Test-Um Validator NT950 Beats the Standard

Validator is a new kind of network tester that uses advanced digital signal generation to measure the actual noise levels on cable runs. The result is that Validator actually proves that the cable will transmit error free data at the specified rate.

Traditional certifiers can only imply the performance by calculating the likely conditions that would result in failure and comparing those results against the metrics defined in the standards.

Science versus the Standards

The TIA568/570 standards were defined at a time before there were any practical networks. The standards therefore were based on the physical properties of the cabling at various specified frequencies and the expected performance levels that would result from these measurements could only be inferred, there was no way of measuring the actual performance on a real network.

In the 15 or so years since the standards were defined there have been many advances in digital technology and of course there are now millions of real life networks in operation. Validator is the first of a new generation of network testers that can actually generate traffic and measure what really happens to the signal along the entire length of the cable run. No longer do you have to trust to calculations about how the cable might or might not behave.

Validator not only complies with the TIA568 interconnect, noise and delay standards, but also verifies the network to the IEEE 802.3 standards, the standards that really define the speed and error rates for just about all the practical networks in existence. If an Ethernet system does not meet the IEEE standards then it will not be capable of carrying data at the given rate.

Proof or Belief?

So which is best, actual proof that the cable can send error free data at the required rate or strict literal adherence to the TIA568/570 standard.

Well it all depends on what you or your customer needs. If the requirement is for certification strictly to the published standard then you need to use a traditional certifier. If however your customer needs empirical, ’real life’ proof that the cabling will handle the amount of data at the network speed specified then you will need Validator.

Traditional certifier manufacturers sell the idea that you should ’believe’ in the standard as the only way to test cabling, Validator shows that there is now a better, more advanced, and more complete method of testing the performance of network cabling, without guesswork, inference or estimates.