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When an installer finishes any cable installation, he should test its interoperability and make sure everything work properly before delivering to the end-customer. Most common way to test a cabling system relies on handheld test instruments/tools specifically designed for particular on-site tasks integrating many different features. Those instruments vary on application, operation and price. There are 3 hierarchical groups of classification depending on what purpose does the instrument serve - verification, qualification, or certification. Some features between those instruments are being shared thus each classification group reacts to a single subject of interest:
- Was the cable installed correctly? (Verifiers)
- Does the network application works on this cable? (Qualifiers)
- Does this cable comply with Cabling Standards? (Certifiers)
Softing IT Networks delivers high-end professional IT measurement technology to optimise the performance of enterprise data communication through fast and secure connections for the entire life cycle its network.
"Our mission as a manufacturer of IT infrastructure measurement technology is to optimize your work processes whether you are certifying copper and fiber optic cables after installation with the WireXpert, or troubleshooting an office network with the NetXpert Ethernet network tester. Softing handheld certifiers and testers are approved by 30 plus vendor's independent testing and by the ETL international test lab. Make the switch to Softing and join the cable installers and network operators around the world that are now experiencing improved efficiency and an optimized work process."
~Softing IT Networks
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Financial implications of choosing the right tool for the job
As explained above, each test tool is designed for a different purpose. If you are a network technician and have undocumented cabling and need to see if it will support your 100BASE-TX network, a qualification tool is the tool for you.
If you have an existing network and are doing small adds, moves, and changes, or are setting up a temporary network and just need to qualify it for a specific network technology, a qualification tool could be the way to go. If you want to equip a larger number of technicians with a powerful tool for troubleshooting the most common cabling and network problems, then the value of qualification tools is hard to beat.
On the other hand, if you are in a troubleshooting environment, and need to show unequivocally that the link under test is failing category 5e or 6 performance requirements according to TIA or ISO standards, your only choice is a certification tool. If you have a mixture of fiber and copper cabling, and often need to test both, certification tools do that best.
If you are a commercial installer who needs to prove to the building owner that all cabling has been installed correctly, you must certify it. To receive the support and financial security of a manufacturer's warranty, certification to TIA or ISO standards is your only option.
The dollars at risk are huge. The final cost-per-link of commercial installation usually averages about $100. For a large 1,000 link installation, this represents a $100,000 project. If the job is a high-bandwidth, category 6 installation, the higher quality cables and terminations typically command a 20% premium.
So an installer has to weigh the options of who should bear the financial risk. Using a certification tool that meets TIA and ISO standards is a requirement for establishing a warranty recognized by the cable manufacturer. Anything else makes the installer liable for the performance of that $120,000 installation. A prudent installer will want the manufacturer standing behind him.