Network Media

Introduction to Network Cabling Questions

1. What is TIA/EIA 568?

The telecommunications standards for network cabling in commercial buildings

2. What is the difference between TIA 568A and TIA 568B.

The only difference is the color pattern pinout for the wire connections made into the jack/plug. It is an important distinct ion that must be determined, because in a circuit all wires, plugs, and jacks must use the same pinout pattern, whether A or B, for al l circuits to prevent mismatching of pinouts.

3. What is the function of a patch panel?

A collection point for all of the cables that were run to connect them together and make up the physical side of a network. P atch panels terminate the cables in the walls and conduit of a building and provide a single point with which to connect the many cables to the networking equipment through one or a few connections.

Multimode and Singlemode Fiber Questions

1. For signaling, what type of technology does fiber optics employ? Light, from an LED or a laser

2. Is fiber optic cable easy to tap?

No, if fiber is tapped it will produce a significant drop in signal that can easily be noticed and monitored.

3. In what type of situation would you employ multimode fiber optic cable?

Short run communication, < 2km. Typically inside of a building or between 2 buildings

4. What would be a conventional light source for multimode fiber optic cable? LED

5. In what situation would you employ single mode fiber optic cabling? Long run communication, across a city, state, country, or ocean

6. What would be a conventional light source for single mode fiber optic cabling? Laser

UTP, STP and Coaxial Cabling Questions

1. What type of cable do the terms 10base5, "Thicknet", RG-8, 10base2, and RG-58 describe?

Coaxial

2. What type of cabling uses conductor pairs that are twisted?

Unshielded twisted pair and shielded twisted pair, Ethernet Cat 5, 5e, and 6 cables use this conducting method

3. What differentiates UTP from STP?

STP is shielded to prevent interference and signal loss with a special shield surrounding each set of the conductors, it also has a grounding wire outside of the shielding that needs to be grounded on each end of the termination.

4. What is the most common form of Ethernet cabling for Local Area Networks? Cat 5

Cable Categories

1. What is the EIA?

Electronics Industries Alliance - an alliance of trade associations that develop standards for the Electronics and computing industry

2. What is the TIA?

Telecommunications Industry Association

3. For what is Category 3 cable used?

10Mbit Ethernet and 4Mbit Token Ring networks

4. Compare and contrast Cat5 and Cat5e cable.

Cat 5e is an improvement in standards and specifications ver Cat 5 cable to allow 1Gbit Ethernet

5. In what situation would you want to employ Cat6 cable? In rare situations where you needed a 10Gbit Ethernet

Crossover and Straight through Cables Questions

1. What is an Ethernet straight through cable? When would you use it?

Same as a patch cable, they connect devices directly to a network device (Switch, Router, Modem, etc.)

2. What is the difference between a MDI and a MDIX interface?

MDI - Media Dependant Interface - NIC

MDIX - Media Dependent Interface Crossover - Network Switch

The Transmit and Receive pinouts are different for the 2 different interfaces. A patch cable connects and MDI to an MDIX inte rface.

3. What is an Ethernet crossover cable? When would you use one?

It is similar to a patch cable but with 1 significant difference, it is used when you connect 2 similar devices (like 2 switc hes) that both have an MDI or both have an MDIX interface. A crossover cable will allow the similar pinouts to crossover and communicate cor rectly.

4. If you were going to connect two CSU/DSUs, what type of cable would you use?

A T1 Crossover cable, the Transmit/Receive pinouts are different than an Ethernet crossover cable.

Plenum and Non-Plenum Cabling Questions

1. What is the disadvantage of using regular TWP copper cable in a ceiling plenum?

Regular TWP cable produces toxic fumes when it burns, if used in a plenum the air return will feed the fire and help the cable burn and produce the toxins. The cables could also cause the fire to spread by providing a flammable circuit for the fire to follow.

Converting Media Questions

1. Why do you always need to provide power to the device when you convert from fiber to copper?

Copper signals are electrically based and need the power to convert the signal to light to transmit over the fiber, or vice versa. Light cannot generate the power needed to convert the signals.

2. Can a network signal from almost any type of media be converted to any other type of media? Yes

Media Distance and Speed Limitations Questions

1. What type of cable does 10base5 networking use? Coaxial

2. How far can you run on a single run of 10baseT? 100 meters

3. How far can you run on a single run of 100baseTx? 100 meters

4. Complete Table 1 by adding the missing cable attributes.