Don't take our word for it. Read the documents.

This marking guide is authoritative for marks: each question carries the exact official mark from the performance-criteria weighting. Award partial credit within a question as appropriate.

Answer question SEVEN (7) and any other TWO (2) questions in section B — mark only the questions the candidate attempted, to a section maximum of 24 marks.

1. Read each task carefully before starting. You have 3 hours to complete this practical.
2. Each performance criterion on the observation checklist is judged Competent or Not Yet Competent, and marks are awarded against it as shown on that checklist.
3. Observe safety procedures and PPE requirements at all times. Notify the assessor of any unsafe condition immediately.
4. The assessor may answer clarification questions but will not give procedural assistance.
5. Total marks for this practical: 60.

1. Cat 6 UTP cable — 5 m per candidate
2. RJ-45 connectors and strain-relief boots — 6 per candidate
3. Crimping tool, cable stripper and flush cutters
4. Punch-down (krone) tool
5. 24-port patch panel mounted in a rack or on a bench frame
6. RJ-45 wall outlet with faceplate and back box
7. Cable tester with main and remote units
8. Tape measure, cable labels and marker pen
9. Personal protective equipment — safety glasses and dust coat

1. Two straight-through patch cords, each tested and labelled by the candidate.
2. One crossover cable, tested and labelled.
3. One outlet and one patch panel port punched down and tested end to end.
4. Completed test schedule showing the wire map result for every run.
5. The work area left clear, with tools returned and accounted for.

(Subtotal: 32 marks)

1. Select the tools and materials you need from the store and check each item is serviceable before you begin.
2. Cut two lengths of Cat 6 UTP cable of 2 m each and one length of 1.5 m.
3. Terminate both ends of the two 2 m cables as straight-through cords using the T568B scheme.
4. Terminate the 1.5 m cable as a crossover, using T568A at one end and T568B at the other.
5. Fit a strain-relief boot to every connector before crimping.
6. Test all three cords with the cable tester and record the wire map result for each on the test schedule.
7. Label each cord with its type and your candidate number.

(Subtotal: 28 marks)

1. Route a length of Cat 6 cable from the wall outlet position to the patch panel, leaving a service loop at each end.
2. Punch the cable down onto the outlet using the punch-down tool and the T568B scheme, keeping the untwist under 13 mm.
3. Punch the far end down onto port 1 of the patch panel using the same scheme.
4. Fit and secure the faceplate, and label both the outlet and the patch panel port.
5. Test the completed link end to end with the cable tester and record the result.
6. Demonstrate the working link by connecting a laptop at the outlet and a patch cord at the panel, and show the link light on the switch.
7. Clear the work area, dispose of offcuts and return all tools to the store.

The candidate was found to be:   Competent ☐    Not Yet Competent ☐

(The candidate is competent if they obtain at least 50 % overall AND are judged Competent on every performance criterion above.)

Assessment blueprint — theory marks per element distributed across cognitive levels, with the practical marks per element. Totals reconcile with the PC weighting.

Theory marks per element are distributed across cognitive levels; practical marks are assessed on the observation checklist. Totals reconcile with the official performance-criteria weighting for this unit.

By the end of this outcome you will be able to observe the required safety measures, mount and interconnect network devices to a design, route and dress cable to standard, apply an IP addressing scheme, and verify that the network you have built works.

Worked example — divide 192.168.20.0/24 into four subnets

  Borrow 2 host bits  ->  /26      mask 255.255.255.192
  Subnets  = 2^2 = 4
  Hosts    = 2^6 - 2 = 62 usable per subnet

  Subnet 1   192.168.20.0/26     hosts .1   - .62    broadcast .63
  Subnet 2   192.168.20.64/26    hosts .65  - .126   broadcast .127
  Subnet 3   192.168.20.128/26   hosts .129 - .190   broadcast .191
  Subnet 4   192.168.20.192/26   hosts .193 - .254   broadcast .255

This marking guide is authoritative for marks: each question carries the exact official mark from the performance-criteria weighting. Award partial credit within a question as appropriate.

Answer question ELEVEN (11) and any other TWO (2) questions in section B — mark only the questions the candidate attempted, to a section maximum of 60 marks.

1. Read each task carefully before starting. You have 4 hours to complete this practical.
2. Each performance criterion on the observation checklist is judged Competent or Not Yet Competent, and marks are awarded against it as shown on that checklist.
3. Observe safety procedures and PPE requirements at all times. Notify the assessor of any unsafe condition immediately.
4. The assessor may answer clarification questions but will not give procedural assistance.
5. Total marks for this practical: 100.

1. Cat 6 UTP cable — 15 m per candidate
2. RJ-45 connectors, boots, and a 24-port patch panel
3. Two RJ-45 wall outlets with faceplates and back boxes
4. Managed switch with at least 8 ports, and a router with internet or simulated WAN
5. Two workstations with network interface cards
6. Crimping tool, cable stripper, punch-down tool and flush cutters
7. Cable certifier or tester with main and remote units
8. Trunking, cable ties, labels and a tape measure
9. Personal protective equipment — safety glasses and dust coat

1. Two horizontal runs terminated outlet-to-patch-panel, certified and labelled.
2. Patch cords terminated by the candidate and used to complete the links.
3. A working network in which both workstations reach each other and the router.
4. Completed IP addressing plan and test schedule.
5. A maintenance log entry for a fault the assessor introduces during the session.

(Subtotal: 40 marks)

1. Select and check the tools, cable and connectors you need for the job.
2. Route two cable runs from the outlet positions to the cabinet through the trunking provided, observing the bend radius and fill limits.
3. Punch each run down onto its outlet and onto ports 1 and 2 of the patch panel, using T568B at every termination.
4. Terminate three RJ-45 patch cords: two straight-through and one crossover.
5. Label both ends of every run and every patch cord.
6. Certify or test each run and each cord, and record the wire map result on the test schedule.

(Subtotal: 35 marks)

1. Mount the switch and patch panel in the cabinet and dress the patch cords through the cable management.
2. Patch ports 1 and 2 to the switch and connect the switch to the router's LAN interface.
3. Complete the IP addressing plan for the two workstations, the switch management interface and the router, from the block 192.168.50.0/24.
4. Configure the addressing on both workstations and confirm the switch management address is reachable.
5. Verify that each workstation reaches the other, the switch, the router and an external host, and record each result.

(Subtotal: 25 marks)

1. The assessor will introduce one fault into the network you have built.
2. Diagnose the fault using a structured procedure, explaining each step to the assessor as you carry it out.
3. State the fault you have found and the evidence that led you to it.
4. Repair or replace as required and prove the network is working again.
5. Complete a maintenance log entry recording the fault, the diagnosis, the action taken and the verification result.

Assessment blueprint — theory marks per element distributed across cognitive levels, with the practical marks per element. Totals reconcile with the PC weighting.

Blueprint for the end-of-module summative tool. Every element of the unit is represented in a single 100-mark written paper and a single 100-mark practical, in proportion to its weighting.