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BY JEFF GRIFFIN
Qualification Testers
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
For commercial structures,
certification tests document that a building’s
voice/data/video network complies with indus-
try standards.
Qualification or performance testing can also
confirm that local area network (LAN) installations
meet component manufacturers’ install standards
and should perform as specified. This testing had
been considered optional for LANs in
homes and apartments.
“Qualification” is a general term
used to describe such testing, and it
sometimes is used interchangeably
with verification testing and, incor-
rectly, residential certification.
“Our company now is using the
term ‘performance testing’ to more
accurately describe this process,”
said Dan Payerle, business unit
manager for network test products
at Ideal Networks, a division of
Ideal Industries.
While qualification tests typically have been thought of in terms
of a building’s datacom system, today’s integrated systems include
fire and security alarms, video surveillance, and control components.
Each piece of the system must communicate with its host. Payerle said
performance testing of cabling in
homes and multiunit residential
dwellings should not be considered
optional anymore.
IP integration is here
“That means that all systems, including se-
curity, access control, home automation and
voice/data, are Ethernet-based,” Payerle said.
“Ethernet allows every device in the systems to
operate effectively on the same network so that
an event on one system can trigger a series of
actions by other systems.”
A solid cabling infrastructure is crucial to
system operation, and it makes troubleshoot-
ing much easier when proof of performance
tests eliminate cabling as a potential problem,
When testing cabling, two types of stan-
dards can be used: one to determine pass/fail
performance of cable, the other to meet signal-
ing or transmission standards.
Payerle said cable testing standards, such
as the ANSI/TIA-568 series, specify the electrical performance requirements of the cabling
and do not necessarily consider the intended
use or application.
“Today, other than analog voice, there is
practically nothing other than Ethernet that
is going to be sent over the cabling, including
residential networks,” Payerle said. “Transmis-
sion requirements of Ethernet are defined by the
IEEE 802.3 series of standards, the IEEE 802.3ab
standard defining gigabit Ethernet. Most wired
devices these days are equipped with gigabit
Ethernet [GbE] ports versus 100 megabits-per-
second [Mbps] fast Ethernet ports, and it is not
uncommon to find gigabit Ethernet ( 1,000 Mbps)
in residences.
“In residential buildings, whether single-
family or multidwelling, ‘prewiring’ was an
upgrade option only a few years ago; now
it’s standard practice. However, residential
buildings are often wired on
razor-thin margins, and the ca-
bling systems that go into them
may not support GbE, consid-
ered ‘minimum spec.’ Category
5e cabling is designed to sup-
port GbE transmission at up
to 100 meters. Unfortunately,
there are cable and connectors
sold as Cat 5e-compliant, which
are not. The result is that cable
performance may not support
error-free gigabit transmission,
even when a link has been suc-
cessfully tested with a wire map
tester,” Payerle said.
Ultimately, data transmis-
sion matters most to customers.
“Network devices don’t
care about the cabling,” Payerle
said. “They will try to operate
over whatever physical path is
supplied. Therefore, testing the
data as well as cabling makes
the most sense in Ethernet
networks.
“A data transmission tester behaves like a
network device, except it reports errors and net-
work limitations. Ethernet is designed to recover
from errors without users knowing anything
went wrong. A transmission tester provides
a clear answer as to whether the network is
capable of supplying the desired performance,
regardless of cable category.”
Transmission testers are new to LAN in-
stallers. They have been in the WAN/telco
environment for years as the standard way to
test networks and can be complicated to config-
ure and operate.
Ideal Networks Signal TEK CT Gigabit cable performance tester
www.idealindustries.com
