Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Practice Exam

When attempting to connect Workstation A and Workstation B, what cabling change might be necessary for communication?

1. Replace the straight-through cable with a crossover cable.

2. Change the cabling type to fiber optics.

3. Use a wireless connection instead.

4. Use multiple straight-through cables.

The correct answer is: Replace the straight-through cable with a crossover cable.

In networking, the type of cable used is crucial for successful communication between devices. When connecting two like devices, such as workstations, a common requirement is to use a crossover cable. A crossover cable switches the transmit and receive pairs of wires, allowing the two devices to communicate directly by connecting their respective transmit pins to the receive pins of the other device. Using a straight-through cable, which is typically used to connect different types of devices (like a switch to a workstation), would not allow Workstation A and Workstation B to communicate correctly because both would be trying to send data on the same pair of wires. This is why replacing the straight-through cable with a crossover cable is the appropriate solution in this scenario, facilitating the correct connection and enabling communication between the two workstations. Other options may seem viable, but they do not directly address the fundamental cabling requirement for connecting two similar devices. For instance, changing to fiber optics might be unnecessary for typical workstation connections, and shifting to wireless introduces different complexities. Additionally, using multiple straight-through cables is impractical and does not resolve the issue of mismatched pin configurations.