Assignment

Network Cabling: Media and Topologies

1. What is TIA/EIA 568?

TIA/EIA 568 is a cabling standard for commercial buildings.

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

Pin positons for colored pairs are switched.

3. What is the function of a patch panel?

Mounted hardware unit which serves as a static switchboard connecting interconnected

computers in a LAN to a WAN, including the internet.

4. Added

Multimode and Singlemode Fiber

1. For signaling, what type of technology does fiber optics employ?

Lighting is used for signaling.

2. Is fiber optic cable easy to tap?

No.

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

In the situation of short-range communication. No more than 2km in distance.

4. What would be a conventional light source for multimode fiber optic cable?
LEDs, lasers for single mode.

5. In what situation would you employ single mode fiber optic cabling?

Single mode fiber is used for wider area netowrks, up to 100km in distance.

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

UTP, STP, and Coaxial Cabling

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

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

Twisted-pair, copper cabling

3. What differentiates UTP from STP?

UTP refers to unshielded twisted pairs, there is no metal shielding protecting it from interference,
STP has said shielding and thus protects it from interference.

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

Cable Categories

1. What is EIA?

The Electronic Industries Alliance develops standards for the electronics industry.

2. What is TIA?

The Telecommunications Industry Association handles standards, market analysis, trade shows,
government affairs, among other things of the telecommunications industry.

3. For what is Category 3 cable used?

Category 3 cable is used for 10Mbit/s Ethernet and 4 Mbit/second Token Ring.

4. Compare and contrast CAT5 and CAT5e cables.

CAT5 supports 100Mbit/s and CAT5e supports 1Gbit/s.

5. In what situation would you want to employ CAT6 cable?

In the situation where you need to support 10Gbiit/s through 55 meters.

Crossover and Straight Through Cables

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

The wires go straight through the cable, from one side to the other. It is used to connect
workstations to network devices.

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

An MDI is a Network Interface Card while MDIX is the network infrastructure. Both have mapped
pins.

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

Ethernet crossover cables are used to cross over transmission/receiving pins on the cable. It can
be used to connect two MDIs or two MDXs.

4. If you were going to connect two CSU/DSUs, what type of cable would you use?
T1 Cross-over Cable.

Plenum and Non-Plenum Cabling

1. Why wouldnt you want to use regular TWP cable in a ceiling plenum?

If a fire were to occur and the cabling were to catch fire, the TWP cable would spread the fire
throughout the building.

Converting Media

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

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 10baseTx?
100 meters

TIA Category
N/A
N/A
Category 5
Category 6
N/A
N/A

Ethernet
Standard
10base5
10base2
100base-TX
1000base-T
1000base-SX
1000base-LX

Cable (Fiber)
Type
Coaxial
Coaxial
Twisted-Pair
Twisted-Pair
Optical Fiber
Optical Fiber

Speed

10 Mbit/S
10 Mbit/S
100 Mbit/S
1000 Mbit/S
10000Mbit/S
1000 Mbit/S

Distance

500 meters
185 meters
100 meters
100 meters
200-550 meters
2 Kilometers