Proof, not a promise
A customer pays for forty new links. The installer says they all work. The customer asks: how do you know?
Certification is the answer. Each link is tested against a standard, the result is saved, and the customer holds proof. It starts with a plan.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Certification | testing a link to a standard and recording that it passed |
| Test plan | a written plan for what will be tested, how, with what and when |
| Scope | what is included in the testing, and what is not |
| Approach | the methods, limits and tools that will be used |
| Certifier | a tester that checks a copper link against a standard and gives pass or fail |
| OLTS | optical loss test set: a light source and power meter that measure fibre loss |
| OTDR | a tool that sends pulses of light along fibre and reads what comes back |
| NEXT | near-end crosstalk: how much one pair leaks into another at the near end |
| Wire map | a test that shows which wire reaches which pin |
| Network | devices joined so they can share data |
| Tier 1 | the basic fibre test of loss and length |
| Tier 2 | the extra fibre test with a trace from an OTDR |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can name the main test standards, write the parts of a test plan, and match test equipment and test types to copper and fibre.
Starter: test tools
Have a go
Starter: test tools
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Testing standards, by purpose
| Standard | What it is for |
|---|---|
| TIA/EIA 568-B.2-1 | The performance limits for Category 6 cabling (later editions of TIA-568 now hold it) |
| TIA/EIA 568-B.1-10 as the course lists it | The limits for augmented Category 6, also called Cat 6A, folded into later TIA-568 editions |
| TIA TSB-155-A | Guidelines for checking installed Cat 6 cabling for 10GBASE-T |
| TIA-1152 | The rules for field test instruments: how exact a tester must be |
| IEC 61935-1 | The reference methods for measuring balanced cabling |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
The test plan
A test plan has four parts. Scope: which links, which standard, and what is left out. Approach: the tests, limits and tools, and what happens when a link fails. Resources: who tests, which tester, its calibration and software. Schedule: dates, access to rooms and the order of work.
Write it before testing, and agree it with the customer.
Test equipment
| Cable | Equipment | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | Continuity tester | Checks each wire runs end to end |
| Copper | Network cabling performance tester | Checks a link can carry a given speed |
| Copper | Cable certifier | Tests to the standard limits and gives a pass or fail report |
| Fibre | OLTS | Measures loss with a light source and power meter |
| Fibre | Visible light source | Shines red light to trace a fibre or find a break |
| Fibre | OTDR | Draws a trace of the whole link |
| Fibre | Fibre inspection tool | Shows the end of a connector so it can be checked |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.