Network administrators, contractors, and installers realize that third party verification is necessary for category-rated structured cabling products. In today’s marketplace, there are many different manufactures offering Category 6 (CAT 6) products. Third party verification is a great way to ensure that the CAT 6 products they offer will meet TIA/EIA 568-B.2-1 industry standards.
Who offers third party testing and verification? There are several companies that offer third party testing and verification services, such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and National Technical Systems (NTS). These companies can test and verify CAT 6 products, CAT 6 system solutions, and issue a verification certificate of conformance upon successful completion of both initial and final testing and verification.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL)
UL is an independent, not-for-profit product-safety testing and certification organization. They offer a, “Performance Verification Services,” program for performance Category 2, 3, 4, 5, 5E or 6, TIA/EIA 568B.2-1, ISO/IEC 11801 performance categories, Optical Fiber Cable Performance Verification, field testers, and much more. UL also provides CAT 6 permanent link and channel performance testing. This service is specifically geared towards system designers, installers, contractors and end-users. UL performs field measurements in accordance to TIA/EIA 568B2. Upon successful completion of the testing UL issues a written report. In addition, UL performs permanent link and channel testing in their performance verification LAN laboratory in accordance to the requirements in TIA/EIA 568B2 and Category 6 draft specifications or other performance standards.
Certificates of ICC’s CAT 6 products and more can be found at the UL website at www.ul.com. Search for ICC under the Online Certifications Directory.
National Technical Systems (NTS)
NTS is the largest independent testing company in the nation, and offers a complete spectrum of testing capabilities for any industry needing product evaluation and certification. NTS is accredited by numerous national and international technical bodies such as American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), the National voluntary Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and the European Union (EU) . They have comprehensive engineering and testing laboratories with a focus on Aerospace, Nuclear, Defense, and Commercial hardware.
NTS, which performed verification for ICC, issued a verification report and certificate of conformance performed on CAT 5e and CAT 6 products and solutions. More information can be found at the NTS website at www.ntscorp.com.
Is third party testing good enough? No, in third party testing the manufacturer selects the sample, CAT 6 modular connector, patch panel, patch cord, and cable to be tested. The manufacturer also chooses the size of the test sample and the specifications for which the product(s) will be tested. In most cases, a product that is third party tested is a single sample. Also, the test is performed once; there is no follow-up to see if the results are the same a few months later or even for a different lot.
