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Difficulty: HardNetwork and Peripheral Cables and Connectors

A network technician is tasked with deploying a 10 Gbps backbone connection between two core network switches situated in separate server rooms 250 meters (820 feet) apart. The run must pass through an industrial utility conduit that carries high-voltage electrical cabling. The switch transceivers utilize Small Form Factor (SFF) LC duplex interfaces. Which of the following cable types best satisfies the distance, throughput, and noise immunity requirements for this link?

  1. Multi-mode OM3 fiber optic cableAnswer
  2. B
    Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Category 6a cable
  3. C
    Multi-mode OM1 fiber optic cable
  4. D
    Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Category 6 cable

Answer

Multi-mode OM3 fiber optic cable is the correct choice because it supports 10 Gbps throughput up to 300 meters, is completely immune to electromagnetic interference from high-voltage lines, and natively pairs with LC connectors.
Multi-mode OM3 fiber optic cabling is engineered for 10 Gbps (10GBASE-SR) applications up to 300 meters. Because it utilizes light signals rather than electrical currents, it is completely unaffected by electromagnetic interference generated by adjacent high-voltage electrical lines. Furthermore, SFF transceiver modules standardly utilize LC duplex connectors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the distance requirement
The link distance is 250 meters, which immediately eliminates all copper Category cables (Cat 6 is limited to 55m at 10Gbps, Cat 6a is limited to 100m).
Twisted-pair copper cables cannot exceed 100 meters total channel length according to Ethernet standards.
2
Evaluate environmental conditions (EMI)
Fiber optic cables transmit light rather than electrical signals, providing complete immunity to electromagnetic interference from high-voltage conduit lines.
Copper lines in close proximity to high-voltage lines suffer severe signal degradation and induction noise.
3
Compare fiber optic modal specifications for 10 Gbps at 250m
OM1 multi-mode fiber supports 10 Gbps only up to 33 meters. OM3 laser-optimized multi-mode fiber supports 10 Gbps up to 300 meters.
OM3 fiber features higher modal bandwidth (2000 MHz·km at 850 nm) designed specifically for 10GBASE-SR optics.

Key Concept

Fiber Optic Cable Standards and Connector Specifications
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Topics

Network and Peripheral Cables and Connectors

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