CCST - Cisco Certified Support Technician Network Cables and Connectors Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A network technician is setting up a new office space with a high density of workstations, requiring many network connections in a small area. Which fiber optic connector type would be the most suitable choice due to its small form factor?
- SC (Subscriber Connector)
- ST (Straight Tip)
- LC (Lucent Connector) (Correct answer)
- FC (Ferrule Connector)
Correct answer: LC (Lucent Connector)
LC connectors have a smaller ferrule (1.25mm) compared to SC connectors (2.5mm), making them ideal for high-density environments like data centers and server rooms where space is limited. ST and FC connectors are generally older and less common in modern high-density Ethernet deployments.
Question 2: A support technician is troubleshooting a user's connectivity issue. The user's computer is connected to the wall jack with a new patch cable, but the network interface card (NIC) link light is off. The technician tests the cable with a basic cable tester, which shows a 'miswire' fault. What is the most likely cause of the problem?
- The cable is too long, exceeding the maximum length for Ethernet.
- The cable is an STP cable when a UTP cable is required.
- The RJ45 connectors on the ends of the cable are terminated using different wiring standards (e.g., T568A on one end and T568B on the other). (Correct answer)
- There is excessive electromagnetic interference (EMI) near the cable run.
Correct answer: The RJ45 connectors on the ends of the cable are terminated using different wiring standards (e.g., T568A on one end and T568B on the other).
When a straight-through Ethernet cable is terminated with T568A on one end and T568B on the other, it creates a crossover cable. While modern devices with Auto MDI-X can often compensate, this miswiring is a common error that a cable tester would identify. It would prevent a link on older devices or if Auto MDI-X is disabled. The other options are less likely to be reported as a simple 'miswire'.
Question 3: Which of the following cable types is designed with a plastic spline or additional shielding to reduce crosstalk and can support 10 Gbps speeds over shorter distances (up to 55 meters)?
- Cat5e
- Cat6 (Correct answer)
- Coaxial
- Cat3
Correct answer: Cat6
Category 6 (Cat6) cable is designed for higher performance than Cat5e. It features more tightly wound pairs, often a plastic spline to separate the pairs, and thicker sheathing to reduce crosstalk (NEXT and AXT). This allows it to support speeds of up to 10 Gbps for distances up to 55 meters.
Question 4: A technician needs to connect two switches together. The existing patch panel is terminated using the T568B wiring standard. To ensure proper communication and maintain consistency, what wiring standard should the technician use for the patch cable connecting the two switches?
- T568A
- T568B (Correct answer)
- Rollover
- Coaxial
Correct answer: T568B
The most critical factor when using T568A and T568B wiring standards is to maintain consistency throughout a network installation. Since the existing infrastructure uses T568B, the new patch cable should also be terminated using the T568B standard on both ends to create a standard 'straight-through' cable.
Question 5: Which type of cable consists of pairs of insulated copper wires twisted together to help protect against signal interference from adjacent pairs?
- Coaxial cable
- Fiber optic cable
- Twisted-pair cable (Correct answer)
- Serial cable
Correct answer: Twisted-pair cable
Twisted-pair cable, used for Ethernet and telephone communications, has two conductors of a single circuit twisted together. This design helps to cancel out electromagnetic interference (EMI) from external sources and reduce crosstalk between neighboring pairs.
Question 6: A user reports an intermittent network connection. A technician inspects the user's patch cable and notices that the small plastic tab on the RJ45 connector is broken. Which of the following is the most likely consequence of this physical defect?
- The cable will suffer from increased crosstalk.
- The connector will not seat securely in the port, leading to a loose connection. (Correct answer)
- The cable will be unable to negotiate Gigabit speeds.
- The connector will revert to the T568A wiring standard automatically.
Correct answer: The connector will not seat securely in the port, leading to a loose connection.
The plastic tab on an RJ45 connector is a locking mechanism designed to hold the plug securely in the jack or port. If this tab is broken, the connector can easily become loose or partially unplugged with slight movement, causing an unreliable, intermittent physical connection.
CCST - Cisco Certified Support Technician Network Cables and Connectors Questions and Answers 1
A network technician is setting up a new office space with a high density of workstations, requiring many network connections in a small area.
Which fiber optic connector type would be the most suitable choice due to its small form factor?