Module 2: Supporting Cabling and Physical Installations

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Ethernet standards, copper and fiber optic media, cabling terminations, installation infrastructure, and troubleshooting tools from CompTIA Network+ Module 2.

Bandwidth

The data transfer capacity of a transmission medium, typically measured in Hertz ($\text{Hz}$) or bits per second ($\text{bps}$).

IEEE 802.3

The standard family defining Ethernet specifications for cabling, connectors, modulation, and data encoding.

xBASE-y

The standard Ethernet naming convention where 'x' represents transmission speed in Mbps or Gbps, 'BASE' indicates baseband signaling, and 'y' specifies the media type (e.g., 'T' for twisted pair).

CSMA/CD

Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection; a media access method where a host listens to the network, sends data with a preamble, detects if a collision occurs, waits a random backoff period, and retransmits.

100BASE-TX

Fast Ethernet standard operating at $100\,\text{Mbps}$ over Category 5 twisted pair cable with a maximum length of $100\,\text{m}$.

Autonegotiation

An Ethernet protocol mechanism allowing connected devices to automatically choose optimal speed ($10/100\,\text{Mbps}$) and duplex modes (half- or full-duplex).

10GBASE-T

A $10\,\text{Gbps}$ Ethernet standard supporting distances up to $55\,\text{m}$ ($180\,\text{feet}$) over UTP Cat 6, and up to $100\,\text{m}$ ($328\,\text{feet}$) over F/UTP Cat 6A or S/FTP Cat 7.

40GBASE-T

A $40\,\text{Gbps}$ Ethernet standard supporting a maximum distance of $30\,\text{m}$ ($100\,\text{feet}$) over S/FTP Cat 8 cabling.

100BASE-FX

Fast Ethernet over multimode fiber ($\text{MMF (OM1)}$) operating at a $1300\,\text{nm}$ wavelength up to $4\,\text{km}$ ($2.48\,\text{miles}$) using ST, SC, or MT-RJ connectors.

100BASE-SX

Fast Ethernet over multimode fiber ($\text{MMF OM1/OM2}$) using $850\,\text{nm}$ optics up to $300\,\text{m}$ ($984\,\text{feet}$) with ST, SC, or LC connectors.

1000BASE-SX

Gigabit Ethernet standard using $850\,\text{nm}$ optics over MMF ($275\,\text{m}$ on OM1; $550\,\text{m}$ on OM2/OM3) with ST, SC, LC, or MT-RJ connectors.

1000BASE-LX

Gigabit Ethernet standard using $1,300\,\text{nm}$ or $1,310\,\text{nm}$ optics over MMF up to $550\,\text{m}$ ($1,804\,\text{feet}$) or SMF up to $5\,\text{km}$ ($3.1\,\text{miles}$) using SC or LC connectors.

10GBASE-SR

A $10\,\text{Gbps}$ Ethernet standard using $850\,\text{nm}$ short-reach optics over MMF ($33\,\text{m}$ on OM1, $82\,\text{m}$ on OM2, $300\,\text{m}$ on OM3, $400\,\text{m}$ on OM4) using SC or LC connectors.

10GBASE-LR

A $10\,\text{Gbps}$ Ethernet standard using $1,310\,\text{nm}$ long-reach optics over single mode fiber ($\text{SMF OS1/OS2}$) up to $10\,\text{km}$ ($6.2\,\text{miles}$) using SC or LC connectors.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

A copper cable type featuring balanced pairs of insulated wires with opposite polarities and varied twist rates to minimize crosstalk, without metallic shielding.

F/UTP (Foiled/Unshielded Twisted Pair)

A screened cable design featuring an overall foil screen surrounding unshielded twisted pairs.

S/FTP (Shielded/Foiled Twisted Pair)

A fully shielded cable with individual foil shielding around each wire pair and an overall braided metallic outer screen.

Category 5e (Class D)

Twisted pair cable standard rated up to $100\,\text{MHz}$, supporting 1000BASE-T at distances up to $100\,\text{m}$ ($328\,\text{ft}$).

Category 6 (Class E)

Twisted pair cable standard rated up to $250\,\text{MHz}$, supporting 1000BASE-T up to $100\,\text{m}$ ($328\,\text{ft}$) and 10GBASE-T up to $55\,\text{m}$ ($180\,\text{ft}$).

Category 6A (Class Ea)

Twisted pair cable standard rated up to $500\,\text{MHz}$, supporting 10GBASE-T across full link lengths up to $100\,\text{m}$ ($328\,\text{ft}$).

Category 7 (Class F)

Shielded cable standard (S/FTP or F/FTP) rated up to $600\,\text{MHz}$, supporting 10GBASE-T up to $100\,\text{m}$ ($328\,\text{ft}$).

Category 8 (Class I / Class II)

High-frequency twisted pair cable standard rated up to $2,000\,\text{MHz}$, supporting 40GBASE-T for data center distances up to $30\,\text{m}$ ($100\,\text{ft}$).

RJ45 Connector

An 8-pin, 8-conductor modular plug and jack interface used to terminate 4-pair twisted pair Ethernet cables.

RJ11 Connector

A smaller modular connector typically configured as a 6P2C (6-position, 2-conductor) plug used for telephone cabling.

Plenum-Rated Cable (CMP)

Fire-retardant cabling insulated with treated PVC or FEP designed for use in building HVAC plenum spaces, producing minimal smoke and toxic fumes when burned.

Riser-Rated Cable (CMR)

Fire-resistant cabling designed to run vertically through floor risers in non-plenum areas, subject to less stringent fire standards than plenum cable.

Coaxial Cable

A copper transmission medium consisting of an inner conductor wire, a dielectric insulator, a conducting metallic braid/foil shield, and an outer protective jacket.

Direct Attach Copper (DAC)

Twinaxial copper cable assembly factory-terminated with transceiver modules (such as SFP+) on each end for low-latency, short-distance inter-rack equipment links.

T568A Standard

Twisted pair pinout standard arranged by pin: 1: Green/White, 2: Green, 3: Orange/White, 4: Blue, 5: Blue/White, 6: Orange, 7: Brown/White, 8: Brown.

T568B Standard

Twisted pair pinout standard arranged by pin: 1: Orange/White, 2: Orange, 3: Green/White, 4: Blue, 5: Blue/White, 6: Green, 7: Brown/White, 8: Brown.

Insulation Displacement Connector (IDC)

Connectors at the rear of a patch panel that make electrical contact by cutting through wire insulation when wires are punched down into terminal blocks.

Single Mode Fiber (SMF)

Fiber optic cable designed with a narrow core carrying light along a single ray path, supporting long distance and high-bandwidth transmission.

Multimode Fiber (MMF)

Fiber optic cable featuring a larger core enabling multiple light paths/modes, classified under Optical Multimode (OM1 to OM4) designations for shorter distances.

Fiber Patch Cord Polarity

The orientation scheme that ensures transmitters (Tx) on one transceiver connect to receivers (Rx) on the opposing device across patch cords and permanent links.

Multi-Fiber Push-On (MPO)

A high-density connector terminating a bundle of 12 or more fiber strands in a single compact ferrule to aggregate 10 Gbps or 25 Gbps lanes into 40, 100, or 400 Gbps parallel links.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Optical multiplexing technology that transmits multiple optical signals across different wavelengths on a single fiber strand, including CWDM and DWDM variants.

Rack Unit (U)

A standardized unit of vertical measurement for equipment mounted in server racks, with typical cabinet heights ranging from 8U to 48U.

Hot Aisle / Cold Aisle

A datacenter airflow management strategy arranging equipment racks so front intake vents face cold aisles and rear exhaust vents face hot aisles.

Power Distribution Unit (PDU)

An electrical power distribution device fitted with multiple outlets to supply clean, managed power to rack-mounted network equipment.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

A backup power system containing batteries to provide continuous electrical power during utility outages or sags.

Wire Map Tester

A test tool used to detect physical wiring faults in twisted pair cables including continuity (open circuits), shorts, crossed pairs, reversed pairs, and split pairs.

Tone Generator and Probe

A diagnostic tool pair used to trace and locate a specific physical cable run within a large cable bundle by detecting an audio signal.

Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT)

Electromagnetic interference generated between adjacent wire pairs measured at the local end of the cable link where the signal originated.

Visual Fault Locator (VFL)

A specialized fiber optic testing device that injects visible red laser light to detect breaks, severe bends, and dirty optical connectors.