atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums VOIP Phones & IP PBX Networking Network Test Equipment

I've finally gotten to the "crotchety" stage in life.

Yesterday, a "snot nosed" kid who was recently hired, by one of our big network clients, as an assistant to the IT manager challenged my techs who were running cat 6 plenum cable. He stated "all the cable you ran needs to be removed and new cable put in it's place because there are white marks on the cable (the cable is blue plenum) and that means the integrity of the cable has been lost."

So I visited the site. I went over every inch of the cable we pulled. There were several "white" marks on the cable where the cable had been bent or got wrapped around a structure, but was pulled back, straightened, and placed in proper hangers and fed through grommeted holes and encircled with Velcro wire wraps. There were no double twists which indicate a twist pulled too tight. So, I told the IT manager I would test, free of charge, every cable we pulled and verify it to pass BERT at 1 Gbs.

The IT manager was satisfied as all 105 cables passed. The little "snot nosed" assistant was not. He said we needed to provide a more comprehensive test and that our JDSU verifier was not adequate. Since the manager was satisfied, his little protege was silenced and told to take a nap.

My questions is, what network test equipment are you using? Also, when trying to locate network problems, has anyone used the new Fluke OptiView XG? I have been looking at this instrument for some time now and I think it would do the job.

Rcaman

The best network cable certifier out there right now is the Fluke DTX-1800. Down side is it costs a pretty penny, but in my opinion it is worth every cent.

I won't say the snot nosed kid is right, but a BERT won't tell you much when you're working with Cat6 cable. There is a good chance they will never have a problem with the cable you ran, but if they ever start pushing 1G Ethernet over it in the future, problems might show up where the cable required straighting.

Today I borrowed some cable testing equipment which was comprised of a lab scope and sweep test equipment and armed with the TIA 568-C.2 specifications, went to the site and tested every cable to NEXT and PSNEXT at 400 MHz (the limit of the test equipment) and all 105 cables passed the TIA 568 C.2 sweep test which currently only requires Cat 6 cable to pass 250 MHz sweep test. I was able to also do ACR, PSACR and insertion loss testing with all cables passing all tests according to the spec.

I looked at the Fluke DTX-1800 and, for $10K, I can purchase a lot of more versatile test equipment for that price.

So, using over $75K of lab equipment, I basically verified what my $2K JDSU told me on Thursday. Checking with my friends at IEEE, and sending my results to a former colleague of mine who sat on several of the 802 committees, He verified that the cable we pulled surpasses the 1 Gb requirement with plenty of room.

I still like the Fluke Optiview for other network tests beyond what a simple JDSU can do, but, what I always thought to be true was confirmed for me today. That BERT test that the JDSU runs is more than it looks like and is a pretty good indicator of cable integrity and quality.

Rcaman

That's what I thought. Just as a test, take a section of cat3 wire (50' or so will do) and crimp on some 8P8C mod plugs and run the BERT test at cat5, cat 5e, and cat6. Both of the JDSU Verifiers I have passed the cat3 cable on all 3 tests.

IMO, An expensive tool for a slow continuity tester.

Neither the Optiview or JDSU are cable certifiers and should only be used for qualifying. The Fluke DTX-1800 is probably the industry favorite as far as certifiers go. I'm curious but is it not standard practice to test or certify all cable installations your company does? In your post it sounds like you only tested because the "kid" insisted on it. It also sounds like you tried to reinvent the wheel with your "testing". A cable certifier should be part of any cabling contractors toolset. Whether you own one or rent one it should be readily accessible. In the end it doesn't matter what fancy testing scheme you come up with because if the cabling specs require printed certification results from an industry standard tester then none of your tests that came up with and none of you're experts that you consult will be able to make it fly. Ultimately the "kid" was technically correct and the JDSU is not a cable certification tool.

OK let me show me my ignorance.
What is the difference between a certifier and a qualifier?
Is it the stored memory of the tests?
Thanks.

Cable qualifiers perform tests for opens, shorts, and whether a cable can support 10, 100, 1000 ethernet speeds. It does basic cabling tests and for a lot of installations it will suffice. Here's some info from a cable qualifier.

https://www.flukenetworks.com/datacom-cabling/copper-testing/CableIQ-Residential-Qualifier

A cable certifier does the same tests as cable qualifiers and more in depth testing and makes sure the cable plant meets TIA/EIA standards. It does checks for Insertion Loss, Crosstalk, and attenuation among many others. It also has features to fully document all tests performed and to provide printed results. Here's some info from one of the better certifiers in my opinion.

https://www.flukenetworks.com/datacom-cabling/copper-testing/dtx-cableanalyzer-series

A lot of times you'll read a cabling spec and the spec will specifically call for all cables to be certified and that printed results must be supplied. Ive even seen specs mention the DTX-1800 as one of the acceptable testing tools. In those type of situations a cable qualifier will never suffice.

Also, Don't get caught up in some manufactures hype of their product. Ther are a couple manufacture claiming they are selling certifiers, when they are only selling glorified testers. These fake certifiers will even provide you with a print out of your test results, but instead of dB readings ans such you get pass/fail.

Real certifiers have to be calibrated on a regular basis or the become expensive qualifiers/validators.

I have a Fluke DSP-4000, which I sent iin to be recalibrated. I sent it in with the cables. When I got it back they didn't replace the cables, which I knew were "iffy". So I tried to buy new ones for them and they're not available from them. Needless to say I am not eager to do business with them again. So we bought an Ideal Networks SignalTek II. Quite a but of difference in price. Actually a little less user friendly that the Fluke, but I may get on to it with a little more practice. Not sure now if it is a qualifier or a certifier, but since everything is in house and I'm not selling my services, it should do just fine.
In the end if Fluke would have been more helpful, I would probably have gotten a new one of those. I don't do fiber...yet, but there are add-ons for the signalTek for that as well as the Fluke.

I am using an (very) old Wavetek ProXL and looking at going with the Ideal Lantek 2 due to the price point compared with the Fluke. They have a very good reputation (equal to the Fluke as far as I can find). I also like the fact you can use off the shelf patch cords when the get worn. Can anyone give insight to the cost of getting them re-calibrated?
But I agree that you can not replace a certifier with a qualifier. You get what you pay for.