BSIG: Fast Notes - Cabling Devices

What is a straight-through cable, and when would you use it?

A straight-through cable is the same at both ends. A straight-through cable uses pins 1, 2, 3, and 6. The send and receive wires are not crossed. You should use a straight-through cable when connecting dissimilar devices. Examples include connecting PCs to switches or hubs or a router to a switch or a hub.

What is a crossover cable, and when would you use it?

A crossover cable is a cable that has the send and receive wires crossed at one of the ends. On a Category 5 cable, the 1 and 3 wires and the 2 and 6 wires are switched on one of the cable's ends. You should use a crossover cable when connecting similar devices, such as connecting a router to a router, a switch to a switch or hub, a hub to a hub, or a PC to a PC.

Important tip -- Router (think of it as a PC) to PC via 10BaseT (NIC) uses a "crossover cable". (contradicts the rule)

How do you set up a console session to a Cisco device?

To set up a console session to a Cisco device, you connect a rollover cable to the console port on the Cisco device. You then connect the other end to your PC and configure a terminal emulation application to the following com settings: 9600 bps, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control.

What is the maximum cable length for each of the following?

10Base2
10Base5
10BaseT
10BaseFL
100BaseT

The maximum cable lengths are as follows: 

10Base2 (thinnet)     185 meters
10Base5 (thicknet)    500 meters
10BaseT               100 meters
10BaseFL             2000 meters 
     (400 meters in a shared environment and 2000 meters in a
      point-to-point environment)
100BaseT              100 meters

Brush up on Fast Ethernet -- the question might ask you the same thing only with a reference Fast Ethernet (100m or 412m). What about FX - TX and so on?

What does Base stand for in 10BaseT and 100BaseT?

Base in 10BaseT and 100BaseT stands for baseband. Baseband is a network technology in which only one carrier frequency (signal) is used.

What is the difference between baseband and broadband?

Baseband is a network technology in which only one carrier frequency is used (such as Ethernet). Broadband is a network technology in which several independent channels are multiplexed into one cable (for example, a T1 line).