What Does Fluke Tested Mean?

Written by Don Schultz, trueCABLE Senior Technical Advisor, Fluke Networks Copper/Fiber CCTT, BICSI INST1, INSTC, INSTF Certified

Read more

When testing your Ethernet network, you have a few options. As detailed in the Free Whitepaper: Testing 10 Gigabit Ethernet Over Copper on a Shoestring Budget, the most extensive (and expensive) option is to Certify your cable runs.

Certification against the ANSI/TIA 568 (or ISO/IEC outside of North America) series of specifications is the “final word” in testing. Essentially, Certification provides hard evidence that your structured cabling system performs precisely as specified per the standard. There are a number of Certification devices on the market, some designed to be used in a factory setting during production and additional devices designed to be used in the field upon completion of installation.

trueCABLE makes use of a Certification device in our production processes. We further make use of a Certification device during periodic randomized quality control and product development processes. Our customers can rest assured that what they buy is up to the task, but keep in mind that there are rules, guidelines, and best practices you should follow that will greatly affect the outcome of your installation!

There are two overarching types of Certification:

• Factory Certification. The manufacturer (like trueCABLE) should perform factory Certification tests on the raw product before you get it. This applies to any component that is outlined in the standard with associated performance metrics around it. Items like solid copper Ethernet cable, keystone jacks, and patch cords are all components outlined in the standard. Despite the factory testing, once you install your products you alter what the manufacturer shipped you (pulling and cutting cable, etc.). Now your structured cable system is technically neither verified or Certified. It must be field tested, somehow.

• Field Certification. Field Certification, necessarily, must take place once all the physical work is done. Often it is demanded on large corporate installs where a contract is involved. In some cases, the manufacturer of the Ethernet cable will not pass along a warranty unless presented with post-install Certification test results.

The Fluke Networks DSX- Versiv2 CableAnalyzer is an example of a field grade Certification instrument and is considered the ultimate guarantee for measuring the performance of an Ethernet cable installation at the physical layer. The DSX- does not perform a “Fluke network test”. There are Fluke network testers that establish TCP/IP connections for logical network testing, but actual Certification is something different. During Certification, the IP network is not tested at all. The DSX- performs electrical measurements on your physical wires against the standard and will result in a PASS or FAIL.

The folks most likely to demand full blown ANSI/TIA 568 Certification of their installation are:

• Medium and large business, and even some smaller businesses too
• Hospitals, clinics, and other medical/laboratory related industry
• Federal, State, and even local Government jurisdictions
• Any network that must work, no matter what, because property, life, or large amounts of money are on the line
• ...probably not your grandmother, but you never know

To be clear, Fluke Networks does not test third-party cable installations or products in the field or factory. Fluke Networks makes the testing devices for others to use (and they make a ton of different kinds for different industries). Not only do they offer the test equipment, but training and extensive blogs are also found on their website covering the latest industry standards and tips.

So, what is measured?Fluke test results explained.

Simply put, when an Ethernet cable is subjected to a Fluke Versiv CableAnalyzer cable test, there is a battery of tests that may be carried out. These tests range from:

• ANSI/TIA 568 Category standard compliance, using the rules and guidelines around Ethernet cable installations, for permanent links (solid copper structure Ethernet cable) and channels (permanent link + stranded copper patch cables)
• Ethernet cable spool/box testing (typically done in a factory)
• ANSI/TIA Category patch cable testing (RJ45 plug to RJ45 plug terminated Ethernet patch cord)
• Application testing to a certain IEEE standard such as BASE-T
• PoE testing (making sure the cable supports Power over Ethernet for IoT devices, Wi-Fi Access Points, IP cameras, etc.)
• ISO/IEC (International Category standards) testing

Each test type carries certain industry approved criteria, and a number of test metrics are used to test that a cable is performing as designed. In the case of a “full blown” ANSI/TIA 568 Certification of permanent links, a number of tests are performed like:

• Wire Map (checking for physical wiring issues like shorts and mis-wires)
• NEXT, PS NEXT (cross talk near and far end, spots bad cable and excessive untwist of the pairs at the connector)
• Return Loss (cable quality, spots water in your cabling too)
• TDR (length, on the “shortest” pair)
• Propagation Delay (time it takes to send a 10 MHz signal down the cable)
• Delay Skew (difference in signal delay between conductor pairs)
• DC Resistance Unbalance (spots defects in the copper conductors...GREAT WAY TO SPOT CCA CABLE!**)
• Insertion Loss (spots cable over the length limit, and bad cabling)
• ACR-F, PS ACR-F (attenuation crosstalk ratio far end, spots cable over the length limit and bad cable)
• PS ANEXT, PS AACR-F (Cat6A alien (cable to cable) crosstalk testing)

** CCA or Copper Clad Aluminum cable is the bane of the Ethernet industry. The DC Resistance Unbalance test includes DC Loop Resistance as a metric. CCA cable is quite horrible at transmitting data or DC voltage and will show up glaringly in this test. Take a look at our blog Check Your Specs, CCA is Different from Solid Copper if you would like to know why CCA is the last thing you want for your wired network.

Further, the ANSI/TIA document specifies that individuals using a Certification device also be trained to perform the testing at hand. That is right...the Certifying person should be Certified to run the Certifier! For example, in my case, I am a Fluke Networks Certified Cable Test Technician after taking a training class and passing a test.

Had enough of the techno-babble? How about some pictures…

While the Fluke name is thrown around a lot, not a lot of folks get a chance to actually see one of these devices and get some explanation around what is the box. Well, meet Mr. Flukey.

Fluke DSX- CableAnalyzer main and remote units

Main unit touch screen display

Some of the many tests that can be performed

Permanent link adapters

Channel adapters

Alien crosstalk adapters

Universal couplers, and yes--headphones

You might find the addition of headphones odd. I certainly did when opening the box up and looking at them. As it turns out, these headphones have microphones too. There is one set for the main unit and one for the remote unit. This is how your two people will communicate when moving the units from run to run for testing. Once I figured that out, I felt a bit sheepish. Doh!

For more information, please visit saimr.

So, now you have seen what one of these “Fluke things” looks like. I hope that clears any misconceptions. It cannot be overstated just how useful one of these devices is. Troubleshooting becomes a breeze. Your customers will get professional test reports. There will be no doubt in your mind and the mind of your customer that the cabling installation is what they ordered.

Happy Networking!

 trueCABLE presents the information on our website, including the “Cable Academy” blog and live chat support, as a service to our customers and other visitors to our website subject to our website terms and conditions. While the information on this website is about data networking and electrical issues, it is not professional advice and any reliance on such material is at your own risk.

The LinkIQ tester is capable of measuring lengths up to 305 meters ( feet) and provides distance to faults such as opens, shorts, and unterminated cable. Using the remote ID allows for a complete wire map of the cable pairs which helps identify miswired and split pairs. The primary cable testing feature of LinkIQ tester is the cable performance test which qualifies the cabling bandwidth from 10BASE-T to 10GBASE-T (10 Mb/s up to 10 Gb/s). It performs these tests via frequency-based measurements. Using IEEE-standards-based measurements ensures that tested links meet performance requirements as opposed to transmission testers which only prove that the specific test devices can communicate over the link.

Operators may set performance requirements from 10 Mb/s to 10 Gb/s for a simple pass/fail indication.

Left: Cable test without remote attached shows length and pairing of each wire. Center: Cable test with remote attached shows remote ID number 5, length and pairing of each wire, and cable performance of up to 10 Gb/s. Right: Cable test with remote attached shows remote ID number 1, length and pairing of each wire and cable performance of up to 2.5 Gb/s but failed the test due to a user-set limit of 10 Gb/s performance.

Along with the robust cable testing features, the LinkIQ tester also provides detailed information on the nearest connected switch and connectivity testing with IP ping. The LinkIQ tester negotiates with the switch to identify the advertised data rate (up to 10GBASE-T), half/full duplex identification, the switch name and IP address, port number, and VLAN info.

Switch port test shows switch name and IP address, connected port, and VLAN (separate screen) along with advertised speed and duplex settings. If a ping test is configured, the target address and average response time are shown. Scroll down to show Power over Ethernet results.

The ping test verifies connectivity to devices on the local network or the internet and supports both IPv4 and v6. The address of the LinkIQ tester may be set up manually or through DHCP. Once set, the ping test runs as part of the Autotest when a switch is detected. Results of the ping test include identification and response time of each of four pings to the target, the DNS server, and gateway.

Ping result screen shows response time to target for each of four pings. Scroll down to display DHCP, DNS, and gateway information.

While Power over Ethernet makes installation of devices such as security cameras and access points simpler, a survey by the Ethernet Alliance of over 800 installers, integrators, and end users found that four of five respondents experienced difficulties in integrating PoE systems. Part of this can be traced to the fact that the IEEE offers three PoE standards, the term PoE is not registered, and there are a variety of non-standards-compliant implementations.

Switch port Power over Ethernet settings shows pairs used, power and class available and results of the PoE test under load.

To simplify PoE installation and troubleshooting, the LinkIQ tester shows the pairs where power is provided, including the different power levels and pairs for dual-signature implementations. Further, the LinkIQ tester will actually place a load on the connection to ensure that the advertised power is actually being delivered by the switch across the cabling infrastructure. The LinkIQ tester has been certified by the Ethernet Alliance to IEEE-802.3™ standards for reliable multivendor interoperability.

Like today’s smartphone, the LinkIQ is based on a gesture-based touchscreen that takes up nearly all the face of the instrument.  This makes it easy to display a large amount of information and provide clear, simple controls such as sliders and a full keyboard. While the LinkIQ can perform a variety of tests, the user interface is simplified so that there is a single TEST function.  The results displayed are determined solely by what is connected to the unit’s single “RJ-45” connector. A single USB-C port provides connectivity to a computer for future software updates, reporting, and charging the unit. Like other Fluke Networks products, the LinkIQ is designed and tested in our environmental lab to ensure its ruggedness including vibration, temperature, humidity, electrostatic discharge and drop tests.

The LinkIQ Duo tester makes it easy to understand the Wi-Fi environment by running a complete suite of tests and displaying the results the way you want to view them: by networks, channels, or access points. Choosing a specific item (such as an access point listed under a specific network) changes seamlessly to that view. The LinkIQ Duo tester also flags common configuration errors including:

• use of an illegal channel for the detected region
• use of a non-recommended channel
• access points that overlap with an adjacent access point unless one is low power
• weak security settings

The Networks test displays a list of available networks (SSIDs) by name along with encryption, technology supported, and the number of access points in range supporting each network. Tap a network to view a detailed list of all radios in range that support the network including BSSID and band/channel. The LinkIQ Duo tester can test a specific network / access point combination by tracking signal strength and data rates over time. Details about a specific access point can be accessed from here as well.

Left: Network detail showing nearest AP, signal strength, radios, band/channel summary, technology, and encryption. Right: Access point test shows signal strength and data rates over time.

The Access Point test displays a list of available access points by name or BSSID, with a summary of channels/bands and networks supported along with encryption types. Touching an access point allows tracking of signal strength and channel utilization for each radio in the AP.

Left: List of access points, that show the name or BSSID, supported networks (SSID) band/channel, and encryption type. Right: AP detail shows radio bands/channels and supported networks.

For the channel test, select a band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz) and see the utilization, AP signal strength and number of APs on each channel. Select the unique Channel Overlap view to see how many and which AP’s are on or interfering with a given channel as well as their signal strength. Touch a channel to see utilization over time and which APs are on or interfering with that channel.

Left: Utilization of each channel on the 5 GHz bandwidth showing AP’s and overlap for each. Right: Details of an individual channel show the utilization over time and details of radios on that overlap with that channel.

The company is the world’s best multi channel wire harness tester supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.