You are a network technician for a small corporate network. A temporary server was installed and configured in the Networking Closet’s rack (below the UPS). You now need to use the server’s fiber optic network interface card to make a connection to the network.
Your task in this lab is to connect the server to the switch using fiber optic cables. When connecting the devices, connect the transmit (Tx) port on one device to the receive (Rx) port on the other device. Use the following information to help identify necessary connections:
- For the fiber optic connection on the switch, the transmit port is on the left, and the receive port is on the right.
- Use the color coding on the end of fiber optic cables to identify individual cables within a cable pair.
- Connector A is red; connector B is black.
- The red connector on one cable end is connected to the red connector on the other end; black is connected to black.
Some connectors use a yellow or white sleeve to differentiate between connectors. For these cables, the yellow connector is connector A, and matches the red connector end on cables that use different connector types on the other end.
ANSWER:
Actions you were required to perform
Use the ST to LC cable for the connection
Connect the LC connector to the switch
Connect the ST A connector to the Tx port on the computer
Connect the ST B connector to the Rx port on the computer
Explanation
Use the ST to LC cable to connect the server to the switch using a fiber optic connection.
- ST cables have two connectors that twist on using BNC connectors: one for transmit (Tx) and one for receive (Rx).
- An LC connector has both connectors linked together such that the connector can only be inserted one way.
When connecting the cable to the server:
- Connect the transmit port on the switch to the receive port on the server; connect the receive port on the switch to the transmit port on the server.
- The switch transmits from the port on the left. When the cable is connected, the connector with the white sleeve is on the left `(this is the B connector in the LC connector).
- The other end of this cable is the ST connector with the black sleeve. Connect this connector to the Rx port on the server.
- The switch receives from the port on the right. When the cable is connected, the connector with the yellow sleeve is on the right (this is the A connector in the LC connector). Connect the red/orange connector on the other end to the Tx port on the server.
Complete the following steps:
- In the Networking Closet, examine the ports on the switch to identify the fiber optic port types.
- Switch to the back view of the rack, and examine the ports on the new server (i.e., bottom server).
- On the Shelf, expand the Cables
- Select each cable on the Shelf. In the Selected Component window, examine the connector ends of each cable to identify the cable with the required connectors. Select the ST to LC cable.
- In the Selected Component window, drag the ST B connector (black) to the Rx port on the server.
- In the Selected Component window, drag the ST A connector (red or orange) to the Tx port on the server.
- Switch to the front view of the rack.
To connect the server and the switch, drag the LC connector to one of the fiber optic ports on the switch (the ports on the far right).