Is it imperative to memorize all cable/line types, speed, distance, etc?

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Is it imperative to memorize all cable/line types, speed, distance, etc?

Like 10Base, 100Base, LX, SX, TX, etc

 

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it all depends on the exam that you are going to be taking and the chances of it coming up is anyone guess really

 

Talking about Network+.

Thanks.

 

To be honest, I've passed it and I haven't memorised all of them. It's a judgement call, but I've always found I can avoid having to cram lots into memory by knowing roughly what the different bits mean. This helps to make an educated guess. I prefer to study smart, and don't tend to sink a LOT of time into something that's only likely to come up in a few questions.

For example look at 100 base T.

Speed's easy, as it's just the first number (e.g. 100 = 100Mbps). Only thing to watch out for is that this is in mega-BITS (notice the small 'b'). So if you're asked about speed in BYTES (which uses an upper-case 'B') you'll need to divide (or multiply) by 8 (8 bits = 1 byte).

Cable type and distance isn't too bad either. TX, or T-whatever is for Twisted Pair cable, (UTP or STP); these are the ones you see almost everywhere and nearly all of them have a 100 metre distance limit. And they all use RJ45 connectors.
I think coax for Ethernet has basically dropped off the exam, meaning that if it's not a BaseT-something, it'll likely be fibre (base F, S, L or E-something)

Fibre is painfully non-standardised. The idea I use is:-
S is for Short-ish range, a few hundred metres. Usually these use multi-modal light (i.e. normal light from LEDs rather than lasers), and basically, this kind of 'dirty' light disperses over distance, limiting the range.
L is for Longer range. This is where we start moving into kilometres - I think around 2-10km-ish. This is also where we start using the 'cleaner' (single-mode) light from lasers.
E is for Extreme! These go up to like 40km.

Anything else I'd have to guess! This is just a rule of thumb, mind. There's a LOT of variation with fibre. But at least this might help you make an educated guess if you get a question or two on it. Personally I wouldn't waste hours on memorising it all.
Also, if you do need to memorise things have a look at my post about Mnemosyne; that might help you do it more time effectively.

 

Oh wow, thank you very much sir.

Can't believe you are handing these out for free.

If I pass, you will be recognized.

 

No problem. Good luck with the exam.

 

I think this is exactly the right approach for the A+ and Network+. I'm sure they have a way of giving a balanced set of questions, so it's unlikely you'll get many 'obscure' questions. Also, most questions are fairly easy to narrow down to 2 options if you've covered the topics well enough, even if you haven't memorised absolutely everything.

 

N+ Certification expired?