attenuation identifies the loss of signal strength. Answer D is incorrect also. It may be that a faulty cable is causing the problem; however, the question asks for the most likely cause and because the cable is running near the fluorescent lights, the problem is more likely associated with EMI. | | A9: | The correct answer is C. BNC is a connector type used with coaxial cabling. It is not used as a connector for fiber-optic cabling. MTRJ, SC, and LC are all recognized types of fiber-optic connectors. | | A10: | The correct answer is A. ST fiber connectors use a twist-type connection method. Answer B is incorrect as SC connectors use a push-type connection method. The other choices are not valid fiber connectors. |
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