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Welcome to the official blog of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

This blog covers numerous topics on industrial automation such as operations & management, continuous & batch processing, connectivity, manufacturing & machine control, and Industry 4.0.

The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. ISA blog posts may be authored by ISA staff and guest authors from the automation community. Views and opinions expressed by a guest author are solely their own, and do not necessarily represent those of ISA. Posts made by guest authors have been subject to peer review.

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AutoQuiz: What Is the Length Limitation for Fast Ethernet Cable?

AutoQuiz is edited by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.

Today's automation industry quiz question comes from the ISA Certified Automation Professional certification program. ISA CAP certification provides a non-biased, third-party, objective assessment and confirmation of an automation professional's skills. The CAP exam is focused on direction, definition, design, development/application, deployment, documentation, and support of systems, software, and equipment used in control systems, manufacturing information systems, systems integration, and operational consulting. Click this link for information about the CAP program. The following question comes from the CAP study guide, Performance Domain II, Definition: Identify customer requirements and complete high-level analysis of the best way to meet those requirements.

What is the recommended limitation in meters for the length of a "fast Ethernet" (100 Megabits/second) segment on twisted pair cable?

a) 10
b) 100
c) 300
d) 350
e) none of the above

Because of the high speed of "fast Ethernet," the use of twisted pair cable is limited to 100 meters (330 feet). 10 meters would limit installations unnecessarily. 300 meters and 350 meters would exceed recommendations substantially, which could potentially cause signal errors.

The correct answer is B, 100.

Reference: Berge, Jonas; Fieldbuses for Process Control: Engineering, Operation, and Maintenance

Joel Don
Joel Don
Joel Don is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical marketing communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.

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