About this interactive
The path the lesson traces through its network room:
1. The device's patch cable plugs into a jack in the wall, a cable drop.
2. Behind the wall, a horizontal run goes back to the network room. Keep it to 90 meters, leaving 10 for patch cables, inside Ethernet's 100.
3. The run is punched down on the back of the patch panel.
4. A patch cable from the front of the panel plugs into an access switch.
5. The access switches uplink to the core switches.
6. The core switches connect to the firewalls.
7. The firewalls connect to the ISP at the demarcation point. Before it is the ISP's responsibility; after it is yours.
A large building has several closets. The lesson calls them MDFs; strictly, the main one is the MDF (main distribution frame) and the others are IDFs (intermediate distribution frames).
What you'll learn
- Trace a connection from a device out to the internet through a structured cabling installation: patch cable, wall jack, horizontal run, patch panel, access switch, core switch, firewall, demarcation point
- Place the demarcation point as the line between the ISP's responsibility and the organization's
Aligned to
CompTIA Network+
2.4
Explain important factors of physical installations.
CompTIA A+ Core 1
2.2
Compare and contrast common networking hardware.
Key terms
- Patch Cable
- A short, pre-made cable used to connect equipment within a network rack, such as linking a patch panel port to a switch port.
- Cable Drop
- A network jack installed in a wall or workspace that terminates a horizontal cable run, providing a connection point for end-user devices.
- Horizontal Cable Run
- The fixed cable path installed between the network closet and an end-user cable drop, limited to 90 meters to allow for patch cables within the 100-meter Ethernet maximum.
- Patch Panel
- A mounted hardware assembly in a network rack where incoming cable runs terminate and are organized, allowing patch cables to connect them to switches or other equipment.
- Demarcation Point
- The physical boundary where the internet service provider's responsibility ends and the customer's network responsibility begins.
- Main Distribution Frame
MDF
- The primary cabling hub of a building's network infrastructure, housing the backbone cabling connections between floor-level IDFs, server rooms, and external service provider demarcation points. The MDF typically contains the core network equipment and internet uplinks for the building.
Topics
Structured Cabling
Patch Panel
Demarcation Point
Network Closet
Interactive
Ordering
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