Fiber Optic & Ethernet Cabling Testing & Certification

• Verify Cabling Integrity

• Maximize System Longevity

• Find Trouble Spots in Your Network

• Minimize Downtime

• Service Accountability

Protect Your Infrastructure Upgrades by Getting Them Certified.

How Backbone Cabling Verifies & Certifies Fiber Optic & Ethernet Cabling

Cabling Verification 

Verification tools are often used by network technicians and contractors as the first line of defense for cable troubleshooting. Verification test tools allow you to see if each wire pair in the cable is properly connected. Verification test tools perform basic continuity functions (for example, a wiretap test, toning).

These verification test tools sometimes include additional features such as a time domain reflectometer (TDR) for determining length to the end of a cable or to a trouble spot (open connection or break) or short circuit. They may also detect if a switch is connected to the cable under test or check coaxial connections.

Verification tools are ubiquitous, simple-to-use, low-cost tools that should be the first test for new cabling installations.

Cabling Qualification

Qualification tools are more sophisticated tools that network technicians use to troubleshoot and qualify cabling bandwidth. Qualification test tools give you the information you need to decide if existing cabling will support your technology requirements like 100BASE-TX, VoIP, Gigabit Ethernet, and others.

For example, let’s assume you have two cables of unknown capability. Both cable A and cable B pass the
verification wiretap test. However, a qualification test may show that cable A is only capable of supporting 10BASE-T, while cable B is able to support 1Gb/s Ethernet.

Qualification tools are much more powerful than verification tools and are designed to enable even the most novice technician to see the data rates that an existing cabling link can support to quickly isolate cabling problems from network problems. This means network techs can close trouble tickets faster and Social Media Fiber and Copper testers reduce on-call time. However, qualification tools do not perform the certification required by cable manufacturers.

A unique feature of many qualification test tools is the ability to diagnose common cabling problems that may limit the cabling bandwidth. An example of information provided by the qualification tester is the distance to an impedance mismatch where two cables are joined. Now the user knows what level of performance the cable can support, the reason the performance is limited, and what needs to be done to fix the problem.

Cabling Certification

Certification test tools demonstrate if a cable complies with cabling standards (such as TIA-568-B Category 6 or ISO 11801 2nd Edition Class E). These tools are used by commercial datacom installers/contractors and enterprise facility managers and are required by cabling manufacturers to ensure that a newly installed cabling system fully meets cabling standards and the cabling manufacturer’s warranty. Enterprises often require certification testing before signing off on an installation. Certification is the most rigorous of all cable testing.

A certification tester takes many types of measurements across predefined frequency ranges and compares the detailed results to standards set by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) or International Standards Organization (ISO). The results from these measurements determine if a link is compliant with a category or class of cable (for example, TIA category 5e, category 6, or ISO Class D). Certification tools are the only tools that provide “pass” or “fail” information on the cabling, in accordance with TIA or ISO standards. Additionally, certification testers commonly support optical fiber test options, provide advanced graphical diagnostics, and offer feature-rich reporting capabilities.