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On June 20, 2002, the Category 6 (or Cat 6) addition to the
TIA-568 standard was published. The official title of the standard is
ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1. This new standard specifies the original set
of performance parameters that need to be tested for Ethernet cabling as well as the passing scores for
each of these tests. Cables certified as Cat 6 cable must pass all ten
tests.
Although the Cat 6 tests are essentially
the same as those specified by the Cat 5 standard, Cat 6 cable must pass the
tests with higher scores to be certified. Cat6 cable must be capable
of carrying frequencies up to 250 MHz and must have lower levels of
crosstalk and return loss.
A quality cable tester similar to the
Fluke DSP-4000 series or Fluke OMNIScanner2 can perform all the test
measurements required for Cat5, Cat5e, and Cat6 cable certifications
of both permanent links and channel links. Figure
 shows the
Fluke DSP-LIA013 Channel/Traffic Adapter for Cat5e.
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 Lab Activity
Fluke 620 Cable Tester – Wire Map In this lab, the student
will learn the wire mapping feature of the Fluke 620 LAN
CableMeter or its equivalent.  |
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Lab Activity
Fluke 620 Cable Tester – Faults In this lab, the student
will learn the Cable Test-Pass / Fail features of the Fluke 620
LAN CableMeter or an equivalent tester. |
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Lab Activity
Fluke 620 Cable Tester – Length In this lab, the student
will learn the Cable Length feature of the Fluke 620 LAN
CableMeter or its equivalent. |
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Lab Activity
Fluke LinkRunner – LAN Tests In this lab, the student will
become familiar with the capabilities of the Fluke LinkRunner
and determine whether a cable drop is active. |
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Lab Activity
Fluke LinkRunner – Cable and NIC Tests In this lab, the
student will become familiar with the capabilities of the Fluke
LinkRunner and verify cable length and integrity. |
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