CCNA 1 – Module 5

Cabling LANs and WANs

 CCNA 1 – Module 5 Objectives
• Identify characteristics of Ethernet networks.
• Identify straight-through, crossover, and rollover cables.
• Describe the function, advantages, and disadvantages of repeaters,
hubs, bridges, switches, and wireless network components.
• Describe the function of peer-to-peer networks.
• Describe the function, advantages, and disadvantages of client-
server networks.
• Describe and differentiate between serial, Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN), digital subscriber line (DSL), and cable
modem WAN connections.
• Identify router serial ports, cables, and connectors.
• Identify and describe the placement of equipment used in various
WAN configurations.
 LAN Physical Layer
• Various symbols are used to
represent media types.

• Token Ring is represented by

a circle.

• Fiber Distributed Data

Interface (FDDI) is represented
by two concentric circles

• Ethernet symbol is
represented by a straight line

• Serial connections are

represented by a lightning bolt.
 LAN Physical Layer (Continued)
• Each computer network can be built with many different media
types.
• Wireless LANs use the atmosphere, or space, as the medium.
• Other networking media confine network signals to a wire, cable, or
fiber.
• Each media has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the
advantage or disadvantage comparisons concern:
– Cable length
– Cost
– Ease of installation
– Susceptibility to interference
 Ethernet in the Campus
• Ethernet is the most widely used LAN technology.
• Ethernet was first implemented by the Digital, Intel, and Xerox group,
referred to as DIX.
• DIX created and implemented the first Ethernet LAN specification,
which was used as the basis for the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 specification, released in 1980.
• Later, the IEEE extended 802.3 to three new committees known as
802.3u (Fast Ethernet), 802.3z (Gigabit Ethernet over Fiber), and
802.3ab (Gigabit Ethernet over UTP).
• In general, Ethernet technologies can be used in a campus network in
several different ways:
• An Ethernet speed of 10 Mbps can be used at the user level to provide
good performance. Clients or servers that require more bandwidth can
use 100-Mbps Ethernet.
• Fast Ethernet is used as the link between user and network devices. It
can support the combination of all traffic from each Ethernet segment.
• To enhance client-server performance across the campus network
and avoid bottlenecks, Fast Ethernet can be used to connect
enterprise servers.
• Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet, as affordable, should be
implemented between backbone devices.
Ethernet in the Campus
 Ethernet Media and Connector
Requirements
• Before selecting an Ethernet
implementation, consider the
media and connector
requirements for each
implementation.
• Also, consider the level of
performance needed by the
network.
• The cables and connector
specifications used to support
Ethernet implementations are
derived from the Electronic
Industries Association and the
Telecommunications Industry
Association (EIA/TIA) standards
• The categories of cabling
defined for Ethernet are derived
from the EIA/TIA-568 (SP-2840)
Commercial Building
Telecommunications Wiring
Standards.
 UTP Implementation
• Use straight-through cables for
the following cabling:
– Switch to router
– Switch to PC or server
– Hub to PC or server

• Use crossover cables for the

following cabling:
– Switch to switch
– Switch to hub
– Hub to hub
– Router to router
– PC to PC
– Router to PC
 Repeaters
• A repeater receives a signal, regenerates it, and passes it on.
• It can regenerate and retime network signals at the bit level to allow them to
travel a longer distance on the media.
• The Four Repeater Rule for 10-Mbps Ethernet should be used as a
standard when extending LAN segments.
• This rule states that no more than four repeaters can be used between
hosts on a LAN.
• This rule is used to limit latency added to frame travel by each repeater.
• Too much latency on the LAN increases the number of late collisions and
makes the LAN less efficient.
 Hubs
• Hubs are actually multiport
repeaters.
• Hubs are most commonly used in
Ethernet 10BASE-T or 100BASE-T
networks.
• Using a hub changes the network
topology from a linear bus, where
each device plugs directly into the
wire, to a star.
• With hubs, data arriving over the
cables to a hub port is electrically
repeated on all the other ports
connected to the same network
segment, except for the port on
which the data was sent.
• Hubs come in three basic types:
– Passive – serves as a physical
connection point only. It does not boost
or clean the signal. A passive hub is
used only to share the physical media.
– Active – must be plugged into an
electrical outlet because it needs
power to amplify the incoming signal
before passing it out to the other ports.
– Intelligent – function as active hubs,
but also include a microprocessor chip
and diagnostic capabilities.
•
Wireless
Wireless signals are electromagnetic
waves that travel through the air.
• Wireless networks use Radio
Frequency (RF), laser, infrared (IR), or
satellite/microwaves to carry signals
from one computer to another without a
permanent cable connection.
• Workstations within the range of the
wireless network can be moved easily
without connecting and reconnecting
network cabling.
• At the core of wireless communication
are devices called transmitters and
receivers.
• The transmitter converts source data to
electromagnetic (EM) waves that are
passed to the receiver. The receiver
then converts these electromagnetic
waves back into data for the
destination.
• The two most common wireless
technologies used for networking are IR
and RF.
• An infrared-based network suits
environments where all the digital
devices that require network
connectivity are in one room.
• Radio Frequency technology allows
devices to be in different rooms or even
buildings.
 Bridges
• The function of the bridge is to make
intelligent decisions about whether
or not to pass signals on to the next
segment of a network.
• When a bridge receives a frame on
the network, the destination MAC
address is looked up in the bridge
table to determine whether to filter,
flood, or copy the frame onto
another segment.
• This decision process occurs as
follows:
– If the destination device is on the
same segment as the frame, the
bridge blocks the frame from going
on to other segments. This process
is known as filtering.
– If the destination device is on a
different segment, the bridge
forwards the frame to the
appropriate segment.
– If the destination address is
unknown to the bridge, the bridge
forwards the frame to all segments
except the one on which it was
received. This process is known as
flooding.
 Switches
• A switch is sometimes described as a
multiport bridge.
• The switch can have multiple ports
depending on how many network
segments are to be linked.
• Switches learn certain information
about the data packets that are
received from various computers on
the network, use this information to
build forwarding tables to determine
the destination of data being sent by
one computer to another computer on
the network.
• Switching is a technology that
alleviates congestion in Ethernet LANs
by reducing the traffic and increasing
the bandwidth.
• An Ethernet switch has many benefits:
one being that an Ethernet switch
allows many users to communicate in
parallel through the use of virtual
circuits and dedicated network
segments in a virtually collision-free
environment.
• Another benefit is that moving to a
switched LAN environment is very cost
effective because existing hardware
and cabling can be reused.
 Peer-to-Peer
• In a peer-to-peer network,
networked computers act as
equal partners, or peers
• As peers, each computer can
take on the client function or
the server function.
• Individual users control their
own resources, such as
sharing files and other
resources.
• Since individual users make
these decisions, there is no
central point of control or
administration in the network.
• Individual users must back up
their own systems to be able to
recover from data loss in case
of failures.
• A peer-to-peer network works
well with 10 or fewer
computers.
 Client / Server
• In a client/server arrangement,
network services are located on a
dedicated computer called a server,
responding to the requests of
clients.
• The server is a central computer
that is continuously available to
respond to requests from clients for
file, print, application, and other
services.
• Servers are designed to handle
requests from many clients
simultaneously. Before a client can
access the server resources, the
client must be identified and be
authorized to use the resource.
• Most client/server systems also
include facilities for enhancing the
network by adding new services
that extend the usefulness of the
network.
• Server systems also require
additional hardware and
specialized software that add to the
cost.
 WAN Physical Layer
• Serial connections are used to support
WAN services such as dedicated
leased lines that run Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) or Frame Relay.
• The speed of these connections ranges
from 2400 bits per second (bps) to T1
service at 1.544 megabits per second
(Mbps) and E1 service at 2.048
megabits per seconds (Mbps).
• ISDN offers dial-on-demand
connections or dial backup services.
• An ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) is
composed of two 64 kbps bearer
channels (B channels) for data, and
one delta channel (D channel) at 16
kbps used for signaling and other link-
management tasks.
• PPP is typically used to carry data over
the B channels.
• With the increasing demand for
residential broadband high-speed
services, DSL and cable modem
connections are becoming more
popular.
• Typical residential DSL service can
achieve T1/E1 speeds over the existing
telephone line whereas cable services
use the existing coaxial cable TV line.
 WAN Serial Connections
• For long distance communication,
WANs use serial transmission.
• This is a process by which bits of
data are sent over a single channel,
providing more reliable long
distance communication and the use
of a specific electromagnetic or
optical frequency range.
• For a Cisco router, physical
connectivity at the customer site is
provided by one of two types of
serial connections.
• The first type of serial connections is
a 60-pin connector. The second is a
more compact ‘smart serial’
connector. The provider connector
will vary depending on the type of
service equipment.
• If the connection is made directly to
a service provider, or a device that
provides signal clocking such as a
channel/data service unit
(CSU/DSU), the router will be a data
terminal equipment (DTE) and use a
DTE serial cable.
 Routers and Serial Connections
• Routers are responsible for routing data packets from source to
destination within the LAN, and for providing connectivity to the
WAN.
• In addition to determining the cable type, it is necessary to
determine whether DTE or DCE connectors are required.
• The DTE is the endpoint of the user’s device on the WAN link and
the DCE is typically the point where responsibility for delivering data
passes into the hands of the service provider.
• When connecting directly to a service provider, or to a device such
as a CSU/DSU that will perform signal clocking, the router is a DTE
and needs a DTE serial cable.
• When cabling routers for serial connectivity, the routers will either
have fixed or modular ports.
• Interfaces on routers with fixed serial ports are labeled for port type
and port number.
• Interfaces on routers with modular serial ports are labeled for port
type, slot, and port number.
• To configure a port on a modular card, it is necessary to specify the
interface using the syntax “port type slot number/port number.”
Routers and Serial Interfaces
 Routers and ISDN BRI Connections
• With ISDN BRI, two types of interfaces
may be used, BRI S/T and BRI U.
• Determine who is providing the
Network Termination 1 (NT1) device in
order to determine which interface
type is needed.
• An NT1 is an intermediate device
located between the router and the
service provider ISDN switch and is
used to connect four-wire subscriber
wiring to the conventional two-wire
local loop.
• A BRI interface with an integrated NT1
is labeled BRI U. A BRI interface
without an integrated NT1 is labeled
BRI S/T.
• To interconnect the ISDN BRI port to
the service-provider device, use a UTP
Category 5 straight-through cable.
• Caution: It is important to insert the
cable running from an ISDN BRI port
only to an ISDN jack or an ISDN
switch. ISDN BRI uses voltages that
can seriously damage non-ISDN
devices.
 Routers and DSL Connections
• The Cisco 827 ADSL router
has one asymmetric digital
subscriber line (ADSL)
interface.
• To connect an ADSL line to
the ADSL port on a router, do
the following:
– Connect the phone cable to
the ADSL port on the router.
– Connect the other end of the
phone cable to the phone jack.
• To connect a router for DSL
service, use a phone cable
with RJ-11 connectors.
• DSL works over standard
telephone lines using pins 3
and 4 on a standard RJ-11
connector.
 Routers and Cable Connections
• The Cisco uBR905 cable access router
provides high-speed network access on
the cable television system to residential
and small office, home office (SOHO)
subscribers.
• The uBR905 router has a coaxial cable,
or F-connector, interface that connects
directly to the cable system.
• Use the following steps to connect the
Cisco uBR905 cable access router to the
cable system:
– Verify that the router is not connected to
power.
– Locate the RF coaxial cable coming from
the coaxial cable (TV) wall outlet.
– Install a cable splitter/directional coupler, if
needed, to separate signals for TV and
computer use. If necessary, also install a
high-pass filter to prevent interference
between the TV and computer signals.
– Connect the coaxial cable to the F
connector of the router. Hand-tighten the
connector, making sure that it is finger-
tight, and then give it a 1/6 turn with a
wrench.
– Make sure that all other coaxial cable
connectors, all intermediate splitters,
couplers, or ground blocks, are securely
tightened from the distribution tap to the
Cisco uBR905 router.
 Setting up Console Connections
• To initially configure the Cisco device, a
management connection must be directly
connected to the device.
• For Cisco equipment this management
attachment is called a console port that
allows monitoring and configuration of a
Cisco hub, switch, or router.
• The cable used between a terminal and a
console port is a rollover cable, with RJ-
45 connectors.
• To set up a connection between the
terminal and the Cisco console port,
connect the devices using a rollover
cable from the router console port to the
workstation serial port. Then configure
the terminal emulation application with
the following common equipment (COM)
port settings: 9600 bps, 8 data bits, no
parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control.
• The AUX port is used to provide out-of-
band management through a modem and
must be configured by way of the console
port before it can be used.