RWC1000 Feature by Feature Comparisons

REAL WORLD CERTIFIER (RWCs)

Shorts, opens, length, map and cable quality. RWCs test for shorts, opens, length, map and cable quality as required by IEEE/ISO/IEC 802.3 standards.

HIGH COST CERTIFIERS (HCCs)

Shorts, opens, length, map and cable quality. HCCs test for shorts, opens, length, map and cable quality as required by IEEE/ISO/IEC 802.3 standards.

Cable propagation delay RWCs measure cable propagation delay and skew in nano-seconds. Propagation delay is the time it takes for a data signal to travel the length of the cable. Skew is the difference in delay between pairs. A small skew insures that data, on each pair, will arrive at the receiver at about the same time. A large skew reading errors. RWCs meet IEEE/ISO/IEC 802.3 delay and skew specifications.

Cable propagation delay HCCs measure cable propagation delay and skew in nano-seconds. Propagation delay is the time it takes for a data signal to travel the length of the cable. Skew is the difference in delay between pairs. A small skew means data, on each, will arrive at the receiver at about the same time. A large skew reading errors. HCCs meet IEEE/ISO/IEC 802.3 delay and skew specifications.

NEXT RWCs test digital Near End Cross Talk (NEXT) by sending high-speed-digital signals on each pair and reading the response on other pairs. RWCs display NEXT as Pass/Fail for 10 meg, 100 meg or gigabit data rates. Headroom or margin is graphically displayed for each speed. If a cable fault causes a NEXT failure, the distance to that fault (such as split pair) is displayed. This helps cable installers and network mangers locate repairable cable legs. High-speed digital test circuits run for many hours on a common low cost nine-volt battery.

NEXT HCCs test analog Near End Cross Talk (NEXT) by sending high-speed analog signals on each pair and reading the response on other pairs. HCCs display NEXT in dB with Pass/Limits for Cat 5, 5E and 6 cables. dB readings help cable manufactures improve their cable performance. No distance to cable faults that cause NEXT failures is displayed. This makes it difficult for cable installers and network managers to locate repairable cable faults. High-speed analog NEXT test circuits are very expensive and require large expensive rechargeable batteries.

FEXT RWCs test digital FAR End Cross Talk (FEXT) by bouncing digital signals off the far end of the cable and measuring the response on each pair. RWCs display FEXT as Pass/Fail for 10 meg, 100 meg and gigabit data rates. The RWC graphically displays headroom or margin at each data speed. The RWC displays distance to faults that cause FEXT failures. Distance to fault (such as split pair) helps cable installers and network mangers locate and repair faulty cable legs.

FEXT HCCs use a far end test module to perform NEXT measurements on the far end of the cable. The far end NEXT is reported to the user’s display as FEXT. Using two high-speed analog test modules effectively doubles the cost of an already very expensive test instrument. FEXT is report in (cable manufacture friendly) dBs. Again, HCCs do not provide cable installers and network manager distance to repairable faults.

Real Data. RWCs measure cable losses with real data from hubs/switches/PCs

Simulated Data. HCCs measure cable losses with simulated data. Data is simulated with sine waves of various frequencies up to 350 or 600 mega-Hz.

Remote Unit. RWCs use inexpensive hubs/switches/PCs to provide signals to measure cables signal losses.

Remote Unit. HCCs use an analog test module to source simulated data, i.e. high-speed sine waves, to measure cable signal losses

Two-sided. The RWC plugs on one end of the cable, the hub/switch/PC plugs on to the other end. The RWC receives and measures real data signal levels.

Two-sided. The HCC uses a second analog test module on the other end of the cable to receive, measure and display the simulated data.

Data Display. RWCs read and graphically display real data signal levels on all four pairs. The graphs show minimum acceptable levels, of the data, after cable losses.
"RWC Level 2" combines real data level measurements with delay, skew, digital NEXT/ FEXT and map measurements from the Level 1 tests to Real World Certify the cables speed as 10 meg, 100 meg or 1 giga-bit. All of these measurements are also used to compute, the cables graphically displayed margin or headroom.

Data Display. HCCs read and display simulated data signals on all four pairs. The simulated data level losses are displayed in dBs.
HCCs list simulated data loss measurements with delay, skew, analog NEXT/ FEXT and map measurements to Certify cables as Cat 3, Cat 5, Cat 5E or Cat 6. Headroom is based on worse case of above measurements.

RWCs Test Single Network Ports
RWCs test for 10 meg, 100 meg and gigabit data rates and full or half duplex.
RWCs measure data signal levels on up to four pairs. Data levels are displayed graphically in percent of maximum.
RWCs check hot splits. RWCs locate split pairs on installed cables without disconnecting or de-powering the remote network port. This helps cable installers and network manager find cable faults without having to take down a network.

HCCs Test Single Network Ports
HCCs test for 10 meg and 100 meg with full or half duplex.
HCCs do not graphically display data signal levels.
Must unplug network ports and cables before testing for split pairs.

RWCs Test Inline Network Ports
RWCs display 10 meg, 100 meg and gigabit data rates and full or half duplex of both inline ports.
RWCs display negotiated data rates and duplexes. The user is alerted, if the two ports have non-compatible data rates or duplexes. This helps system installers and networks managers locate data-rate bottle-necks and non-functioning network legs.
RWCs help installers and network mangers locate the far end of a cable by sending audio tones or beacon signals on the cable. Audio tones.

HCCs Test Inline Network Ports
HCCs do not have inline capabilities.