Question

A technician recently ran a 20-meter section of CAT6 to relocate a control station to a more central area on the production floor. Since the relocation, the helpdesk has received complaints about intermittent operation. During the troubleshooting process, the technician noticed that collisions are only observed on the switch port during production. Given this information, which of the following is the cause of the problem?

1) Distance limitation
2) Electromagnetic interference
3) Cross talk
4) Speed and duplex mismatch

Answer 1

Electromagnetic interference on the production floor is the likely cause of the intermittent operation and collisions observed on the switch port when production machinery is active.

Step-by-step explanation:

The cause of the intermittent operation and collisions observed on the switch port during production for the relocated control station could be due to electromagnetic interference (EMI). CAT6 cabling is susceptible to EMI which can be caused by various sources on the production floor, such as machinery, electrical equipment, or even fluorescent lighting. Since the issue is only occurring during production, it suggests that the devices used in the production process are possibly emitting interference when active. EMI can disrupt data transmission causing errors, such as collisions, in the network communication. Other potential causes listed, such as distance limitation, crosstalk, and speed and duplex mismatch, are less likely to be the problem given the context provided. CAT6 cables support a distance of up to 100 meters without significant signal loss, crosstalk is typically related to cable quality or installation issues, and speed and duplex mismatches would cause consistent not intermittent problems.