Monday, May 28, 2012

Darril Gibson's Projects

I've been busy with several projects recently, including putting together the Darril Gibson website so I haven't been able to post as often as I would have liked. However, on this Memorial Day I thought I'd jot down a few notes letting people know what I've been up to.
  • CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide is off to the printer. I worked with two outstanding authors (James M. Stewart and Mike Chapple) on this project and it covers the updated objectives for the CISSP exam.
  • A+ Training Kit. I've been actively working on this book for the new 220-801 and 220-802 objectives. I like the way the new objectives are laid out and am pretty happy with the progress of the book. Bill Talbott is doing a great job as a technical editor and Jose Vargas has provided me with some great technical information on hardware topics and even provided input to a couple of chapters.
  • Professional Development. I've been taking an online class for authors that has been giving me some great information. Over the years, I've taken many technical courses to learn new material so it made a lot of sense for me to take a class designed for authors. One of the trainers strongly suggested creating a site with your name so I took some time to do that. You can see it here: darrilgibson.com.
  • Windows 8. I've been playing around with Windows 8 quite a bit in anticipation of its release. I've used both VMWare and Oracle's VirtualBox to install it on virtual systems because Microsoft doesn't have a 64-bit virtualization product. That will change with Windows 8 though. Windows 8 will include Hyper-V allowing you to install 64-bit virtual operating systems.
  • Tweets by Darril Gibson. I'm still putting out daily tips on Network+ and Security+ topics via Twitter. Thankfully, I have the help of twuffer.com to schedule them.
  • CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead). I've received feedback from several readers letting me know this has helped them take and pass the exam. Others have liked the mobile app with practice test questions. I have some notes for a quick cert guide and worked on chapters as a supplement for the practice test questions but so far other projects are consuming my time. My brother is working on a full book and when it comes I'll let you know.
  • CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide. I regularly receive emails from people that have successfully passed the exam after using this book and from instructors that are using it to help their students take and pass the exam. Last week I heard from an instructor in Okinawa Japan which brought back memories of my time there - it's a beautiful island. I also hear from people about how the Security+ SY0-301 Audio and the mobile app with practice test questions has helped them.
  • Updated Bio. During one of the author classes I attended, Nancy Juetten gave a great presentation on updating bios. She mentioned that you should be able to have a two sentence bio, a 50 word bio, a 100 word bio, and a 300 word bio. These are worthwhile for anyone and if you have them, you can easily plug it into a resume or cover letter. Here's my two sentence bio:
"Years ago, Darril Gibson set a goal to become a full time author and write books that help others. Since then, he has authored or coauthored more than 25 books and regularly receives emails from readers sharing their successes with him after reading one of his books."

Give it a try. See if you can write your own two sentence bio that gives some insight into who you are.

Happy Memorial Day and good luck in all your adventures,

Darril Gibson

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Network+ Connector Types

If you're preparing for the Network+ N10-005 exam, you may want to try a couple of practice test questions related to connector types. The Network Media and Topologies domain makes up 17% of the exam so you can expect 17 questions in this category. For example, you may see something similar to the following Network+ practice test question.

Network+ Practice Test Question

Q. Of the following choices, what is used for fiber and is connected using a push and twist action? A. Coaxial
B. F-connector
C. ST
D. SC Answer provided at end.
Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead) Use on any platform with free Kindle apps from Amazon
In order to answer the question correctly, you first need to know what is used for fiber. They are listed here with links to Google images if you want to see some pictures.
Coaxial is a type of cable and an F-connector is a twist-on type used with coaxial so you can throw the first two answers out right away.

Now the only thing you need to figure out is which fiber connection is a twist-on type - the straight tip (ST) or the square connector (SC). Well, if you know anything about squares, you probably know they don't twist very well so it must be the straight tip.

Practice Test Question

Here's another one you can try.

Q. You need to plug a fiber optic cable in to an RJ-45 jack. What, if anything, can you use?
A. Nothing. This is not possible.
B. Media converter
C. ST connector
D. SC connector

Answer at end.

If you know basics about cables and connectors, you can throw out answers C and D right away. An RJ-45 jack is used with twisted pair cable. The ST and SC connectors are used with fiber and you can't plug them directly into the RJ-45 jack.

However, media converters were created specifically for situations just like this. The objectives specifically mention gigabit interface converters (GBICs) which are used to convert copper and fiber connections.
Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam Available through LearnZapp on your mobile phone

Basics

Here are some basic notes on connections that are worth remembering for the exam.

Fiber Connections

  • ST - connects with a push and twist-on action
  • SC - a snap-on connection
  • LC - a snap-on connection
  • MTRJ - a snap-on connection

Copper Connections

  • RJ-45 - used with twisted pair cable on a network
  • RJ-11 - used with twisted pair cable for telephones
  • BNC - a push and twist connection used with coaxial
  • F-connector - a twist-on connection used with RG-6 coaxial
  • DB-9 - A 9-pin D shaped connection used for serial connections such as RS-232
  • 110 block - A termination point for twisted pair cables (replacing the 66 block)
Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam Available through LearnZapp on your mobile phone

Answer

Q. Of the following choices, what is used for fiber and is connected using a push and twist action? A. Coaxial
B. F-connector
C. ST
D. SC Answer:

C is correct. A straight tip (ST) connector connects with a push and twist-on action and is used with fiber cable.

A is incorrect. Coaxial is a type of cable. It uses a Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) connection with a push and twist action but it is used for copper, not fiber.

B is incorrect. An F-connector is used with copper RG-6 cables.

D is incorrect. A square connector (SC) is used with fiber, but you can’t twist the square connection after pushing it on. It is often used with a gigabit interface converter (GBIC) converting a copper connection (such as RJ-45) to fiber.

Objective: 3.2 Categorize standard connector types based on network media.

These practice test questions are from the CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead) ebook. It includes over 275 realistic practice test questions and is available as a Kindle ebook for only $9.99. You can download free Kindle apps from Amazon so that you can access the ebook from just about any platform including:
  • Windows PC
  • MAC
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Android
  • BlackBerry
  • Windows Phone 7
Over 275 realistic practice test questions with in-depth explanations. The Kindle version also includes 175 flash cards to reinforce key testable topics. You may also like to check out these Network+ blogs:

Answer

Q. You need to plug in a fiber optic cable to an RJ-45 jack. What, if anything, can be used to allow this to work?
A. Nothing. This is not possible.
B. Media converter
C. ST connector
D. SC connector

Answer: B is correct. A media converter is used to connect dissimilar media and connectors. There are media converters that will connect fiber optic cable to an RJ-45 jack. Media converters are sometimes called transceivers because they can transmit and receive data.

A is incorrect. It is possible to achieve this with a media converter.

C is incorrect. A straight tip (ST) connector is used to connect a fiber cable to a fiber jack with a push and twist-on connection.

D is incorrect. A square connector (SC) is used to connect a fiber cable to a fiber jack. It is sometimes called subscriber or standard connector.

Objective: 3.1 Categorize standard media types and associated properties.

Summary

I hope this information helps you nail any connector-type questions you get on the Network+ exam.