What are three characteristics of UTP cabling? (Choose three)

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable is most certainly by far the most popular cable around the world. UTP cable is used not only for networking but also for the traditional telephone (UTP-Cat 1). There are seven different types of UTP categories and, depending on what you want to achieve, you would need the appropriate type of cable. UTP-CAT5e is the most popular UTP cable which came to replace the old coaxial cable that was not able to keep up with the constant growing need for faster and more reliable networks.

Characteristics of UTP

The characteristics of UTP are very good and make it easy to work with, install, expand and troubleshoot and we are going to look at the different wiring schemes available for UTP, how to create a straight through UTP cable, rules for safe operation and a lot of other cool stuff !

So let's have a quick look at each of the UTP categories available today along with their specifications:

Figure 1. The Different UTP Categories and their specifications

Category 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 – a specification for the type of copper wire (most telephone and network wire is copper) and jacks. The number (1, 3, 5, etc) refers to the revision of the specification and in practical terms refers to the number of twists inside the wire (or the quality of connection in a jack).

CAT1 is typically used for telephone wire. This type of wire is not capable of supporting computer network traffic and is not twisted. CAT1is also used by telco companies providing ISDN and PSTN services. In such cases the wiring between the customer's site and the telco’s network is performed using CAT 1 type cable.

CAT2, CAT3, CAT4, CAT5/5e,CAT6 & CAT 7 are network wire specifications. This type of wire can support computer network and telephone traffic. CAT2 is used mostly for token ring networks, supporting speeds up to 4 Mbps. For higher network speeds (100 Mbps or higher) CAT5e must be used, but for the almost extinct 10 Mbps speed requirements, CAT3 will suffice.

CAT3, CAT4 and CAT5 cables are actually 4 pairs of twisted copper wires and CAT5 has more twists per inch than CAT3 therefore can run at higher speeds and greater lengths. The "twist" effect of each pair in the cables ensures any interference presented/picked up on one cable is cancelled out by the cable's partner which twists around the initial cable. CAT3 and CAT4 are both used for Token Ring networks -- where CAT 3 can provide support of a maximum 10Mbps, while CAT4 pushed the limit up to 16Mbps. Both categories have a limit of 100 meters.

The more popular CAT5 wire was later on replaced by the CAT5e specification which provides improved crosstalk specification, allowing it to support speeds of up to 1Gbps. CAT5e is the most widely used cabling specification world-wide and unlike the category cables that follow, is very forgiving when the cable termination and deployment guidelines are not met.

CAT6 wire was originally designed to support gigabit Ethernet, although there are standards that will allow gigabit transmission over CAT5e wire.. It is similar to CAT5e wire, but contains a physical separator between the four pairs to further reduce electromagnetic interference. CAT6 is able to support speeds of 1Gbps for lengths of up to 100 meters, and 10Gbps is also supported for lengths of up to 55 meters.

Today, most new cabling installations use CAT6 as a standard, however it is important to note that all cabling components (jacks, patch panels, patch cords etc) must be CAT6 certified and extra caution must be given to the proper termination of the cable ends.

In 2009, CAT6A was introduced as a higher specification cable, offering better immunization to crosstalk and electromagnetic interference.

Organizations performing installations using CAT6 cabling should request a thorough test report using a certified cable analyzer, to ensure the installation has been performed according to CAT6 guidelines & standards.

CAT7 is a newer copper cable specification designed to support speeds of 10Gbps at lengths of up to 100 meters. To achieve this, the cable features four individually shielded pairs plus an additional cable shield to protect the signals from crosstalk and electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Due to the extremely high data rates, all components used throughout the installation of a CAT7 cabling infrastructure must be CAT7 certified. This includes patch panels, patch cords, jacks and RJ-45 connectors. Failing to use CAT7 certified components will result in the overall performance degradation and failure of any CAT7 certification tests (e.g using a Cable Analyzer) since CAT7 performance standards are most likely not to be met. Today, CAT7 is usually used in DataCenters for backbone connections between servers, network switches and storage devices.

The next pages show you how UTP cable is wired and the different wiring schemes. It's well worth visiting and reading about.

Reader interested can also visit our Network Cabling section to select amongst a number of articles covering UTP, X-Over cables, Fiber Optic cables and much more.

Back to Network Cabling Section

1. Which three elements are required to successfully connect to the Internet? (Choose three.)

                an IP address

                file sharing enabled

                a network connection

                server services enabled

                access to an Internet service provider

                an address obtained directly from the RIR               

2. What type of connection point is a point of presence (POP)?

                between a client and a host

                between two local networks

                between a computer and a switch

                between an ISP and a home-based LAN 

3. What is the term for the group of high-speed data links that interconnect ISPs?

                Internet LAN

                ISP backbone

                Internet gateways

                Internet providers

                Internet backbone 

4. Which device can act as a router, switch, and wireless access point in one package?

                hub

                bridge

                modem

                repeater

                ISR               

5. What is a major characteristic of asymmetric Internet service?

                Download speeds and upload speeds are equal.

                Download speeds are slower than upload speeds.

                Upload speeds and download speeds are different.

                Upload speeds and download speeds are irrelevant. 

6   Refer to the graphic. What type of cabling is shown?

                STP

                UTP

                coax

                fiber               

7. What are two common causes of signal degradation when using UTP cabling? (Choose two.)

                installing cables in conduit

                having improper termination

                losing light over long distances

                installing low quality cable shielding

                using low quality cables or connectors

8 . Refer to the graphic. What type of cabling is shown?

                STP

                UTP

                coax

                fiber               

9. What are three commonly followed standards for constructing and installing cabling? (Choose three.)

                pinouts

                cable lengths

                connector color

                connector types

                cost per meter (foot)

                tensile strength of plastic insulator            

10. Which two places are most appropriate to use UTP cabling? (Choose two.)

                between buildings

                in a home office network

                where EMI is an issue

                in a cable TV network

                inside a school building

                in a manufacturing environment with hundreds of electrical devices            

11. Which definition describes the term Internet?

                a group of PCs connected together on a LAN

                a group of PCs connected together by an ISP

                a network of networks that connects countries around the world

                a worldwide collection of networks controlled by a single organization            

12. What does the tracert command test?

                NIC functionality

                the ISP bandwidth

                the network path to a destination

                the destination application functionality            

13. What term describes each router through which a packet travels when moving between source and destination networks?

                NOC

                ISP

                hop

                segment            

14. What type of end-user connectivity requires that an ISP have a DSLAM device in their network?

                analog technology

                cable modem technology

                digital subscriber line technology

                wireless technology           

15. What does adherence to cabling standards ensure?

                data security

                no loss of signal

                no electromagnetic interference

                reliable data communications 

16   Refer to the graphic. What type of cable is shown?

                crossover

                eight coax channels

                multimode fiber

                single-mode fiber

                straight-through            

17. What connector is used to terminate Ethernet unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling?

                ST

                BNC

                RJ-11

                RJ-45            

18. What are two advantages of cable management? (Choose two.)

                requires no preplanning

                aids in isolation of cabling problems

                protects cables from physical damage

                provides compliance with future standards

                provides a short-term solution for cable installation           

19. Which two characteristics describe copper patch panels? (Choose two.)

                uses RJ-11 jacks

                uses RJ-45 jacks

                supports only data transmissions

                allows quick rearrangements of network connections

                forwards transmissions based on MAC addresses

20. What are three characteristics of business class ISP service? (Choose three.)

                fast connections

                extra web space

                free Windows upgrade

                cheapest cost available to all users

                additional e-mail accounts

                replacement hardware at no cost            

21. Why would an ISP require a CMTS device on their network?

                to connect end users using cable technology

                to connect end users using analog technology

                to connect end users using wireless technology

                to connect end users using digital subscriber line technology