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  • #2324666

    Network Cable Testing

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    by bfeltus ·

    A company that I am working with is having a new office built. They have contracted out the network wiring. They are using certified cat5. What should the personnel doing the runs test for. What type of tester should they use. Please list the test that should be done. Thank you.

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    • #3398164

      Network Cable Testing

      by hinrgman ·

      In reply to Network Cable Testing

      contact a company called black box.
      http://www.blackbox.com

      they have a large variety of test equipment for cat5 cabling.

      Be adivsed that prices range from a few hundred dollars for a simple tester to over $5000 for some of the most sophisticated testing sets.

      They are very helpful and should be able to give you a tester that will meet your needs or at least it is a place to start.

    • #3398161

      Network Cable Testing

      by ann777 ·

      In reply to Network Cable Testing

      Ethernet cables are easy to test (compared to fibre). Generally with ethernet, you test for cabling faults such as open wires, shorts, miswiring and crossed pairs. Any kind of tester that checks for continuity is fine. I like the modular ones where you can insert the RJ45 cable on the transmitter end, then the other side of the cable on the receiver end and see how the signal flows.

    • #3398126

      Network Cable Testing

      by timwalsh ·

      In reply to Network Cable Testing

      I assume you are asking from the standpoint of what type of testing you should see the installers doing.

      Assuming that the company doing the installation will be “certifying” the the installation to meet Cat5 standards, I would be more concerned with the tests that are run, than the equipment used to run the tests.

      Certified Cat5 cable does not necessarily equal a “certified” Cat5 network.

      I would ask specifically what standards they are certifying against. TIA/EIA-568A covers Cat5 cable installation. -568B is the current standard and covers installation of Cat5e cable installation. If the installers give you blank look when you mention standards, be very afraid.

      For every cable in the installation, you should see such test results as:
      Wiremap – covers continuity, correct pairing, shorts, other miswiring
      Length
      Insertion Loss – measure of signal loss
      NEXT – Near-end crosstalk
      PSNEXT – Power sum near-end crosstalk
      ELFEXT – Equal-level far-end crosstalk
      Return Loss – measure of reflected energy caused by impedance variations
      Propagation delay – time for signal to propagate form one end to the other
      Delay skew – measure of signaling delay difference between fastest and slowest wire pair in a cable.

      Thisis the minimum set of tests specified in the standards. Cat5e standards are more stringent than Cat5.

      Good luck.

    • #3658477

      Network Cable Testing

      by bfeltus ·

      In reply to Network Cable Testing

      This question was closed by the author

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