Although copper still dominates most office LANs, fiber optic cable forms the backbone of many networks. And as prices drop, fiber is gaining popularity for applications once restricted to copper cable.
With these trends in mind, I thought I put together a quick pop quiz on the basics of fiber optic LAN and WAN cabling basics. The quiz covers safety, cable types, common light sources, attenuation, splicing, and cable testing.
I realize this quiz barely scratches the surface of fiber cabling knowledge. Indeed, entire books have been written on designing, building, and managing fiber optic networks. My goal with this quiz is to give you a brief introduction to several important fiber optic cabling concepts.Note: Unfortunately, our poll tool, which I use to create each pop quiz, doesn't let me indicate a correct answer after each question. To keep from giving away the answers before everyone has a chance to test his/her knowledge, and ruining all the fun, I'm going to hold off posting the answers until later. Update: The answers for my Fiber optic LAN and WAN cable basics pop quiz are now available. If you haven't had a chance to take the quiz, I encourage you to try your luck, before reading the answers.
More TechRepublic resources on fiber optic cabling:
- When to use fiber optic cabling in your network installations
- Learn the basics of fiber-optic technologies and how to determine which is right for your organization
- Find faults in fiber
- Get IT Done: Maintaining fiber-optic connections takes a creative approach
- Get IT Done: Diagram a building-to-building fiber network with Visio
- Inspection and Cleaning Procedures for Fiber-Optic Connections
- Calculating Fiber Loss and Distances
- Fiber-To-The-Home White Paper
- Fiber to the Home Architectures
- Free On-Demand Webcast: Choosing an OTDR for your Enterprise Fiber Optic Testing
- Free On-Demand Webcast: How to Perform Advanced Fiber Troubleshooting Using an OTDR
Bill Detwiler has nothing to disclose. He doesn't hold investments in the technology companies he covers.
Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.