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If 90% of all problems in a network are on the Physical Layer, then it isnt any surprise that cable testing has become quite important in the industry. And although it may sound simple to test a pair of cables for faults, actually troubleshooting wire maps, crosstalk, propagation delay, or insertion loss can be more than headache-worthy. And thus, understanding how to troubleshoot these problems saves time, yet also supplies good information to prevent common mistakes in the future.
Youll notice that the Ethernet cable on the right has too much wire left over- we actually need to crimp the connector to the point where no internal wiring is visible. Its important to note that while the wires do need to be separated to properly install a connector, they should only be separated as little as possible. Otherwise the lack of cancellation will create crosstalk- and possibly cause hard-to-track failures in a network.
Youll notice in the above diagram that as distance increases, amplitude decreases. This becomes a problem since computers communicate in this instance via two values; high values and low values. Since the high value becomes increasingly similar to a low value, the signal will eventually become worthless for communication. Several factors create attenuation- mostly resistance in the copper wire and leaked signal energy. So to fix the problem, we try to stick with the recommended cable lengths. If you indeed need a longer cable run, you may clean the signal by adding a repeater, switch, router, or other devices to your network so that the signal can be regenerated. Its also important to note that as frequency (the number of cycles a second) increases, so does the noise and interference.
Other more advanced devices may test for thing such as propagation delay. Propagation delay is a measurement of how long a signal takes to get from one point to another on a cable. Obviously if there is an abnormally long wait time, we will need to adjust the length of the cable accordingly. However, most wiring jobs do not necessarily need tests such as these, and a wire map will suffice. One last thing to keep in mind about cable testers is that they can indeed test for crosstalk. There are several types of crosstalk, each particularly harmful to your network. It is generally a good idea to test for crosstalk, although the skilled cable maker will know how to properly install a connector, and thus, this test isnt as vital.
provides is well worth it. And in longer cable runs, fiber optic cable will actually cost less than copper media.
Closing Comments
Cisco doesnt put a lot of emphasis on cable testing, but many of their courses require a student to know how to make a proper cable. The CCNA 1 Module 4 exam also covers a lot of the material mentioned above.