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CERTIFICATION TESTING
STEP 1: GATHER LINK SETUP INFORMATION
To make the setup process go more smoothly, have the following information ready in advance.
LINK NAME – general information about the job (user-definable)
Project
Name of the overall project
Location
Building or geographic area where the fiber link is located
Master End
End of the fiber link where the master unit will be used
Remote End
End of the fiber link where the remote unit will be used
FIBER TEST MODE – how to go about testing the fiber link
Test Mode
PAIR or BIDI
Standard
Cabling standard used for the certification test; most technicians will use EIA/TIA 568C.3
Test Cords
Type or quality of the SOURCE PORT and OPM PORT test cords (standard grade vs. reference
grade). These settings are considered to be the inter-connections at the ends of the fiber link; do
NOT include these two interconnections when entering the number of connections on the
LINK INFORMATION screen.
LINK INFORMATION – physical configuration of the link under test
Fiber Type
Type of fiber used in the link under test; options may vary based on chosen cabling
standard
Connections
Number of interconnections in the link under test (patch panels, wall outlets, other mating
sleeves). Do NOT include the connections at the far end of the link (see
TEST CORDS
above).
Splices
Number of splices in the link under test; can be either fusion or mechanical splices
Reference Method
1-jumper reference method
ENCIRCLED FLUX (MULTIMODE ONLY) – is EF compliance required for this test: YES or NO
Consult cabling standard documentation or end user requirements to determine if EF compliance is required; if so,
special mode controller cables will be required for setting the optical reference (aka “zeroing”), replacing the
mandrel-wrapped reference cables.
FIBER PAIR SETTINGS – physical fiber pair orientation and fiber numbering
Fiber Pair Geometry
Refers to the order of the optical fiber strands from left to right as they are installed
behind patch panels
OPTIONS: STRAIGHT or CROSSED
STRAIGHT – also called ‘consecutive-fiber positioning’, fibers are arranged
consecutively (e.g. 1-12) on both ends of the link. One end of the link has adapters
installed with ‘keys up’ and the other end has adapters installed ‘keys down’.
CROSSED – also called ‘reverse-pair positioning’, fibers are arranged consecutively (e.g.
1-12) on one end of the link, but each duplex pair is reversed on the other end (i.e. 2,1
4,3 6,5 etc.). Both ends of the link have adapters installed with ‘keys up’.
NOTE: for vertically-mounted duplex adapters, ‘keys up means the keys face to the left,
while ‘keys down’ means the keys face to the right.
Number Fiber Pairs By
Sets the test result numbering system, either by individual strand or by duplex fiber pair,
based on the fiber pair geometry described above.
OPTIONS: STRAND or PAIR
STRAND – test results are numbered by individual fiber strand
PAIR – test results are numbered by duplex pair, with each fiber labeled individually
within the duplex pair.
RUN NAME – naming of fiber test results within the job to uniquely identify individual fiber strands
Name
The name used to identify the group of individual fiber strands in the link
Number
The starting fiber strand number in the link. The number will be automatically incremented as the test results
are saved.
