CCNA Semester1

Module 4 Cable Testing

Objectives

Basic definitions regarding cable testing Issues relating to the testing of media

Background for Studying Frequency-Based Cable Testing

Waves
A wave is energy traveling from one place to another. Networking professionals are specifically interested in voltage waves on copper media, light waves in optical fiber, and alternating electric and magnetic fields called electromagnetic waves.

Analog signals
Continuous voltage Voltage varies as time progresses Typical of things in nature Many encodings possible

Digital signals
Discret, not continuous Can only have one or two voltage states Voltage jumps between 2 levels Made up of particular sine waves

Decibels
The decibel (dB) is a measurement unit important in describing networking signals. There are two formulas for calculating decibels:
dB = 10 log10 (Pfinal / Pref) dB = 20 log10 (Vfinal / Vreference)

dB measures the loss or gain of the power of a wave. Typically, light waves on optical fiber and radio waves in the air are measured using the power formula. Electromagnetic waves on copper cables are measured using the voltage formula.

Viewing signals in time and frequency

Analyzing signals using an oscilloscope is called time-domain analysis Graphs voltage over time X-axis represents T, Y-axis represents V, may observe and compare 2 waves at once

Fourier synthesis

Noise
Nearby cable carrying electric signal Radio frequency interference (RFI), which is noise from other signals being transmitted nearby Electromagnetic interference (EMI), which is noise from nearby sources such as motors and lights Laser noise at the transmitter or receiver of an optical signal

Narrowband Interference and white noise

Noise that affects all transmission frequencies equally is called white noise. Noise that only affects small ranges of frequencies is called narrowband interference.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is an extremely important concept in communications systems. Two ways of considering bandwidth that are important for the study of LANs are analog bandwidth and digital bandwidth. Analog bandwidth typically refers to the frequency range of an analog electronic system. Digital bandwidth measures how much information can flow from one place to another in a given amount of time.

Signals and Noise

Signaling over copper and fiber optic cabling

On copper cable, data signals are represented by voltage levels that represent binary ones and zeros. The voltage levels are measured with respect to a reference level of ground volt at both the transmitter and the receiver. Fiber optic cable is used to transmit data signals by increasing and decreasing the intensity of light to represent binary ones and zeros. In order for the LAN to operate properly, the receiving device must be able to accurately interpret the binary ones and zeros transmitted as signal levels.

Attenuation loss on copper media

Attenuation is the decrease in signal amplitude over the length of a link.
Long cable lengths and high signal frequencies contribute to greater signal attenuation. The resistance of the copper cable converts some of the electrical energy of the signal to heat. Signal energy is also lost when it leaks through the insulation of the cable and by impedance caused by defective connectors.

Impedance Discontinuity
If a connector is improperly installed on Cat5, it will have a different impedance value than the cable. This is called an impedance discontinuity or an impedance mismatch. Impedance mismatch cause attenuation and jitter as a portion of signal will be reflected back to the transmitting device. The combination of the effects of signal attenuation and impedance discontinuities is called insertion loss.

Types of crosstalk
Near-end Crosstalk (NEXT)

Far-end Crosstalk (FEXT)

Power Sum Near-end Crosstalk (PSNEXT)

Cable testing standards

Wire map Insertion loss Near-end crosstalk (NEXT) Power sum near-end crosstalk (PSNEXT) Equal-level far-end crosstalk (ELFEXT) Power sum equal-level far-end crosstalk (PSELFEXT) Return loss Propagation delay Cable length Delay skew

Cable Testing Standard

Wiring Fault

Other test parameters

Testing optical fiber

Fiber links are subject to the optical equivalent of UTP impedance discontinuities. The main concern with a fiber link is the strength of the light signal that arrives at the receiver.

A new standard
On June 20, 2002, the Category 6 (or Cat 6) addition to the TIA-568 standard was published, called ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1. This new standard specifies the original set of performance parameters that need to be tested for Ethernet cabling as well as the passing scores for each of these tests.

Lab Companion
3.1.9 UTP Cable Construction 4.2.1 Fluke 620 Cable Tester

Summary
Sine waves and square waves Analog bandwidth and digital bandwidth Signals over copper and fiber optic Attenuation loss, impedence discontinuty, crosstalk Wiring faults Cable testing standards