220-1101 Question 156
Single answerCableA technician is wiring a small office and needs to connect a workstation to a network switch located about 80 meters away. The cable path will run above a drop ceiling near fluorescent lighting and electrical conduit. The office wants to support 1 Gbps today and have the best chance of supporting 10 Gbps in the future without rewiring. Which cable choice is MOST appropriate?
- A
Cat 5e UTP patch cable
- B
Cat 6a STP cable
- C
RG-6 coaxial cable
- D
Single-mode fiber patch cable
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best answer is Cat 6a STP cable because it supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet up to 100 meters and provides better protection against electromagnetic interference than unshielded cabling. In structured cabling best practices, copper Ethernet horizontal runs are typically limited to 100 meters total channel length, and Cat 6a is the standard choice when 10GBASE-T support is desired across the full run. STP is especially useful in electrically noisy areas, such as above ceilings near fluorescent lighting or power lines. Cat 5e would meet current 1 Gbps needs but is not the best future-ready choice. Coax is the wrong cable type for Ethernet workstation cabling, and single-mode fiber is unnecessarily expensive and complex for this desktop scenario. These distinctions align with common CompTIA A+ Core 1 objectives covering cable types, connectors, maximum distances, shielding, and appropriate use cases.
- A. Incorrect.
Cat 5e UTP can support 1 Gbps up to 100 meters, so it may appear acceptable for the current requirement. However, it is not the best choice for future 10 Gbps support, especially in an area with higher electromagnetic interference (EMI) from fluorescent lights and nearby electrical conduit. Cat 5e is a common distractor because it works for many current office deployments, but it does not best meet the future-proofing and interference concerns in this scenario.
- B. Correct.
Cat 6a STP is the most appropriate choice. Cat 6a is designed to support 10GBASE-T up to 100 meters, which fits the 80-meter run and provides better future expansion than Cat 5e. The shielded twisted pair (STP) construction also helps reduce the effects of EMI in environments near fluorescent lighting and electrical infrastructure. This option best satisfies both the current and future bandwidth needs while addressing the installation environment.
- C. Incorrect.
RG-6 coaxial cable is commonly used for cable television, broadband modem connections, and some video applications, not for standard Ethernet workstation-to-switch connections in an office LAN. A candidate might choose this because coax is associated with networking historically, but it is not the correct media type for a modern Ethernet desktop drop in this scenario.
- D. Incorrect.
Single-mode fiber supports very long distances and is immune to EMI, so it may seem attractive. However, it is not the most appropriate choice for a typical workstation-to-switch office run because it would require fiber network interfaces or media converters, increasing cost and complexity. For an 80-meter desktop run requiring copper Ethernet compatibility and future 10 Gbps support, Cat 6a STP is the more practical and realistic solution.