Tag: cable management

How to Trace Live Ethernet Cables without Sacrificing Uptime

Posted on by Baron Miller

How to trace a live ethernet cableBig-picture folks are running the numbers on power, cooling, and computation, envisioning the datacenter of the future. Meanwhile your network, miles and miles of cable, keeps it all tied together and connected to the real world. Reality is a big factor, and keeps you maintaining cable runs long after they’re installed. Network cabling is a part of the infrastructure that only becomes visible when it fails — or when you bring it down for testing and tracing.

Acceptable Casualties?

Even a short interruption in network connectivity can light up the help desk phones like fireworks, and get issues escalating before people realize it was just a quick test. Scheduled downtime for testing often costs weekend overtime and inconvenience, and in today’s 24/7 datacenter even that may not be acceptable. QoS hits, expensive dead air from broadcast servers, interrupted real-time data links, broken promises to customers — the list of consequences goes on.

Interrupting live networks is painful. But sometimes you’ve got to do work in the cable closets, server rooms, and other crowded and complex rivers of wire that are your responsibility. Does there have to be an acceptable amount of downtime for tracing and testing wires? There are a few low-impact methods for locating cable ends which are popular but disruptive. There is one newer strategy, though, which can lead you right to the cable end you seek without network disruption or disconnection.

Tones and Testers

Hailing from the days of craft technicians testing voice circuits for dial tone with their butt set, tone testing is a straightforward way of locating the other end of a cable, especially in a remote location. The tone goes in one end of an offline circuit, and the technician checks all the other ends in the server room or data closet until he or she finds it. It’s even possible to be checking the wrong location if the cable runs branch out to various locations. Only problem with this method is it will not work on a live network. Testers such as Platinum Tools’ Cable Prowler, Net Prowler, and Net Chaser can provide the tones for testing.

Remotes Tag Multiple Cables

Using remotes with a cable tester can help locate one or more cables at the far end, but doing so still requires disconnection from the server, switch, or router and downtime for testing. The three cable testers mentioned can test cabling using remotes. You can also run a series of cable verifications while you’re at it, especially if you’re testing unused cable installed as backup. But what about that case where some cables wind up in closet A, others in closet B? Plus, this method is it will not work on a live network.

Link Light — Testing without Disruption, At Last

A great feature on the Platinum Tools Cable and Network Testers allows live testing when you just can’t afford to go offline even for a quick toning or using remotes to tag cables. Link Light is a clever trick where the tester, connected to an active network cable or port, makes the port light for that circuit flash at a regular rate. You can vary the flashing rate so that it’s easy to distinguish from other network activity, making it simple to identify your cable even if you have to check several locations — just open the closet door, look for the unique flashing light, and tag your connection.

Ethernet Speed Certification White Paper

How to Avoid Installing Bad Ethernet Cable

Posted on by Baron Miller

How to avoid installing bad ethernet cable

When a cable install goes wrong, it’s a costly mess. If you haven’t experienced one, you’ve heard about one. It often catches everyone by surprise. On acceptance, or when the customer starts using the network in production, something just isn’t right. It could be the cable, someone says. But Cat6 cable is a commodity item, right? Even the cheap overseas type? Still, your reputation is on the line, and the next suspect might be the installation. Let’s talk about the cable, also the risk of “copper clad” conductors.

Standards are Rising

At today’s network speeds, things which go seriously wrong with the wiring can seem very subtle on visual inspection. Even within Cat6, there are 250MHz and 550MHz rated cable versions. Termination has to be 100%, not just making contact. Conductor twist must be consistent. Cable physical and electrical characteristics have to be 100% also, especially as the network evolves and physically ages over time. But even major differences like copper versus copper-clad conductors can be hard to detect at first.

You’re dealing with radio frequencies (RF) going down the cable, and that energy can be mighty finicky. If you’ve ever put a tiny bit of metal in a microwave oven by accident, you’ve seen what a change in characteristics can do. Suddenly, the chamber is arcing and sparking as the RF waves start getting chaotic. Networking has a bit lower frequencies (so far), and much lower energy, but the concept is the same. RF complains mightily when it’s not happy with how you’re treating it.

What Makes Cable Bad

Some of the critical items in cable manufacturing are:

  • Shielding
  • Conductor twist
  • Insulation
  • Wire gauge
  • Wire composition

Installation stresses and damage are also important, as well as cable termination. Along the length of the cable, you need consistent and quality manufacturing for reliable cable capacitance, or else — think of the metal in the microwave. Things start to get chaotic.

Background Check the Cable

The best way to avoid problems is to cover all the bases. Check the advertised specs and labeling, but be skeptical. Cheap cable is often deceptively labeled. Has the manufacturer submitted cable for certified testing? This will cover you not only for electrical characteristics, but also heat, humidity, even mold damage over time, depending on the testing standard. Remember to look for “plenum rated” cable when you need it. Some of your customers may not need all that, but some will. Think about hospital installs, for example. You’re going to sign a pretty extensive contract for those, even if all it says is “conforms to applicable standards.”

Copper Conductors Only

For most applications, solid all-copper conductor wire of the appropriate gauge is what you’ll be ordering, and what you should be receiving. CCA or CCS, copper clad aluminum or steel, looks the same but doesn’t perform the same — all copper conducts better, for instance. Aluminum can get brittle and break, and has greater loss than copper. PoE current is another problem with non-copper conductors. There are many ways to check for “copper clad”:

  • For steel, does a magnet stick to it?
  • Does it bend differently than known all-copper cables? (rigid or flimsy)
  • Is the wire damaging your crimper blade? (steel)
  • Does the conductor droop in a lighter flame? (aluminum)
  • Is the resistance of long runs higher than known copper conductors? (big PoE problem, and lossy)
  • Does the cable or box mention CCA or CCS, or not mention solid copper?

High-performance cable for today’s networks runs laps around cheap imitations. Make sure you know what you’re installing, and you can avoid performance and reliability problems down the line.

cat6a flex connector termination guide

Net Chaser™ vs CableIQ

Posted on by editor

Net Chaser vs CableIQ

Comparing product features, it comes down to this: a worker’s everyday results define the value of a tool. This first look at two leading cable test units goes beyond point-by-point comparison charts looking at the device features in the field. A fundamental difference: Net Chaser has a bright color display and and a tree of options with touch screen selection. The CableIQ has a monochrome display and scrolling menus.

What really matters, though, is whether they both can get the job done, over and over, and give results that help ensure quality cable installations and network performance. Here is a differential comparison of the devices, as seen from an installer’s perspective. We’ll start with displays:

  • Net Chaser – Color LCD, direct touch menu. Intuitive, requires understanding of testing for quickest use.
  • CableIQ – Monochrome LCD, scroll and select menu. May be easier to select options for those used to “drop down” lists.

Continuity and wiring

Critical features to ensure single-unit testing include cable short and open testing, distance to fault, cable length, miswires, reverses, split pairs, and wiring verification. Tone generation helps troubleshoot wiring by identifying pairs. With far-end test devices and single-ended testing, testers should be able to verify the performance of the installed cable as meeting or exceeding system design criteria.

  • Net Chaser — Tops at visualizing wiring, thanks to color display. Performs tests listed above.
  • CableIQ — Similar testing modes, with a more limited monochrome display for results.

Basic Cable Testing

Beyond basic continuity tests, tester should verify signaling characteristics of the cable, including Bit Error Rate (up to 1 Gbps), Signal to Noise Ratio, Delay Skew, and possibly some TDR features.

  • Net Chaser — Tests speed, error rate, Signal to Noise Ratio, and SKEW.
  • CableIQ — Slight advantage on crosstalk and impedance with selected limit-based testing.

Network Active Testing

Testing installed cabling can involve checking an operational network or simulating network traffic, and verifying that protocol features are correctly occurring using the data rate and protocol types for which the system was designed. DHCP, port scanning, ping and traceroute testing, and other IP protocol features should operate normally. Top testers should be ready to handle the transition to IPv6 as needed, and fully test PoE if implemented.

  • Net Chaser — Advantages in IPv6 testing (added 2016) and more complete PoE testing including PoE type and load testing for more real-world testing results. Can use static IP address to test without depending on DHCP server. Traceroute, CDP, and LLDP also assist with Network troubleshooting and identifying services such as VLAN and Port ID.
  • CableIQ — PoE presence detection only. Very limited in discovery protocols, traceroute, other higher OSI-layer protocols.

Automation Features

Data should be stored and transmitted to a PC from the device, or available on removable media for report generation and data analysis.

  • Net Chaser –Save and upload test data without the need for PC software; Save thousands of results on internal memory and external SD. Can be uploaded to PC for documentation.
  • CableIQ — Internal test data store and upload only.

Future-proofing

Test device companies should have an eye to future cable verification needs and use by international cabling teams, to prolong the useful life of test equipment and support global use.

  • Net Chaser — Most advanced display and input technology, also upgraded to IPv6 in 2016. Supports English plus “FIGS” European language group.
  • CableIQ — Cable electrical testing features may be helpful with new generations of cable construction. English-only.

Battery life

Testers should be operational for as long as needed.

  • Net Chaser — Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries with up to 8 hours of battery life per charge.
  • CableIQ — 4 AA alkaline batteries, 20 hours battery life. Will need to keep extra batteries on hand.

Comparison Chart

Net Chaser vs CableIQ Comparison Chart

Summary

While the CableIQ is a solid performer with a laboratory testing background, the Net Chaser more directly addresses the diagnostic needs of IT departments, and the high-volume testing requirements of cable installers.

Net Chaser vs Cable Certifier