TSB-67

Transmission Performance Specifications for

Field Testing of UTP Cabling Systems

Prepared by:
ANSI/EIA/TIA PN-3287
Task Group on UTP Link Performance
Required Field Test Parameters for
TSB-67

• Wire Map
• Length
– Propagation Delay
– Delay Skew
• Attenuation
• Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT)
 The “new” category 5
• wire map same
• length same
• attenuation same
• NEXT same
• propagation delay already spec’d
• delay skew already spec’d
• Power Sum NEXT new
• Return Loss new (already in ISO)
• ELFEXT new
• Power Sum ELFEXT new
 Link Definition “Channel”
(Two transitions at each end)

Channel Channel
End USER’S
End
PATCH
WALL CORD
USER’S OUTLET
PATCH
CORD

HORIZONTAL CABLE

PATCH
PANEL Under carpet or
furniture connector

WORK AREA
WIRING CLOSET
Link Definition “Basic Link”
(One transition at each end)

Link End Link End

WALL
OUTLET
PATCH
PANEL

HORIZONTAL CABLE
TESTER
PATCH
TESTER CORD
PATCH
CORD
WORK AREA

WIRING CLOSET
 Horizontal Cabling Length Limits
OVERALL LINK LENGTH LIMIT:
100 Meters Max

HUB/SWITCH

WORK
PATCH AREA
CORDS CORDS
7m Max* 3m Max

HORIZONTAL CABLE
90 Meters Max
WIRING
CLOSET WORK AREA
(TC)
*Total combined length off all patch cords in TC cannot exceed 7m
 AutoTest Results
• Autotest runs all tests
required by the
choosen standard
– TSB-67:
• Wire Map
• Length
• NEXT
• NEXT@Remote
• Attenuation
 Wire Map

• Continuity end-to-end
• Shorts between any two or more
conductors (or shield)
• Transposed pairs
• Reversed pairs
• Split pairs
• ...and any other miswires
Correct Pair Wiring
Wire Map Results
Reversed Pair
 Transposed Pairs

Example: mix T568A and T568B wiring

standards = Trouble
 Pin/Pair Assignment - T568A

Pair 1, (Blue)
Pair 2, (Orange)

Pair 3, (Green) Pair 4, (Brown)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
 Pin/Pair Assignment - T568B

Pair 1, (Blue)
Pair 3, (Green)
Pair 4, (Brown)
Pair 2, (Orange)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
DSP Series Test Results
Transposed Pair
 Split Pairs
• Caused by connecting wires from different pairs
to paired pins
• This effectively results in an untwisted cable
which can cause a high level of Near-end
Crosstalk (NEXT)
Split Pairs
DSP Series Test Results
Nominal Velocity of Propagation
(NVP)

The speed at which a signal travels in a cable,

expressed as a percentage of the speed of light in
vacuum.

speed at which pulse travels in cable

NVP = X 100%
speed of light in vacuum
Speed of light in vacuum is 300,000 km/s or 0.3 m/nsec
 Length Calculation
RT_Prop_delay (nsec) x NVP x Speed_of_Light
Length =
2
Example:
measurement of Prop_delay: 435 nsec
NVP (%) Length (ft)
68.5 293.3
69 295.4
69.5 297.6
70 299.7
Length Results
 Length Measurement Reporting

• Measured Link Length

– Calculated for shortest electrical delay
– Includes the length of the two patch cords
• Test Limit (PASS/FAIL)
– Maximum allowable link length PLUS 10%
– Calculated for shortest electrical delay
 Propagation Delay

1 1
481 ns
2 2
3 3
486 ns
6 6
4 4
494 ns
5 5
7 7
484 ns
8 8
Propagation Delay
 Delay Skew
The difference in propagation delay
1 1
0 ns (481 ns)
2 2
3 3
5 ns (486 ns)
6 6
4 4
13 ns (494 ns)
5 5
7 7
3 ns (484 ns)
8 8
Delay Skew
DSP Series Test Results
 Attenuation

The amount of signal loss in the

transmission link (expressed in dB)

Signal Signal
Source Receiver

dB Loss
 Attenuation
• Sources/Causes
– The electrical characteristics of the cable
materials and its construction
– Insertion losses due to improper
termination (IDC)
– Reflections due to impedance mismatches
• Effect
– Above a certain amount of loss, the cabling
link may not reliably transmit network data
Attenuation as a Function of
Frequency
Attenuation (dB) Pair 1,2
TEST CABLE (300 ft) PASS: 30-May-97 01:20:22pm
25

20

15

10

0
0.1 10.1 20.1 30.1 40.1 50.1 60.1 70.1 80.1 90.1 100.1
MHz
Mukilteo Cable Co. TIA Cat 5 Basic Link Limit
Attenuation View Plot
DSP Series Test Results
Attenuation Measurement Reporting

• PASS
– Highest measured attenuation and
frequency at which this occurred
– Test limit at this frequency
• FAIL
– Measured attenuation and frequency at
which this occurred
– Test limit at this frequency
 Near End Crosstalk (NEXT)

Transmit

Receive

• Crosstalk measures the amount of signal

interference from one pair to another pair
• NEXT measures crosstalk at the signal
source (Near End)
 Effects of NEXT

• Similar to noise interference

• “Induced” signal may have sufficient
amplitude
– to corrupt the original signal
– to be falsely detected as valid data
• Effect:
– intermittent station lockup
– complete network attachment failure
NEXT
NEXT Results
 NEXT is measured in dB

NEAR END FAR END

1 1
Tx signal 100

2 2
3 3

Rx dist. 100

6 6

Power of measured disturbance

NEXT (dB) = 10 Log
Power of transmitted signal
 NEXT View Plot
• Press View Plot
• Press Next Pair to
view other pair
combina-tions
• Press EXIT until
you return to the
Autotest results
screen
 NEXT Measurement

To be measured from both

ends of the link
 NEXT@Remote
• NEXT measure-
ments taken at the
far end
• Highlight
NEXT@Remote
• Press ENTER
• Press View Plot
 Why Do We Need Next
Measurement at Both Ends?
NEAR END FAR END
1 1
Tx PAIR 100

2 2
3 3
Rx PAIR 100

6 6

BAD CONNECTOR
Crosstalk of 24 dB
@ 62.5 MHz
 Testing from the Far
End Reveals the Problem
NEAR END FAR END
1 1
100 Tx PAIR
2 2
3 3
100 Rx PAIR
6 6
BAD CONNECTOR
Crosstalk of 24 dB
@ 62.5 MHz
NEXT Measurement Evaluation

Worst Case Margin: +4.8dB at 2.7MHz

 NEXT - Worst Case Margin

• Margin: Difference between measured value and

pass/fail (minimum performance) value
– Positive margin means NEXT Loss is better than minimum
(Pass)
– Negative margin means NEXT Loss exceeds the minimum
(Fail)
• Worst case:
– smallest margin
– the point closest to the standard’s limit across all
frequencies
 (Pair-to-pair) NEXT

A 6 Combinations
• A→B
• A→C
• A→D
B C
• B→C
• B→D
• C→D
D
 NEXT Headroom
• Worst case NEXT
across all 12 pair-to-
pair NEXT tests
– 6 pair combinations
from Main Unit
– 6 pair combinations
from Remote Unit
• Headroom indicates the
quality of the link
– Positive = PASS
– Bigger value is better
 Calculating Headroom

• Headroom = worst “Worst Case NEXT Margin”

• Headroom = 6.5dB
 The traditional two-pair system
S/N = ACR
External noise
Workstation LAN equipment
Signal
Transmit Receive
(Output) (Input)
NEXT Signal
Receive Transmit
(Input) (Output)
 ACR

• Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio

• A variant of Signal to Noise Ratio
• The difference between NEXT (in
dB) and Attenuation (in dB)
• The “best” performance indicator to
determine “useable” bandwidth
 Link Performance

• NEXT is used as indicator for quality

of components and workmanship.
• ACR as an indicator of maximum
usable bandwidth.
– 10 dB: still usable signal power
– 0 dB: noise power equals signal power
you cannot rely on signal energy above
the frequency at which the ACR = 0 dB
 TIA Limits: Attenuation, NEXT, ACR
70.0

60.0

50.0
Limit in dB

40.0 Att (limit)

NEXT (limit)
30.0 ACR (limit)

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Frequency in M Hz
 Measured ACR Values
90.0

80.0

70.0

60.0
ACR in dB

50.0
ACR (limit)
ACR (DSP)
40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Frequency in MHz
DSP Series ACR Test Results
 Power Sum NEXT
Horizontal Patch
Workstation Outlet Cabling Panel Hub

Power Sum NEXT is the combined NEXT on one wire pair from all other wire pairs
 Power Sum NEXT

• The amount of crosstalk induced on a

pair when signals are applied
simultaneously to all other cable pairs
• A harder test to pass than NEXT
– uses TIA NEXT pair-to-pair limits
• Will be included in new standard
• It’s a calculation, not measurement.
Power Sum NEXT

PS NEXT Margin PSNEXT Plot

 NEXT and FEXT
Telecommunications Cabling Patch
Workstation Outlet panel Hub

NEXT FEXT

FEXT is additive
all crosstalk along the link adds to the FEXT disturbance observed at the receiver
Multiple pair -parallel transmission

Far-End Crosstalk (FEXT) adds disturbance

Workstation Signal 1 LAN Equipment

Transmit Receive
(Output) FEXT (Input)
Signal 2
Transmit Receive
(Output) Input

Example: 1000BASE-T: 4 pairs are used.)

 ELFEXT (Equal Level FEXT)
Horizontal Patch
Workstation Outlet Cabling panel Hub

FEXT
ELFEXT
attenuation (signal
difference
in dB)

ELFEXT is the FEXT level relative to the attenuated signal (FEXT-Attenuation)

 Power Sum ELFEXT

Workstation LAN Equipment

Signal 1

FEXT
Transmit Receive
(Output) (Input)

Example: 1000BASE-T: 4 pairs are used.)

 ELFEXT: A factor in S/N Ratio
• Measure Far End Crosstalk Loss
(“analogous” to measuring NEXT loss)
• Measure attenuation
• ELFEXT: Subtract attenuation from FEXT
loss
• ELFEXT: another indication of S/N for
LAN systems where two or more signals
travel in the same direction (1000BASE-T).
 PSNEXT and PSFEXT

• Multiple Disturber NEXT (MDNEXT):

“Power Sum” addition of NEXT Losses
• Multiple Disturber FEXT (MDFEXT):
“Power Sum” addition of FEXT Losses
• Of particular importance in 2 situations:
– Use of 25-pair cable
– Network applications that use parallel
transmission over 2 or more wire pairs
 Return Loss
• A measure of reflected signal power
over the frequency range of interest
• Result of variations in Characteristic
Impedance
– Structural variations due to the cable
manufacturing process
– Connectors
– Installation
 Effect of Return Loss
Full Duplex LAN systems

System A System B
Signal A to B
Transmit Receive
Output Reflection Input
Signal B to A
Receive
Input Directional
Coupler
Desired signal = attenuated signal from other end.
Noise = reflected signal on same wire pair.
 Noise contributors in S/N Ratio
• ACR is the “traditional” S/N indicator for
2-wire pair LAN systems
• ACR no longer will be the only measure
• ELFEXT loss is another S/N indicator when
multiple signals are transmitted in parallel
• Return loss causes another S/N degradation
when signals on a wire pair are transmitted in
two directions at the same time (Full Duplex)
 Combined Noise Disturbance

Transmit
Output

Receiver must
Receive
detect attenuated
Input
signal

• Disturbance at receiver input:

– NEXT (3 other pairs)
– ELFEXT (3 other pairs)
– Return Loss