Network certification is an essential process that verifies that network cabling meets rigorous performance and installation standards.
While it goes without saying that networks must be properly installed to ensure optimal performance, all too many projects omit the crucial step of network cable certification. With as many as half of all network failures due to cabling problems, skipping certification is a huge gamble that can result in a multitude of costly and show-stopping problems.
To be clear: network certification is far less expensive than network downtime, diagnostics, and cable repair.
Network cable-related issues are notoriously troublesome and complex to diagnose, and oftentimes when Omni is called in to troubleshoot a network problem, it’s immediately apparent that the network was never certified. Usually, this is either because a network owner wasn’t aware that certification was necessary, or because an unscrupulous installer – the type that might not adhere to design and installation guidelines in the first place – wanted to cut corners. Documented network certification proves system performance when a project is handed off to the owner and serves as a baseline if network problems or faults occur in the future. Also, cable manufacturers require proof of certification for long-term warranties.
Each network segment should be pretested before instruments are connected to rule out trunk and backbone hardware issues should problems occur during device installation. Otherwise, readings will be inaccurate and will not reflect the true status of the health of the network. Network certification should only commence after all devices have been installed, powered up, and commissioned.
Omni Instrumentation & Electrical Services, Inc. owns and utilizes NIST-traceable Fluke Networks cabling certification tools on every network project we do to verify proper performance in accordance with ISO and TIA standards. We also provide network cable certification as a standalone service.
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