IDEAL SIGNALTEK Installation manual

IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc. 1-1
SIGNALTEKTM
Cable Performance Tester
Operation Manual
Rev B. JAN 07
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc. i
This document contains information proprietary to IDEAL
INDUSTRIES, Inc. The information in this document is not to be
used or duplicated in any manner without prior written approval
from IDEAL INDUSTRIES.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES and the IDEAL INDUSTRIES logo are
registered trademarks of IDEAL INDUSTRIES.
All other product names mentioned in this book are trademarked or
copyrighted by their respective manufacturers.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc.
Becker Place
Sycamore, IL 60178 USA
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Manual Part No. 6510-91-0003 Rev. A
© 2006, IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc.
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. ii
IDEAL INDUSTRIES STANDARD WARRANTY POLICY
IDEAL INDUSTRIES warrants that all SIGNALTEK Products
manufactured or procured by IDEAL INDUSTRIES conform to
IDEAL INDUSTRIES’ published specifications and are free from
defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years
from the date of delivery to the original Buyer, when used under
normal operating conditions and within the service conditions for
which they are designed. This warranty is not transferable and
does not apply to used or demonstration products.
The obligation of IDEAL INDUSTRIES arising from a Warranty
claim shall be limited to repairing, or at its option, replacing without
charge, any assembly or component (except batteries and cable
adapters), which in IDEAL INDUSTRIES’ sole opinion proves to be
defective within the scope of the Warranty. In the event IDEAL
INDUSTRIES is not able to modify, repair or replace
nonconforming defective parts or components to a condition as
warranted within a reasonable time after receipt thereof, Buyers
shall receive credit in the amount of the original invoiced price of
the product.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES must be notified in writing of the defect or
nonconformity within the Warranty period and the affected Product
returned to IDEAL INDUSTRIES’ factory, designated Service
Provider, or Authorized Service Center within thirty (30) days after
discovery of such defect or nonconformity. Buyer shall prepay
shipping charges and insurance for Products returned to IDEAL
INDUSTRIES or its designated Service Provider for warranty
service. IDEAL INDUSTRIES or its designated Service Provider
shall pay costs for return of Products to Buyer.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES shall have no responsibility for any defect or
damage caused by improper storage, improper installation,
unauthorized modification, misuse, neglect, inadequate
maintenance, accident or for any Product which has been repaired
or altered by anyone other than IDEAL INDUSTRIES or its
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual iii
authorized representative or not in accordance with instructions
furnished by IDEAL INDUSTRIES.
The Warranty described above is Buyer’s sole and exclusive
remedy and no other warranty, whether written or oral, expressed
or implied by statute or course of dealing shall apply. IDEAL
INDUSTRIES specifically disclaims the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. No statement,
representation, agreement, or understanding, oral or written, made
by an agent, distributor, or employee of IDEAL INDUSTRIES,
which is not contained in the foregoing Warranty will be binding
upon IDEAL INDUSTRIES, unless made in writing and executed
by an authorized representative of IDEAL INDUSTRIES. Under no
circumstances shall IDEAL INDUSTRIES be liable for any direct,
indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, expenses,
or losses, including loss of profits, based on contract, tort, or any
other legal theory.
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. iv
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................iv
Table of Figures...........................................................................vi
1 Introduction .............................................................................. 1-1
Cable Qualification Testing ...................................................... 1-1
SIGNALTEK Test Functions .................................................... 1-3
Cable Types ............................................................................. 1-4
Cable types that can be tested with SIGNALTEK: .................. 1-6
Test Port and Cable Adapters.................................................. 1-6
Standard Accessories .............................................................. 1-6
Optional Accessories................................................................ 1-7
Memory..................................................................................... 1-7
Tests: ........................................................................................ 1-7
Batteries & Power................................................................... 1-12
Battery Charging Warnings ....................................................1-14
Graphical User Interface Navigation ......................................1-15
User Interface Navigation.......................................................1-16
2 Setup and Configuration......................................................... 2-1
Wire map Display Color Code.................................................. 2-1
Autotest Preferences................................................................ 2-2
Autotest Modes......................................................................... 2-3
Cable Performance Setup........................................................ 2-4
IP Address Setup .....................................................................2-6
Ping Setup ................................................................................ 2-7
Device Defaults ........................................................................ 2-8
Owner Information.................................................................... 2-9
Display Preferences ................................................................. 2-9
Timeout Options .....................................................................2-10
Measurement Units ................................................................2-11
Date and Time........................................................................2-11
Cable ID Prefix ....................................................................... 2-12
Language................................................................................ 2-13
Restore Factory Defaults........................................................ 2-13
Updating Firmware.................................................................2-14
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual v
3 Test Storage and Management .............................................. 3-1
Using the Job Tab Functions ................................................... 3-1
Printing and Copying to USB Drives ........................................ 3-2
Direct PC Connection (Windows XP™ only) ........................... 3-3
Copy to External USB Drive..................................................... 3-3
Printing Directly to a USB Printer ............................................. 3-4
4 Running Autotests................................................................... 4-1
Beginning an Autotest .............................................................. 4-2
Stopping an Autotest ................................................................ 4-3
Active Link Testing ................................................................... 4-3
No-Link Testing ........................................................................ 4-4
Manual Tests ............................................................................ 4-4
5 Test Results.............................................................................. 5-1
Wire map Results ..................................................................... 5-1
Wire map Testing Active LAN Links......................................... 5-2
Link Establishment ................................................................... 5-2
Bit Error Rate Tests.................................................................. 5-3
Performance Test Failures.......................................................5-5
6 Fiber Optic Testing .................................................................. 6-1
Overview................................................................................... 6-1
Fiber Qualification Abilities ....................................................... 6-2
Setup and Calibration............................................................... 6-4
7 Troubleshooting & Frequently Asked Questions................ 7-1
8 Care and Calibration................................................................ 8-1
9 Specifications........................................................................... 9-1
10 Customer Service ................................................................ 10-1
IDEAL INDUSTRIES World Wide Contact Information .........10-2
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. vi
Table of Figures
Figure 1-1 T-568 A/B Color Code................................................. 1-5
Figure 1-2 SIGNALTEK Handsets................................................ 1-9
Figure 1-3 Battery Discharge Characteristics............................. 1-13
Figure 1-4 AutoTest Tab - Active................................................1-16
Figure 1-5 AutoTest Tab - Inactive .............................................1-17
Figure 2-1 Setup Tab.................................................................... 2-1
Figure 2-2 Wire map Display Preferences ................................... 2-2
Figure 2-3 Autotest Preferences................................................... 2-2
Figure 2-4 Remote Detected ........................................................ 2-3
Figure 2-5 Active LAN (Link) Detected......................................... 2-3
Figure 2-6 No Link Detected......................................................... 2-3
Figure 2-7 Cable Performance Setup........................................... 2-5
Figure 2-8 VoIP Setup .................................................................. 2-6
Figure 2-9 IP Address Setup ........................................................ 2-7
Figure 2-10 Ping Setup................................................................. 2-8
Figure 2-11 Owner Information..................................................... 2-9
Figure 2-12 Display Contrast...................................................... 2-10
Figure 2-13 Timeout Options...................................................... 2-10
Figure 2-14 Measurement Units ................................................. 2-11
Figure 2-15 Date and Time......................................................... 2-11
Figure 2-16 Cable ID Prefix Setup.............................................. 2-12
Figure 2-17 Language Setup...................................................... 2-13
Figure 2-18 Factory Defaults ...................................................... 2-13
Figure 2-19 Firmware Version .................................................... 2-14
Figure 3-1 Job Tab........................................................................ 3-1
Figure 3-2 USB Printer Cable....................................................... 3-4
Figure 4-1 Autotest Tab ................................................................ 4-1
Figure 5-1 Wire map Results ........................................................ 5-1
Figure 5-2 Link Establishment Results......................................... 5-3
Figure 5-3 Cable Performance Results ........................................ 5-4
Figure 6-1 SIGNALTEK-FO Top Connectors............................... 6-2
Figure 6-2 LC-to-SC cable............................................................ 6-3
Figure 6-3 SC Coupler.................................................................. 6-3
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual vii
Figure 6-4 Calibration Setup......................................................... 6-4
Figure 6-5 Calibration Complete Screen ...................................... 6-5
Figure 6-6 Fiber Link Establishment............................................. 6-5
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc. 1-1
1Introduction
SIGNALTEK is a unique cabling tester that offers the user the
ability to test the performance of a wide range of installed cable
system characteristics. With SIGNALTEK, the user can verify
network performance, troubleshoot connectivity problems, and
view network speeds to determine if the installed cable provides
the necessary performance to support desired applications.
?SIGNALTEK is easy to use. It offers any installer the ability to
perform cable performance tests and rapidly locate
connectivity issues.
?SIGNALTEK will generate performance reports that can be
viewed and printed with any web browser. No special software
is necessary making it easy to view, print, and share test data.
?SIGNALTEK can test cable links in one of three conditions:
Terminated with the SIGNALTEK remote device; Active LAN
Links that terminate to a hub, switch, or PC; or to a single-
ended link that is not terminated to a device at the opposite
end.
?SIGNALTEK uses two test handsets that allow full-duplex
performance testing of cables at Ethernet speeds of up to 1
Gigabit per second (1Gbps).
Cable Qualification Testing
Most cable installers are familiar with TIA-568 or ISO-11801
cabling standards. All cable certification instruments such as
IDEAL LANTEK Certifiers perform measurements to these
standards at frequency ranges specified by these standards. The
concept behind certification testing is that the cable is being tested
to provide support for any communications protocol that operates
in a given frequency range. For some installations this level of
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. 1-2
testing is critical because the cabling installer does not necessarily
know what types of devices are going to used on the network.
For example, a network that has been certified to meet the
requirements for Category 5e performance can support various
applications such as 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet, 155Mbps ATM,
RS-488, RS-232, and many more. However, it is often the case
that in any residential or commercial network, Ethernet devices will
be the only type used.
SIGNALTEK uses the IEEE 802.3ab (Gigabit Ethernet) standard
as a reference for cable performance testing. Rather than a
traditional certification test where frequency-based parameters
such as Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) and return loss are measured,
performance or qualification testing, as it is sometimes called, is a
Bit Error Rate Test (BERT). Data packets are sent down the cable
to the remote handset then re-transmitted back to the display
handset where the number of lost or errored packets is counted.
The results are displayed for the user to get an instant view of the
cable’s performance. A cable performance test is marked as a
“pass” or “fail” based on the IEEE 802.3ab parameters which
specify the number of error packets allowed in a given test time.
The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) has
created a set of standards that allows hardware and software to
perform over a variety of media. Unlike the EIA/TIA which specifies
cabling limits to support various communications protocols, the
IEEE creates the actual protocols. The 802 structure addresses the
following transmission protocols:
?802.3 Ethernet over a physical medium (twisted pair)
?802.4 Token passing over a Bus topology
?802.5 Token passing over a Ring topology
?802.11 A family of wireless signaling standards (Wi-Fi)
?802.12 Shared media standard that will support Ethernet and
Token Ring on the same physical network
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual 1-3
SIGNALTEK Test Functions
SIGNALTEK can perform a variety of both passive and active tests
on communications cable. The passive tests are those where
SIGNALTEK is connected to both ends of the cabling link. Active
tests are those in which one end of the link is connected to an
active network device such as a PC, switch, router or other device
and the opposite end of the link is connected to the SIGNALTEK
handset.
?Wire map – Displays the physical paring of the cable. Also
displays the length of each pair, the condition of the
termination (terminated, open, shorted) and the delay skew
when a Gigabit link is established.
?Link Establishment – Displays the fastest Ethernet speed that
SIGNALTEK was able to establish on the link. When the link is
terminated with a SIGNALTEK remote handset, Link
Establishment will display 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps depending on
the quality of the cabling. When connected to an active LAN
link, Link Establishment will display the fastest speed that was
negotiated with the remote switch/hub/NIC.
?Cable Performance – Displays the BERT data results for links
tested between the SIGNALTEK display and remote handsets.
Information displayed includes: packet size, total number of
packets transmitted, number of packets received, number of
packets with errors, and a percentage bar graph of each.
Note: The setup options allow the Cable
Performance test to be run with default IEEE
802.3 parameters or customized with a user
defined test time and failure threshold.
?VoIP (Voice over IP) Performance – Similar to the Cable
Performance test except that the packets are smaller to
accurately simulate VoIP transmissions.
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. 1-4
?Web Performance – Performance test that simulates the size
and payload of typical internet packets.
?IP Video Performance – Performance test that simulates the
size and payload of typical IP video applications.
Note: IP Video is not the same as CATV
broadband video. This test is useful to test twisted
pair links that will be used to support IP cameras
for security applications.
?DHCP – When connected to active Ethernet networks the
display handset will locate a DHCP (Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol) server and request an IP address from
the server. The data displayed is: SIGNALTEK’s IP address, IP
address of the DHCP server, the IP address of the network
router, IP subnet, and the name of the internet service provider
(ISP).
?Ping – Displays the results of the ping test when SIGNALTEK
is connected to an active Ethernet network. The user can
choose the target IP address to ping, the packet size, the
number of packets to send, the delay between packets, and
the failure threshold.
Cable Types
SIGNALTEK is compatible with a variety of cable types and
configurations. Cable Performance tests can be run on any type of
twisted pair cable that supports Ethernet. Since 10/100 Ethernet
requires a minimum of two pairs to operate, cables with only one
pair cannot be tested for Ethernet performance, this includes coax
cable types.
When performing a Cable Performance test it is important to
consider the physical wiring requirements of Ethernet. If the cable
is not wired in a compatible manner, the Cable Performance test
will be unable to run since an Ethernet link cannot be established.
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual 1-5
10/100 Ethernet requires two twisted pairs to be terminated to the
RJ-45 connector. Each transceiver will transmit on pins 1/2 and
receive on pins 3/6.
Figure 1-1 T-568 A/B Color Code
There is no performance difference between T568-A and T568-B
wiring configurations. However most standards recommend the
use of the T568-A configuration since it provides better
compatibility with telephone wiring used in residential applications.
Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) operates over Category 5 or better
cable and utilizes all four pairs of the cable.
Table 1-1 Ethernet Signaling
RJ-45 Pin # 10/100 Mbps 1000Mbps
1 Tx + Bi-Dir A +
2 Tx - Bi-Dir A -
3 Rx + Bi-Dir B +
4 Unused Bi-Dir C +
5 Unused Bi-Dir C -
6 Rx - Bi-Dir B -
7 Unused Bi-Dir D +
8 Unused Bi-Dir D -
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. 1-6
Cable types that can be tested with SIGNALTEK:
?CAT 3 UTP
?CAT 3 STP
?CAT 5e UTP
?CAT 5e STP
?CAT 6 UTP
?CAT 6 STP
?CAT 6a UTP
?CAT 6a STP
?CAT 7 STP
?USOC (3 pair)
?Single Pair
?RG6
?RG59
Test Port and Cable Adapters
SIGNALTEK is configured to allow testing of the following
interfaces:
?RJ45, 4 pair UTP/STP
?RJ12, 3 pair UTP Telephone wire
?Coaxial Connector Type “F”
Standard Accessories
?2 x RJ45 STP Cat 5e patch cord
?2 x RJ45 to RJ12 silver satin telephone patch cord
?2 x RJ45 to coaxial “F” adapter cord
?2 x RJ12 to alligator clip cable
?2 x RJ45 to RJ12 adapter
?USB “A” to mini “B” cable
?8 x AA alkaline batteries
?Soft-sided carrying case
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual 1-7
Optional Accessories
?120-240 volt AC power adapter with multi national plugs (Part
Number 4010-00-0136)
Memory
SIGNALTEK test records are stored internally in the display unit
and can be copied to a USB memory drive. Internal memory
capacity is approximately 20,000 records. External memory
capacity is limited only by the size of the USB memory drive.
Stored record files can be copied to a PC using a common USB
memory drive device or be transferred to the PC from the
SIGNALTEK with the provided USB cable.
Tests:
The following table indicates which tests can be run on a variety of
cable types.
Note: All cable performance measurements
require the presence of at least two pairs of wires
terminated in accordance with the TIA-568 A/B
wiring configuration. Cable performance tests
cannot be run on cables terminated with the
USOC wiring configuration or on cables with fewer
than 2 pairs of conductors (i.e. coax, alarm,
speaker wire).
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. 1-8
Table 1-2 Cable Test Ability Chart
Cable Types Mapping Shorted Pairs Opens Reversed Pairs Length Distance to Open Distance to Short Cable Performance (10/100/1000Mbps)
Data
CAT 5 UTP X X X X X X X X
CAT 5e UTP X X X X X X X X
CAT 6 UTP X X X X X X X X
CAT6a UTP X X X X X X X X
CAT 5 STP X X X X X X X X
CAT 5e STP X X X X X X X X
CAT 6 STP X X X X X X X X
CAT 6a STP X X X X X X X X
CAT 7 STP X X X X X X X X
Phone
CAT 3 - 3 pair X X X X X X X 10/100
CAT 3 - 4 pair X X X X X X X X
Coax
RG 59/6 X X X X X X
Misc.
2-Wire X X X XX X
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SIGNALTEK Operation Manual 1-9
Figure 1-2 SIGNALTEK Handsets
The following table describes the function of each button and LED
on the SIGNALTEK handsets.
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IDEAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. 1-10
Table 1-3 Key and LED Functions
Button Function
F1-F4 keys are used to perform different functions dependin
g
on the current screen. Options for these keys are displayed
on the LCD above each key.
When pressed, the SIGNALTEK display will automatically
change to the Autotest tab and begin running an Autotest.
Pressing the Autotest button on the remote handsets will als
o
initiate an Autotest.
Brings up the Manual tab. Individual tests can be selected
and run for diagnostics or troubleshooting. Manual tests
cannot be stored to memory.
Pressing this button on the remote handset while connected
to an active LAN port will display the speed of the device (P
C
or switch) at the other end of the link.
Brings up the Job tab where the name of each job folder an
d
the number of stored tests are displayed.
The directional keypad and Enter keys are used to navigate
around the SIGNALTEK user interface. When the tab color i
s
yellow, the left and right arrow keys are used to move
between the tabs. Pressing up or down scrolls through the
options within each tab. To change tabs, make sure to press
up or down until the tab color changes back to yellow.
The alpha-numeric keys are used to enter text and numbers
into various fields in the SIGNALTEK user interface. Pressin
g
a key multiple times will cycle through the letters and numbe
r
on that key. Use the left arrow on the directional keypad to
backspace and erase the character to the left of the cursor.
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