Cable Testing and Certification

10 Nov 2013
Test-Um's NT955 Validator-NT™ is an all-in-one network management tool with a 4-inch color LCD screen. We will use this tool to certify, identify, configure and document your Ethernet network. The Validator-NT provides every feature we need to test, trace and tune your Ethernet network.

This powerful planning and certification tool tests speed and performance using the latest nt955-cable-testertechnical advances in digital measurement. It defines the job, makes the tests, prints results and stores data. Our Validator-NT measures and presents fast, clear speed and performance results up to 1 Gigabit.

And the software lets us lay out a floor plan, document and print test results plus archive jobs for future reference. It ties together all the different cable criteria found in complex voice/data/video installations. Then it presents concise information in printed reports while storing data for future use.

Cat5/5e Network Cabling Usage and Methods

27 Aug 2009

Category 5


Ethernet_RJ45_connectorCategory 5 cable includes four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. This use of balanced lines helps preserve a high signal-to-noise ratio despite interference from both external sources and other pairs. It is most commonly used for 100 Mbit/s office computer networks, such as 100BaseTX Ethernet, although IEEE 802.3ab defines standards for 1000BaseT - Gigabit Ethernet over category 5 cable.

Category 5e


Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. Although 1000BaseT was designed for use with Cat 5 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000BaseT. Despite the stricter performance specifications, Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: cables are still limited to a maximum of 100m (328 ft) in length.

Connectors and other information


quote iconThe cable exists in both stranded and solid conductor forms. The stranded form is more flexible and withstands more bending without breaking. Taking these things into account, building wiring (for example, the wiring inside the wall that connects a wall socket to a central patch panel) is solid core, while patch cables (for example, the movable cable that plugs into the wall socket on one end and a computer on the other) are stranded. Outer insulation is typically PVC or Plenum. Plenum cable is designed to go into drop ceilings that are used as air returns for the air-conditioning systems in modern office buildings.

Nearly always, 8P8C modular connectors, commonly referred to as "RJ-45", are used for connecting category 5 cable.

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Microsoft,Phone Industry,Iphone,Palm,Palm Pre Phone,Operating System,Software,Pc,Computing

Multi-tasking cell phones, the next wave

3 Jul 2009

Network Cabling,Washington DC, New York City palm_preThe golden age of PCs was DOS. Why? Because the OS made it very easy to write quick, powerful programs. DOS was a simple single-tasking operating system. It was easy to program on DOS because their were a lot of vendors with competing compilers that made writing applications relatively simple.


With the release of Windows, Microsoft made things much more complicated and then made it so complicated that Microsoft is now one of the ONLY company that can develop sophisticated applications on Windows. Unfortunately, Microsoft is not really very good at programming and does not need to innovate because they don't have any competition.

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Optical Fiber Cabling Usage and Methods

24 Apr 2009

Optical fiber is an effective medium for networking because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. It is especially advantageous for long-distance network fiber-opticscommunications, because light propagates through the fiber with little attenuation compared to electrical cables. This allows long distances to be spanned with few or no repeaters. Additionally, the per-channel light signals propagating in the fiber can be easily modulated at 1 Gb/s.


Fiber cable saves space in cable ducts because a single fiber can carry much more data than a single standard data cable. Fiber is also immune to electrical interference; there is no cross-talk between signals in different cables and no pickup of environmental noise. Non-armored fiber cables do not conduct electricity, which makes fiber a good solution for protecting communications equipment located in high voltage environments such as power generation facilities, or metal communication structures prone to lightning strikes. They can also be used in environments where explosive fumes are present, without danger of ignition. Wiretapping is also more difficult compared to electrical connections, and there are concentric dual core fibers that are said to be tap-proof.


Both multi-mode and single-mode fibers are used in communications, with multi-mode fiber used mostly for shoOffice Cabling ,Network Cabling,fiber-optic-cablingrt distances, up to 550 m (600 yards), and single-mode fiber used for longer distance links. Because of the tighter tolerances required to couple light into and between single-mode fibers (core diameter about 10 micrometers), single-mode transmitters, receivers, amplifiers and other components are generally more expensive than multi-mode components.


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Network Cabling ,cat5 cat6 cabling

Choosing between Cat5e and Cat6 at your Office

24 Apr 2009

Trends


The trend is towards higher speeds, of course. Offices have faster computers, faster Internet and more demanding applications. But does this translate into a need for Cat6 cable?

cat5 cat6 cabling,Data CablingCategory 5e and Cat6 Cable


Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: cables are still limited to a maximum of 100m (328 ft) in length. Each Cat 5e cable can carry up to 100mb/sec of data.

Cat 6 cable carries 1gb/sec of data and therefore has 10 times the data capacity of Cat 5e.

The Decision Considerations


Cat 6 will not make your Internet speeds faster. Even at fiber speeds, the Internet still only runs at a fraction of Cat 5 speeds. Cat 6 will also not make VOIP phones were better because VOIP uses only 60-90k per phone line. So, VOIP is a very unlikely reason for using Cat6 cabling

The only reason for using Cat 6 is because you are pushing a lot of data over your cable. This is true when you are running applications off of a server as in the case of a virtual PC environment where applications do not reside on the local desktop system. It is also true when you have applications that have very large data files as in CAD/CAM and other demanding graphic design systems.

A secondary, yet important, consideration is cost. Cat 6 cable is twice as expensive as Cat 5e and it also r

equires Cat 6 jacks, inserts, patch panels and switches. This can add considerably to the overall cost of a project. Any Cat 5 component will slow the connection down to 100mb.

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Data Cabling,cables

Dell GX270 Motherboards have Leaky and Broken Capacitors

8 Feb 2008

"There is a known problem with capacitors on the GX270 motherboard bulging and corroding... (Actually, this is a problem on a lot of systems... the GX270 and a few others have a more specific problem where the capacitors were overfilled)."


This came to my attention a couple of weeks ago when a client called with a PC that wouldn't boot. "It won't power on at all" she said.


The technician I sent quickly determined that the problem was the Motherboard, but why did it fail?


However we have discovered that the Nichon capacitors were not all produced outside control specifications. Rather the affected capacitors were limited to certain batches made during specific shifts during the manufacturing process. This means that not all GX270 motherboards are affected. Unfortunately, there is not specific way to determine which motherboards are affected and which are not.


Specifically the capacitors were filled with more liquid than required. After an approximate service life of 300 days and when the CPU reaches a core temperature of 64 degrees C they will begin to bulge and eventually overflow onto the motherboard causing a system crash and a "No Post" failure on boot. There is usually no data loss associated with this issue."


A quick call to Dell resolved the issue in no time at all. After I gave the person on the phone the service tag number and a description of the problem, he informed me that the Motherboard was still under an extended warranty (that ended Jan.31 2008) and they would send a replacement.


23hrs later, the board is at our office door! WOW! That was quick! Thanks Dell! I can't say that we've needed much from their tech support, but they certainly impressed us this time around.


This post was written on February 8, 2008 but more recently Dell has admitted to shipping out millions of computers with faulty capacitors on them. Even worse, they replaced many motherboards with more defective motherboards.  If you have an Optiplex GX270, I would call Dell immediately to see if it is an affected unit.