JDSU unveils ValidatorPRO Ethernet speed certifier with integrated optical power meter

OCTOBER 13, 2009 -- JDSU has introduced the ValidatorPRO and ValidatorPRO-NT test instruments. The company describes the units as the first “single-solution” handheld testers to enable enterprise network installers to speed certify Ethernet cabling, perform optical power measurements, and verify connectivity of WiFi networks.

Both new ValidatorPRO offerings are designed to perform Ethernet speed certification and include an optical power meter, and ValidatorPRO-NT adds power over Ethernet (PoE) testing and wireless 802.11b/g/n PoE testing features. ValidatorPRO/PRO-NT can thus economically ensure performance of copper, fiber, and Wireless LAN installations, JDSU says.

ValidatorPRO is designed to support comprehensive test capability in increasingly complex networks that must now support voice, data, and video applications over copper, fiber, or wireless LANs. It reduces associated test and measurement costs because it enables installers and technicians to test copper cabling to desktops, check fiber installations in network rooms, and analyze wireless networks for mobile users -- all with one easy-to-use tool, JDSU says.

Building upon the existing Validator and Validator-NT, ValidatorPRO offers faster processing speed, more memory, and increased functionality to further optimize the installation process. Test capability includes speed certifying the data-carrying capabilities of copper Ethernet network cables up to 1 Gbps by testing for noise in the network, detecting faults in the cabling, and ensuring that cables are able to support the speed capabilities of active equipment. The ValidatorPRO-NT adds active network tests to confirm network connectivity using port discovery, ping, and link layer discovery protocol features. For networks that use PoE, such as corporate VoIP networks, the ValidatorPRO-NT tests power availability to network devices.

Included in the ValidatorPRO offering is the newly updated JDSU Plan-Um software to create network layouts, document cable test results, show network topology, estimate cable length requirements, and record moves, adds, and changes. The ValidatorPRO tests for Gigabit Ethernet capability via BER tests that send data packets down specified cable runs at defined data rates to check for errors at the maximum throughput of the link; reports on signal quality that can affect high-speed data transmission by measuring SNR; provides skew measurements that report on the signal time delay between pairs that can affect Ethernet data transmission; and provides continuity testing that detects opens, shorts, miswires, split pairs, reversals, and high-resistance faults while accurately measuring distance to faults and total cable length.

The ValidatorPRO is available now.

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