Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) NetworkingNetwork AccessHard
A network administrator is designing a new wireless network for a large warehouse. Due to the presence of numerous metal racks, machinery, and concrete walls, the administrator is concerned about signal reflection, absorption, and overall coverage. Which property of wireless signals is primarily affected by these environmental obstacles, leading to reduced signal strength and dead zones?
- AFrequency hopping
- BBandwidth utilization
- CSignal propagation
- DModulation type
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Signal propagation
Signal propagation refers to how radio waves travel through a medium and are affected by the environment. Obstacles like metal and concrete cause reflection (multipath interference), absorption (attenuation), and diffraction, all of which directly impact signal strength and coverage in a warehouse environment.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Frequency hopping is a method of spread spectrum communication that changes carrier frequencies, not directly related to how signals are impeded by physical obstacles.
- B. Bandwidth utilization refers to how much of the available frequency spectrum is being used, not how signals are physically affected by the environment.
- D. Modulation type defines how digital data is encoded onto an analog carrier wave, which affects data rate and robustness but not the physical interaction with obstacles.
Wireless Signal Propagation
The manner in which electromagnetic waves travel through a physical medium and interact with environmental factors such as obstacles, leading to effects like reflection, absorption, diffraction, and scattering.
- Affected by physical objects (walls, metal)
- Causes attenuation (signal loss)
- Leads to reflection, refraction, diffraction, scattering
- Directly impacts wireless coverage and signal strength
Memory trick: Propagation is the signal's journey through obstacles.