During an inspection of a newly installed office network, an IT technician notes that network performance deteriorates significantly during peak operational hours. The technician observes that Ethernet cables are laid parallel and close to multiple electrical conduits and fluorescent lighting fixtures throughout the facility. Which issue is MOST likely contributing to the network performance degradation?
Degradation due to overextended cable lengths beyond specified limits
Inadequate shielding of Ethernet cables exacerbating signal attenuation
Electromagnetic interference from nearby electrical conduits and lighting fixtures
Suboptimal cable category unable to handle high bandwidth demand
The proximity of Ethernet cables to electrical conduits and fluorescent lighting fixtures can lead to electromagnetic interference (EMI), which distorts the signals traveling through the Ethernet cables. This distortion becomes worse when electrical activity increases during peak hours, causing higher error rates and retransmissions that manifest as slow or unreliable network performance. Other factors such as excessive cable length, lower-category cabling, or lack of shielding can degrade performance, but none directly explains the sudden degradation correlated with increased electrical activity as clearly as EMI does.
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