CompTIA Network+ Cable Types

1000BaseT

A Gigabit Ethernet standard using CAT 5e/6 UTP cabling, with a 100-m maximum cable distance.

MT-RJ Connector (Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack)

A Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ) is a connector used for fiber optic cables. They are very small in size and hence are particularly useful in small-sized devices. MT-RJ connectors carry two fibers, and are available in two designs, with mating pins (male) and without (female).

10GBASE-T

A Physical layer standard for achieving 10-Gbps data transmission over twisted pair cable. Described in its 2006 standard 802.3an, IEEE specifies Cat 6 or Cat 7 cable as the appropriate medium for 10GBase-T. The maximum segment length for 10GBase-T is 100 meters.

Cat 7 Cable

A UTP cable that is designed for 10GbE networks and offers greater throughput than Cat 6a cable.

Cat 6 cable

A UTP cable type that provides more than 1 Gb/s of throughput.

F-type connector

A connector used to terminate coaxial cable used for transmitting television and broadband cable signals, connects cable modems to a broadband cable connection, and is twisted onto the cable.

FC Connector (Ferrule Connector)

A fiber optic cable connector with a threaded end that's good for high vibration environments.

Cat 6a (Augmented Category 6)

A higher-grade version of Cat 6 wiring that further reduces attenuation and cross-talk, and allows for potentially exceeding traditional network segment length limits. Cat 6a is capable of a 5 00-MHz signaling rate and can reliably transmit data at multigigabit per second rates.

Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT)

A measure of the level of crosstalk or signal coupling within the cable, with a high NEXT (dB) value being desirable

Patch Panels (Fiber)

Connect fiber jacks throughout building to a single patch panel in network closet, Front uses patch cables to connect to different wall jacks and switch ports

Multimode Fiber (MMF)

Multimode fiber-optic cabling has a core with a diameter large enough to permit the injection of light into the core at multiple angles. The different paths (that is, modes) that light travels can lead to multimode delay distortion, which causes bits to be received out of order because the pulses of light representing the bits traveled different paths (and therefore, different distances).

100BaseSX (short)

Fiber-optic cable (2 strands of multi-mode) 850nm NIR wavelength 300 m min reach LEDs instead of lasers lower cost than FX because shorter wavelength compatible with 10base-FL (10mb/s optical fiber)

1000BaseSX (short)

Gigabit Ethernet, 1,000 Mbps (half duplex) 2,000 Mbps (full duplex), Fiber optic, 220 to 550 meters depending on cable quality,

Multimode Fiber Optic Cable

Has a larger core diameter around 50 to 100 microns and distance under 2km and delivers data rates up to 1 Gbps. Cable lengths are limited in distance.

CAT-5 Cable

UTP capable of 100 Mbps. Four twisted wire pairs (eight wires). My be used for 10BaseT,10BaseT4, 10BaseT2, 100BaseTX and 1000BaseT Ethernet.

Cat 3 cable

UTP capable up to 10Mbps. Used with 10BaseT,100BaseT4, and 100BaseT2 Ethernet. Obsolete.

Cat 8 Cable

Up to 40 Gbps max length 30 meters

crosstalk interference

When one pair in a UTP cord interferes with signals in other pairs. this is _________.

ST Connectors- Straight Tip

- fiber optic connector - straight tip - single mode fire optic cable -half twisted bayonet type of lock

BNC connector (Bayonet Neill-Concelman)

-Common type of coaxial connector typically DS3 WAN links -Plugs in and twists to lock (not easy to disconnect) -Rigid and bulky (difficult to work with)

AUI connector (Attachment Unit Interface connector)

..., Attachment Unit Interface Cable equipped with 15 pin connectors

1000BaseLX (long)

1,000 Mbps (half duplex) 2,000 Mbps (full duplex) Fiber optic 220 to 550 meters depending on cable quality 550 meters (multimode) 5 kilometers (single-mode)

10GBaseSR

10 Gb/s Ethernet over MMF. Max length 400 meters. (Short Range)

10GBaseLR

10 Gb/s Ethernet over SMF. Max length 10 KM by spec (25 actual). (Long Range)

RG-58 coaxial cable

10Base2 Ethernet networking (also called Thinnet) with a 50 Ohms impedance.

What are the Ohms for RG-58?

50 Ohms

110 Block (110-Punchdown Block)

A panel of data receptors into which twisted pair wire is inserted, or punched down, to complete a circuit. A 110 block is a type of punch-down block used to terminate runs of on-premises wiring in a structured cabling system.

Fiber Coupler

A simple fiber connector that can be used to connect like terminations, such as when joining two shorter cables to make a longer one. Some fiber couplers can also combine signals from multiple lines into a single line.

Dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM)

A technology that increases the transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using fiber are accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables. In DWDM, the light inside fiber is split into different wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism splits light into different colors.

single-mode fiber-optic cable

A type of fiber-optic cable that has a small core diameter is around 10 microns and distance up to 3km and delivers data rates up to 10 Gbps.

100BaseFX

An Ethernet LAN designed to run on fiber-optic cabling. Runs at 100 Mbps and uses baseband signaling. Maximum cable length is 400 m for half-duplex and 2 km for full-duplex.

100BaseTX

An IEEE 802.3 classification that specifies the use of Category 5e cable on pairs 1 and 2 only. It is configured in a star topology and has a data rate of 100 Mbps.

Krone block

An alternative to the 110 block - Common in Europe Options available for many purposes - Analog and digital communication - Different models can support higher frequencies

RG-59 coaxial cable

An older and thinner coaxial cable once used for cable TV. 75 Ohms.

Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM)

An optical multiplexing technology in which a few signals of different optical wavelength could be combined to travel a fairly short distance.

Bidirectional Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Bidirectional WDM is the transmission of optical channels on a fiber propagating simultaneously in both directions. Bidirectional transmission is accomplished by use of either a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technique on a single fibre, or unidirectional transmission over two fibres.

What cable is used for up to 100 megabit, gigabit, and ATM networking?

Cat 5 (Category 5) Unshielded

What cable is used for up to 100 megabit and gigabit Ethernet, but provides better EMI with a max of 100 meters in length?

Cat 5e (Category 5e) Shielded

Which categories of twisted-pair cable can support Gigabit Ethernet?

Cat 5e and higher

What is the earliest twisted-pair cabling standard that meets the minimum requirements for 10GBase-T transmissions?

Cat 6

What cable supports up to 10 Gbps Ethernet and high-bandwidth, broadband communication and often includes a solid plastic core that keeps the twisted pairs separate and prevents the cable from being bent too tightly?

Cat 6 (Category 6) Shielded

What cable protects against EMI and crosstalk better than Cat 6 cabling with a frequency of 500MHz and between 37-55 meters in length?

Cat 6a (Category 6a) Shielded

RG-6 coaxial cable

Coaxial Cable used for connecting homes to cable networks. Larger conductor and higher frequencies than RG-59. 75 Ohms.

What kind of cable uses BNC connectors? F-connectors? Which connector is likely to be used by cable TV?

Coaxial cable, coaxial cable, F-connector

FEXT (far end crosstalk)

Crosstalk measured at the far end of the cable from the signal source.

Patch Panels (Copper)

Device with Jacks to connect wiring from the jack to the network switch in a flexible manner. Back has punch downs like a 110 block to connect wiring to wall Jack's in building. Front has RJ-45 jacks.

10BaseT

Ethernet LAN designed to run on twisted pair cabling. 10BaseT runs at 10 Mbps. The maximum length for the cabling between the NIC and the switch (or hub, repeater, etc.) is 100 meters. It uses baseband signaling. No industry-standard naming convention exists, so sometimes it's written 10BASE-T or 10Base-T.

SC Connector (Subscriber Connector)

Fiber optic connector that required two connectors for every fiber connection. Also known as a "Stab and Click" or "Set and Click" connector.

What fiber is used in fiber-optic cabling to protect the inner core and prevent the cable from stretching?

Kevlar is used to protect the center core.

LC Connector (Lucent Connector)

Newer fiber optic connector that only requires a single connector for any fiber connection. Also known as "Little Connector".

What cable is used for Cable TV and cable networking only?

RG-59

What cable is used for Cable TV, satellite TV, and cable networking?

RG-6

A phone cable is used to connect a PC to a phone jack in a wall outlet to establish a dial-up internet connection. Has two pairs of twisted cable (a total of 4 wires). What connector would be used?

RJ-11

Cat 5 supports 100 megabit Ethernet and ATM networking. Cat 5 specifications also support gigabit (1000 Mb) Ethernet. What connector would be used?

RJ-45

Cat 6a is designed to provide better protection against EMI and crosstalk than Cat 6 cabling. Cat 6a provides better performance than Cat 6, especially when used with 10 Gbps Ethernet. What connector would be used?

RJ-45

Single-mode fiber (SMF)

SMF cabling has a core with a diameter large enough to permit only a single path for light pulses (that is, only one mode of propagation). By having a single path for light to travel, SMF eliminates the concern of multimode delay distortion.

T568A

Standards for wiring twisted-pair network cabling and RJ-45 connectors and have the green pair using pins 1 and 2 and the orange pair connected to pins 3 and 6. network wiring standard Grn/wht, Grn, Org/wht, Blu, Blu/Wht, Org, Brn/wht, Brn

T568B

Standards for wiring twisted-pair network cabling and RJ-45 connectors and have the orange pair using pins 1 and 2 and the green pair connected to pins 3 and 6. Network wiring standard Org/wht, Org, Grn/wht, Blu, Blu/Wht, Grn, Brn/Wht, Brn

Alien Crosstalk (AXT)

is unwanted signal coupling from one permanent link to another. Basically this is the coupling of a signal from one 4-pair cable to another 4-pair cable.

What characteristic of optical transmissions is primarily responsible for the distance limitations of fiber-optic cabling?

optical loss

attenuation coefficient

the number of decibels of attenuation that occurs when sound travels one centimeter

40GBASE-T

• 40 gigabit per second Ethernet - 4-pair balanced twisted-pair • Category 8 cable - Up to 30 meters

66 Block (66-Punchdown Block)

▪ 66 block • Used for phones and older LAN wiring • Causes crosstalk due to proximity of cables • Bad choice for higher-speed LAN wiring o Do not use for CAT 5 or above