CCNA 1 – Module 4

Cable Testing

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 CCNA 1 – Module 4 Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to:
• Differentiate between sine and square waves
• Define basic terminology related to time, frequency, and noise
• Differentiate between digital and analog bandwidth
• Compare and contrast noise levels on various types of cabling
• Define and describe the affects of attenuation and impedance
mismatch
• Define crosstalk, near-end crosstalk, far-end crosstalk, and
power sum near-end crosstalk
• Describe how crosstalk and twisted pairs help reduce noise.
• Describe the ten tests used for copper cable defined in
TIA/EIA 568-B
• Describe the difference between CAT-5 and CAT-6 cable

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 Waves
• A wave is energy traveling from point to
point
• Voltage waves on copper media (light
waves in optical fiber) use alternating
electric and magnetic fields called the
electromagnetic spectrum
• Wave, or signal amplitude, represents
height and is measured in volts
• Wave period is the amount of time to
complete one cycle (past a given point)
and measured in seconds
• Wave frequency is the number of
complete cycles per second, measured in
Hertz
• If a disturbance is caused, and involves a
fixed, predictable duration, then it is
called a pulse. Pulses determine the
value of the data being transmitted
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 Sine and Square Waves
• Sine waves are mathematical
functions with certain characteristics
• Sine waves are periodic, (repeat
the same pattern at regular
intervals) and continuously
varying (no two adjacent points
have the same value). They are
graphical representations of natural
occurrences changing over time
• Square waves are periodic, however
do not vary with time. They hold a
value for some time, then
suddenly changes to a different
value. They represent digital
signals, or pulses

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 Viewing Signals in Time and Frequency
• An oscilloscope is an
electronic device used to view
electrical signals, such as
voltage waves and pulses
• The horizontal (x-axis) shows
time, and the vertical (y-axis)
shows voltage or current
• There are usually two y-axis
inputs, so two waves can be
observed and measured at
the same time
• Analyzing signals using the
oscilloscope is called time-
domain analysis because the
x-axis represents time
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 Noise in Time and Frequency
• Noise usually refers to undesirable sounds, however noise
in communications is undesirable
• Possible sources for noise:
– Nearby cables which carry data signals
– RFI, is noise from other signals transmitted nearby
– EMI, is noise from nearby sources such as motors and
lights
– Laser noise at the transmitter or receiver end of an
optical (photonic) signal
• Noise affecting all transmission frequencies is called white
noise
• Noise affecting only a small range of narrowband
frequencies is called narrowband interference
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 Bandwidth
• Two ways of considering bandwidth important to LANs is
analog and digital bandwidth
• Analog bandwidth describes the frequencies transmitted
by a radio station or electronic amplifier. The unit of
measurement is Hertz
• Digital bandwidth measures how much information can
flow from one place to another in a given amount of time.
The unit of measurement is bits per second

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Attenuation & Insertion Loss on Copper
• Attenuation is the decrease in signal amplitude over the length
of a link. Long cable runs and high signal frequencies contribute
to greater signal attenuation
• Attenuation on a cable is measured in decibels (dB), using
negative numbers. Smaller negative dB values are an indication
of better link performance
• Impedance is the measurement of resistance of the cable to
alternating current (AC), and measured in ohms. If a connector
is improperly installed on a cable, it has a different impedance
value than the cable, which is called impedance mismatch
• Impedance mismatch causes attenuation because a portion of
the transmitted signal is reflected back to the transmitting device,
rather than continuing to the receiver
• The combination of the effects of signal attenuation and
impedance mismatch on a communications link is called
insertion loss
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 Sources of Noise on Copper Media
• Noise is electrical energy on the cable making it difficult for a
receiver to interpret the data from the transmitter
• Crosstalk involves the transmission of signals from one wire
to a nearby wire. Adjacent wires in the cable act like
antennas, receiving the transmitted energy, interfering with
data on those wires
• Cable testers measure crosstalk by applying a test signal on
one wire pair. The tester then measures the amplitude of
the unwanted crosstalk signals induced on the other wire
pairs in the cable

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 Types of Crosstalk

Three distinct kinds of crosstalk:

• NEXT (Near-end Crosstalk) –
computed as the ratio of voltage
amplitude between the test signal
and the crosstalk signal when
measured from the same end
• FEXT (Far-end Crosstalk) –
crosstalk occurring further away
from the transmitter, creating less
noise on the cable as NEXT
• PSNEXT (Power Sum NEXT) –
measures the cumulative effect of
NEXT from all wire pairs in the
cable. PSNEXT is computed for
each wire pair based on the NEXT
effects of the other three wire pairs

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 Cable Testing Standards
Ten primary test parameters to be verified for a cable link to meet
TIA/EIA standards are:

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

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 Wire Map Test
• Ethernet standards specify
each of the pins on the RJ-
45 connector have a specific
purpose
• A NIC transmits on pins 1
and 2, and receives on pins
3 and 6
• Wire map tests ensure no
open or short circuits exist
on the cable
• Wire map tests also ensure
all 8 wires are connected to
the correct pins on both
ends of the cable

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 Other Test Parameters

• Insertion loss is measured in decibels at the far end of the cable

• Crosstalk is measured in four separate tests
• A cable tester measures NEXT by applying a test signal on one
cable pair and measuring the amplitude of the crosstalk received by
the other cable pairs
• ELFEXT measures FEXT, and is expressed in decibels as the
difference between the measured FEXT and the insertion loss of the
wire pair whose signal is disturbed by the FEXT
• Return loss is a measure, in decibels, of reflections that are caused
by impedance mismatches at all locations along the link. The main
problem is that the signal echoes caused by the reflections from the
impedance mismatches will strike the receiver at different time
intervals causing jitter

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 Testing Optical Fiber
• Because noise is not an issue with
optical fiber, the main concern on the
fiber link is the strength of the light
signal that arrives at the receiver
• If attenuation weakens the light signal
at the receiver, then data errors will
result
• The acceptable amount of signal
power loss that can occur without
dropping below the requirements of
the receiver is called the optical link
loss budget
• If the fiber test fails, the cable test
instrument indicates where the optical
discontinuities occur along the length
of the cable link
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 Category 6 Cable
• On June 20, 2002, the CAT-6 addition to
the TIA-568 standard was published
• Cables certified as CAT-6 must pass all
ten tests as those for CAT-5
• The CAT-6 tests are essentially the
same as those specified by the CAT-5
standard, but CAT-6 must pass the tests
with higher scores to be certified See the Fluke website for more details @
www.flukenetworks.com

• A quality cable tester similar to the Fluke

DSP 4000 series or Fluke OMNIScanner
2 can perform all the test measurements
for CAT-5, CAT-5e, and CAT-6

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 Summary
You should now be able to:
• Differentiate between sine and square waves
• Define basic terminology related to time, frequency, and noise
• Differentiate between digital and analog bandwidth
• Compare and contrast noise levels on various types of cabling
• Define and describe the affects of attenuation and impedance
mismatch
• Define crosstalk, near-end crosstalk, far-end crosstalk, and
power sum near-end crosstalk
• Describe how crosstalk and twisted pairs help reduce noise.
• Describe the ten tests used for copper cable defined in
TIA/EIA 568-B
• Describe the difference between CAT-5 and CAT-6 cable

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Questions???

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