Chapter 2: Basic Network Media

Lesson 1: Network Cabling

1. Where does this recommendation violate the UTP and 10BaseT specifications?

The distances for A, B, C, D, E, F, and G to the hub all exceed the maximum cable length of 100 meters (328 feet) specified by 10BaseT. Therefore, this solution will not work.

2. What type of cabling might you recommend instead?

You could use thinnet with a multiport repeater where the hub is in the diagram. All the cable lengths from the hub to individual computers are less than 185 meters (607 feet). You could also use a star-wired, fiber-optic network for this situation; the cost would compare favorably with that of a coaxial-cabling solution.

Lesson 2: The Network Interface Card

1. List two things that could cause the network not to function.

The network cable might not be correctly connected; that is, there might be a break in it caused by adding the new computers.

The new cable added to service the new computers might not be the correct type for your network.

The new cable added to your network might have a short in it.

Rough handling during the installation of the new computers might have damaged the existing network cabling.

The addition of the new cable required to network the new computers might have made your total network cable length exceed the maximum length specified for the type of network you have.

The bus network might be missing a terminator. It might have been removed or fallen off during the installation of the new computers.

2. What could you do to resolve each of the two possible causes you listed above?

Find and repair the break or disconnection in the cable.

Check the cable type of the existing cable and make sure the new cables are of the same type. If they are of different types, replace the new cables with cables of the correct type. For example, the original cable might be RG-58A/U and the new cables might be RG-62 /U. These two cable types are not compatible. Replace the new cable with RG-58A/U cable.

3. How would each of your solutions repair the problems you identified (assuming that they are able to repair the problems)?

Restoring cable connections will reestablish the continuity of the network cable and allow transmissions to reach all connected network devices.

With all segments of the same cable type, network transmissions will be able to pass uninterrupted from one cable segment to the next.

Replacing a shorted segment of the new cable with a new, tested segment will allow network transmissions to flow correctly.

1. Coaxial cable consists of a core made of solid or stranded ____________ ___________.

wire conductor

2. If the coaxial conducting core and wire mesh touch, the cable will experience a ___________.

short

3. The core of coaxial cable is surrounded by an _____________ __________ that separates it from the wire mesh.

insulating layer

4. Thicknet cable is sometimes used as a ______________ to connect thinnet segments.

Backbone

5. Thinnet cable can carry a signal for a distance of about 185 meters (607 feet) before the signal starts to suffer from _____________________.

attenuation

6. The electronic signals that make up the data are actually carried by the ________ in a coaxial cable.

core

7. A flexible coaxial cable that is easily routed but that should not go into crawl spaces is ________.

PVC

8. Coaxial cable that contains special materials in its insulation and cable jacket is called ____________ cabling.

plenum

9. The most popular type of twisted-pair cable is _______ (10BaseT).

UTP

10. UTP cable for data transmissions up to 10 Mbps is category ______.

3

11. UTP cable for data transmissions up to 100 Mbps is category _____.

5

12. STP uses a foil wrap for __________________.

shielding

13. STP is less susceptible to electrical _______________________ and supports higher transmission rates over longer distances than does UTP.

interference

14. Twisted-pair cabling uses _________ telephone connectors to connect to a computer.

RJ-45

15. The RJ-45 connection houses _____ cable connections, whereas the RJ-11 houses only ____.

8, 4

16. Optical fibers carry _______________ data signals in the form of light pulses.

digital

17. Fiber-optic cable cannot be ____________________, and the data cannot be stolen.

tapped

18. Fiber-optic cable is better for very high-speed, high-capacity data transmission than ____________ cable because of the former's lack of attenuation and the purity of the signal it carries.

copper

19. Fiber-optic cable transmissions are not subject to electrical ____________________.

interference

20. Baseband systems use _______________ signaling over a single frequency.

digital

21. Each device on a _____________________ network can transmit and receive at the same time.

baseband

22. Broadband systems use _____________ signaling and a range of frequencies.

analog

23. With _________________ transmission, the signal flow is unidirectional.

broadband

24. Wall-mounted _________________ connected to the wired LAN maintain and manage radio contact between portable devices and the cabled LAN.

transceivers

25. Broadband optical telepoint transmission is a type of _____________ network capable of handling high-quality multimedia requirements.

infrared

26. A component called a wireless _______________ offers an easy way to link buildings without using cable.

bridge

27. Spread-spectrum radio broadcasts signals over a range of ___________________.

frequencies

28. Point-to-point transmission involves wireless ___________ data transfer.

serial

29. In LANs, a transceiver—sometimes called an _____________ ______________ broadcasts and receives signals to and from the surrounding computers.

access point

30. Wireless ___________ LANs use telephone carriers and public services to transmit and receive signals.

mobile

31. CDPD uses the same technology and some of the same systems as ___________ telephones.

cellular

32. Currently, the most widely used long-distance transmission method in the United States is _____________________.

microwave

33. The network interface card converts serial data from the computer into parallel data for transmission over the network cable. True False

False. The reverse is true. The card converts parallel data to serial data.

34. The 16-bit and 32-bit widths are currently the two most popular bus widths. True False

True

35. To help move data onto the network cable, the computer assigns all of its memory to the NIC. True False

False. The computer can assign some of its memory to the card, but not all of it.

36. Data is temporarily held in the NIC's transceiver, which acts as a buffer. True False

False. Only RAM acts as a buffer. The transceiver transmits and receives data.

37. Both sending and receiving NICs must agree on transmission speeds. True False

True

38. In an 80386 computer, COM1 typically uses IRQ ____ and LPT1 typically uses IRQ _____.

4,7

39. IRQ lines are assigned different levels of _____________ so that the CPU can determine how important the request is.

priority

40. The recommended setting for a NIC is IRQ _____.

5

41. Every device on the computer must use a __________________ IRQ line.

different or separate

42. Each hardware device needs a default ________ ___/___ ________ number.

base I/O port

43. Choosing the appropriate transceiver on a NIC that can use either an external or an on-board transceiver is usually done with ______________.

jumpers

44. ISA was the standard bus until Compaq and other manufacturers developed the ______ bus.

EISA

45. The ____________ ____________ bus functions as either a 16-bit or a 32-bit bus and can be driven independently by multiple bus master processors.

Micro Channel

46. Telephone wire uses an __________ connector.

RJ 11

47. Plug and Play refers to both a design philosophy and a set of personal-computer _______________________ specifications.

architecture