Cabling Chronicles
Wi-Fi 6 is Here! So Now What Will You be Testing?
Earlier this year, the IEEE released its 802.11ax Enhancements for High Efficiency Wireless (HEW) LAN standard, known commonly as Wi-Fi 6. This new advanced Wi-Fi application is positioned to theoretically deliver close to 10 Gig transmission through the use of eight spacial streams that each transmit at 1.2 Gb/s compared to Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) at just 866 Mb/s per special stream. It also has the ability to operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
May 29, 2019
With New High-Density Fiber Connectors Comes Tier 1 Testing Challenges
In response to the need for higher density in data centers, a couple of new fiber connectors have recently been introduced to the market. Because these connectors are new, test equipment with these interfaces has not yet been introduced, which presents some Tier 1 testing challenges and a shift from the traditional recommended 1-jumper reference method. Let’s take a closer look at these connector types and how to test them.
May 15, 2019
You Too Can Transform How You Do Business
Last week, Fluke Networks announced that the number of results uploaded to our LinkWare Live cloud service has exceeded 20 million. If you’re one of the many who contributed to the doubling of total results over the past year, you’ve already witnessed the benefits and cost savings of managing cabling certification jobs anytime, anywhere, with anyone on any device.
May 7, 2019
What is (+All) and When Should I Choose It?
When it comes to testing twisted-pair cabling, there are some key testing parameters required for certifying a permanent link to industry standards—parameters like insertion loss, NEXT, PSNEXT, ACR-N, PSACR-N, ACR-F, PSACR-F and return loss. And when it comes to testing Cat 6A (or Class Fa for ISO11801 standards), we also have PSANEXT and PSAACR-F for alien crosstalk testing.
May 1, 2019
What Ever Happened to the Mechanical Splice?
When it comes to joining two or more optical fibers together, fusion splicing whereby cleaved fibers are aligned and fused by an electric arc provides the lowest loss and strongest, most reliable joint.
While mechanical splice connectors have come a long way and are an ideal field termination method for connectorizing fiber, we rarely hear much anymore about mechanical splicing as a means for joining fibers along a link – even though it eliminates the need for expensive fusion splicing equipment.
So what ever happened to the mechanical splice anyway?
April 23, 2019
What Ever Happened to the Mechanical Splice?
When it comes to joining two or more optical fibers together, fusion splicing whereby cleaved fibers are aligned and fused by an electric arc provides the lowest loss and strongest, most reliable joint.
While mechanical splice connectors have come a long way and are an ideal field termination method for connectorizing fiber, we rarely hear much anymore about mechanical splicing as a means for joining fibers along a link – even though it eliminates the need for expensive fusion splicing equipment.
So what ever happened to the mechanical splice anyway?
April 23, 2019
Cat 6A – A Bright Future Ahead
We all know that Category 6A is considered the highest performing twisted-pair cabling that supports 10 Gig speeds, and it’s been around now for more than a decade. So, you might be surprised to learn that Category 6 (now 17 years old!) continues to dominate worldwide sales of twisted-pair copper cabling. Although declining, even Category 5e that was introduced 20 years ago maintains a significant share of the market.
April 16, 2019
Testing on the Edge
You’ve probably heard all the buzz about edge data centers. Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you’ll be testing fiber links while hanging on the side of cliff. But while you might be testing in new spaces, edge data centers won’t really change what you’re already testing.
So what exactly is an edge data center, anyway? Let’s take a closer look.
April 10, 2019
Shutting the Door on Dust
We know we talk a lot about fiber cleanliness, but let’s face it, contamination of fiber endfaces is still the number one cause of failures – regardless of much we harp on the topic.
You’ve probably often also heard comments surrounding the fact that dust caps are really just dust collectors. Thankfully, there are plenty of manufacturers out there that get it and have responded with shuttered fiber connectivity.
April 1, 2019
The Making of an Expert Fiber Tester and Network Troubleshooter Part 2 of 3
Profile: Vangie Michenzi - (Read Part 1 of Vangie’s story)
Senior Fiber Optic Project Manager
BICSI Credentialed ITS Technician
Certified Data Center Designer and Installer
Advanced Communications Technology Services
March 26, 2019
