Patrick McLaughlin
Fluke Corp. (Everett, WA), a supplier of products and services for the installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of computer networks, now offers a free upgrade to version 5.0 of its dsp-100 CableMeter test tool. The upgrade lets cable installers perform test measurements, including power-sum near-end crosstalk and headroom, based on worst-case near-end crosstalk margin over the total bandwidth tested.
"Although Gigabit Ethernet standards have not been finalized, manufacturers are recommending that cabling professionals make advanced test measurements to prepare cabling plants for high-speed networks," says Hugo Draye, Fluke`s marketing manager for media test technologies. He says the dsp-100 allows cabling professionals to certify installations for compliance with telecommunications systems bulletin tsb-67--issued by the Telecommunications Industry Association (Arlington, VA)--and ensure that installations will comply with foreseeable standards modifications.
Draye explains that designs for high-speed networks, such as Gigabit Ethernet, achieve high throughput data rates by transmitting the data over multiple wire pairs simultaneously. In such a case, he says, crosstalk disturbance in a wire pair is caused by the combined crosstalk effect of the three other pairs in the link. The power-sum near-end crosstalk test measures this combined crosstalk effect.
Version 5.0 of the dsp-100 can store up to 1150 results of the four tests mandated by tsb-67-- attenuation, cable length, near-end crosstalk, and wire map--which are commonly grouped and referred to as an autotest. Also, the tester can perform single-end tests without a remote unit, for testing a cable`s performance while it is still on the spool.
Now shipping in current dsp-100 instruments, version 5.0 is also available as a free software upgrade to existing customers from the Fluke Web site at www.fluke.com/nettools. For more information, call the company at (800) 443-5853.