Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 15.10
Another cable scanner for Category 5, 5e, and 6 testing. (Courtesy of Fluke Networking.)
The TIA-568-C standard specifies the types of tests that must be made, the way
in which the reporting must be done, and the accuracy levels of these field test sets.
Accuracy levels, reporting requirements, and testing methods are explained earlier
in this chapter.
Many cable scanners have an additional LAN traffic function that is very use-
ful to the LAN manager. This function allows the passive monitoring of a LAN con-
nection to measure traffic and gather some basic LAN statistics.
Most of these testers, for example, can determine LAN utilization (expressed
as a percentage). Some also measure other LAN traffic parameters and show poten-
tial error conditions such as collisions. Even though this goes beyond the cable test-
ing and certifications for a generic cable system, it can be a very useful feature to
monitor the basic network functions.
Analog versus Digital Field Testers
A difference exists between two measurement technologies for high-performance
cable scanners. The two techniques are generally called “analog” and “digital.” The
