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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is setting up a new office with 20…
A technician is setting up a new office with 20 workstations. The cabling is Cat6, and all runs are under 90 meters. After terminating the cables at the patch panel and wall jacks, the technician tests each run with a cable certifier. One run fails the test for near-end crosstalk (NEXT). What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The cable pairs are untwisted too much at the termination point.
This question tests understanding of cable termination quality and crosstalk. The correct answer is that the untwisting of pairs at the termination point is too long, which can cause NEXT failures.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The cable is too long for Cat6 specifications.
Why it's wrong here
The maximum specified length for a Cat6 cable segment is 100 meters (328 feet) for 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, including patch cables. A 90-meter cable falls well within this standard, meaning its length alone would not cause a failure. Exceeding the maximum length typically results in significant signal attenuation and increased propagation delay, leading to intermittent connectivity or complete link failure, rather than a specific NEXT (Near-End Crosstalk) issue.
- ✗
The cable is not properly shielded.
Why it's wrong here
Cat6 cabling is predominantly designed as Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), where the precise twisting of the wire pairs is the primary mechanism for mitigating internal crosstalk, including NEXT. While shielded cables (STP/FTP) offer superior protection against external electromagnetic interference (EMI) and alien crosstalk, their absence in a standard Cat6 UTP installation does not inherently cause NEXT failures. The internal design of UTP relies on maintaining the integrity of the pair twists, not external shielding, to combat self-induced noise.
- ✓
The cable pairs are untwisted too much at the termination point.
Why this is correct
Excessive untwisting of the individual wire pairs at the termination point, such as within an RJ-45 connector or a punch-down block, severely compromises the cable's ability to cancel electromagnetic interference. The precise twisting of pairs along the cable length is fundamental to inducing opposing electromagnetic fields that cancel out crosstalk. When these twists are undone for more than about 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) at the termination, the cancellation effect is lost, allowing signals from adjacent pairs to couple and generate significant Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT) that exceeds acceptable limits.
- ✗
The cable is damaged from being pulled too hard during installation.
Why it's wrong here
Damage sustained from pulling a cable too forcefully during installation, such as stretching, kinking, or crushing, typically manifests as physical alterations to the conductors or insulation. This type of damage often leads to impedance mismatches, increased signal attenuation, or even open/short circuits within the cable, which severely degrade network performance. While these issues are critical, they are distinct from Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT), which specifically refers to signal coupling between adjacent wire pairs at the transmitting end, primarily caused by improper twisting or termination.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Cable Types: Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat8
Key term
Unshielded Twisted Pair
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is a type of copper cabling used in Ethernet networks, where pairs of wires are twisted together to reduce electrical interference, without additional metallic shielding.
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.